Furness City Park
Innovative engineering led to this post-tensioned, multi-level, 24-hr car park – the first of its kind in Trinidad and Tobago.
Location
Port of Spain, Trinidad
Beston's Role
Structural Design, Inspections
Beston's Team
Mark Francois, Aneil Arman, Matthew Maundy, Jagdeo Satram, Nigel Landreth Smith, Kwame Selvon, Ralph Seecheran
Collaborators
One Ten Architects & Planners / STAGES Consulting Engineers / CPML Sub-consultants / David McCloskey
In 2018, the opening of the 24-hr, 12-storey Furness City Park led to the welcome addition of nearly 1,000 parking spots for people who work in or visit downtown Port of Spain. Parking in the capital had often been seen as challenging and uncertain, with options restricted to limited street parking, or one of very few existing multi-level car parks held up by structural posts scarred with automotive paint – telltale signs of the tight angles and turning circles around which motorists sometimes failed to accurately navigate.
As part of the Kee Chanona led Design-Build Team, Beston went in on the proposal for the car park. With the job won, we set about designing the most cost-effective, user-friendly car park we could engineer. Using advanced technology, we adopted a post-tensioned system, pushing structural columns to the building’s extremities.
This cost-effective solution had manifold benefits and added tremendous value for our clients, both during the construction phase and through the lifespan of the building. It led to a significant reduction in the amount of concrete and steel that would typically be used in Trinidad for a multi-level structure of this nature. The absence of columns on the structure’s interior also led to an increase in the number of parking spots on each level, which translates, on a daily and ongoing basis, into greater earning potential for our clients. It also was a welcome change for motorists.
The post-tensioned solution that Beston used on the Furness City Park represented the first of its kind adopted in Trinidad for a complete floor plate solution. On supervising construction of the car park, we witnessed another benefit – because we eliminated the need for cranes and instead used forklifts, we effectively managed traffic on the site, thereby cutting down on the impact of construction. We also worked efficiently on the job; solving any problems immediately led us to deliver at the very low cost of US$86 per square foot.
Another major point of pride on this project? Not a single sign of cracking after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake shook Trinidad in August 2018.