Welbeck Street car park
Welbeck Street car park is a multi-storey car park in Marylebone just off Oxford Street in central London.
The car park was designed by Michael Blampied and Partners for the nearby Debenhams store and was completed in 1970. Its unusual design consists of a tessellated façade of prefabricated concrete polygons, the bottom point of each slotting alongside one of the corners of another.
The frame is open to the elements, acting like the radiator grill of a car in that it ventilates fumes from the interior.
Despite being seen as a Brutalist landmark in the city, the car park was denied listed status by Historic England in 2016. Although they described is as '...an exemplar of 1960s car parks’, Historic England said that ‘...it does not meet the very high bar for listing buildings of this date… The car park is not innovatory in terms of its structure and also exhibits flaws in its design.’
Shortly after listing was denied, it was sold to Shiva Hotels in a reported £100 million deal reflecting its lucrative site so close to the UK’s busiest commercial street.
In August 2017, it was announced that the car park would be demolished and replaced with a 10-storey hotel.
Consternation has been raised about the decision, with some continuing to argue the case for its architectural merit, such as Sam Jacob of FAT who has written: ‘…it is part of a small gang, a batch of buildings produced in a small window when car parks were treated as civic monuments, significant structures that expressed the modernity of the moment.’
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
Twas the site before Christmas...
A rhyme for the industry and a thankyou to our supporters.
Plumbing and heating systems in schools
New apprentice pay rates coming into effect in the new year
Addressing the impact of recent national minimum wage changes.
EBSSA support for the new industry competence structure
The Engineering and Building Services Skills Authority, in working group 2.
Notes from BSRIA Sustainable Futures briefing
From carbon down to the all important customer: Redefining Retrofit for Net Zero Living.
Principal Designer: A New Opportunity for Architects
ACA launches a Principal Designer Register for architects.
A new government plan for housing and nature recovery
Exploring a new housing and infrastructure nature recovery framework.
Leveraging technology to enhance prospects for students
A case study on the significance of the Autodesk Revit certification.
Fundamental Review of Building Regulations Guidance
Announced during commons debate on the Grenfell Inquiry Phase 2 report.
CIAT responds to the updated National Planning Policy Framework
With key changes in the revised NPPF outlined.
Councils and communities highlighted for delivery of common-sense housing in planning overhaul
As government follows up with mandatory housing targets.
CIOB photographic competition final images revealed
Art of Building produces stunning images for another year.
HSE prosecutes company for putting workers at risk
Roofing company fined and its director sentenced.
Strategic restructure to transform industry competence
EBSSA becomes part of a new industry competence structure.
Major overhaul of planning committees proposed by government
Planning decisions set to be fast-tracked to tackle the housing crisis.
Industry Competence Steering Group restructure
ICSG transitions to the Industry Competence Committee (ICC) under the Building Safety Regulator (BSR).
Principal Contractor Competency Certification Scheme
CIOB PCCCS competence framework for Principal Contractors.
The CIAT Principal Designer register
Issues explained via a series of FAQs.
Comments
Welbeck Street car park
The car park, designed by Michael Blampied and Partners, was completed in 1970 for the use of the nearby Debenhams store using a design of tessellated concrete polygons
Can anyone tell me please who built this car park? Was it Sir Robert McAlpine?