Hoog Catharijne

Booster Blog

HOOG CATHARIJNE

The Netherlands is currently undergoing one of the biggest transformational projects of the year. Since it was built back in the 70s, the Hoog Catharijne shopping centre has been backlogged with maintenance and neglect, with a growing number of daily visitors.

Due to the scale of the project, it approaches a diverse array of practical and social issues. Water will be brought back to the canal that was filled in the 70’s, whilst it will quite literally reconnect the city.

The renovation will connect Utrecht train station, as well as shopping facilities, with the old part of the city. It’s expected to become a cultural centre for the bustling city. All in all, the five story structure includes a whopping 1,300 parking spaces, 42,000 square metres of retail and shopping space, and 9,000 square metres of hotel space.

Being the largest covered shopping centre in the Netherlands, whilst also welcoming guests arriving on train, the area experiences intense pedestrian flows. These flows were studied in the design process to ensure the most comfortable consumer experience possible.

45,000 square metres square metres of the parking lots have been fitted with Bolidtop. The cutting edge parking space, realized by BAM construction, will be accessible through several entrances underneath the canals. It’s sure to be one of the busiest parking spots in the Netherlands, which is exactly why they chose Bolidt for the job. They required long-lasting durability; the floor will experience heavy traffic on a daily basis.

Its size is not the only impressive thing about this car park. For every four parking spaces, there’s a camera that monitors available spaces, as well as licence plates. As you return to pick up your car, you can simply enter your license plate number, to then receive the location of your car.

This makes the task of retrieving your car from such a monumental parking space a little less daunting.

The project is expected to be completed in 2019, but don’t worry, if you’re interested you can catch a live webcam of the construction process, as well as a newsletter from BAM every time they start work on a new phase.