No snorkel required

Warehouse conversions are commonplace around the globe for residential and commercial property – but this must be a first.

Around the corner from my hotel in Amsterdam was a canal conversion – that’s right – a canal that is being converted into a carpark!

The De Pijp district was built in the late nineteenth century with narrow streets and no cars. Whilst the Dutch love their bikes (and no carbon fibre or lycra here) they also want their cars. So ZJA Zwarts & Jansma architects have come up with a great solution that provides parking for 600 cars and 60 bicycles under a canal. 

From street level the only sign of a carpark underneath is the entry and exit ramps leading to the street. No public space was sacrificed in creating the carpark, which also uses LPR to match vehicles with specific bays.