Maple were instrumental in bringing Victoria Gate’s innovative twisted fin design to reality.
Victoria Gate car park in Leeds was completed in 2017 yet its innovative fin design continues to impress people to this day. It even caught global attention in 2018 when it came third in the World’s Coolest Car Park competition, following Quick Parking Morelli in Naples and AZ Sint-Lucas car park in Belgium. Considering its global success, it’s amazing to think that the prototype was first manufactured in our Stockport HQ!
The design was the first of its kind, so when ACME sent Maple the early design concepts for the façade our pre-construction team conducted lots of research to guarantee its success.
Firstly, we had to ensure the fins were made with the correct grade of aluminium because this decision could make or break the façade. As the fins would be twisted during manufacture, we had to choose a grade with the desired ‘plastic region’ which is the point at which a material can bend without returning to its original shape. Too brittle and the fin will crack and too soft the fin won’t retain its shape.
Our next challenge was manufacturing a series of fins with varying twists that were all 3m long. To achieve this, the team created a special machine capable of creating the different twist angles. An invention that proved so successful that we are still using it today for twisted fin projects.
Once the fin design had been perfected, the pre-con team needed to conceptualise a fixing design that would mount the fins whilst achieving the required tension that would keep the fins twisted. When designing the fixing system, we had to remain conscious of different variables that could impact the tension of the fins such as thermal expansion, loading of the floor slab and wind loads. The team explored different arrangements for the springs at the fin junctions and different spring ratings to find the perfect balance. We then performed physical testing by applying weights to the fin and experimented with different spring strengths until we achieved the right level of tension.
The winning configuration involved having a box section sit underneath the springs as it would keep the tension whilst allowing for the natural movement of the car park, and the rest was history.
Following it’s completion, the pioneering car park has won several awards such as two RIBA Awards: RIBA Yorkshire Award 2017 and RIBA Yorkshire Building of the Year 2017.