Thursday, 24 May 2018

Queen Anne Car Park Cambridge

We were asked by Guy Belcher of Cambridge City Council to dream up something for Queen Anne car park. It should be a good location, in central Cambridge, overlooking Parkers Piece. The location is high, but accessible from above The walls were not suitable for attaching anything directly to them.

So we came up with the idea of a 'Stretched Model 30' - 6 chambers in each of 2 long colony boxes. It was important that the boxes were beyond the reach of vandals with long arms, so to secure it, we designed 2 brackets to hang from the top of the wall.

The two boxes came from just 1 sheet of plywood 2440mm x 1220mm plus a bit more for the ends and internal partitions. The roof and ends are both covered in 9mm PVC fascia board, none of the plywood is exposed to sun or rain. The plywood back is well ventilated.

This installation took a lot less work than installing 12 single boxes.

Arrival at the top of the car park
Assembling the cabinets to the brackets
The boxes are positioned to avoid entrances vertically aligned. Photo Alan Clarke
Ready for installation
Final installation

Computer views inside and outside the wall
Addendum:
Using the same design, but different fixings Colin Wilson arranged for 2 Stretched Model 30's to be installed on Camberley Theatre in the borough of Surrey Heath. Two more are to be installed on a local shopping centre:

Photo Colin Wilson
Addendum 2:
[Update 2019 - one of the 6 chambers occupied in 2019] 
[UPdate 2021, 4 chambers are occupied by Swifts]
Another example in Cambridge, this time with a hinged roof

Hinged lid, with stop to prevent lid falling outwards
6 new boxes with an already occupied box, 1 of 3 occupied on this house
6 new boxes

#parapet

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