Elder Gate Car Park

D5 Architects were commissioned by Gleeds Management Services to provide Architectural services for the development of a new Multi-storey Car Park for Milton Keynes Council. The target was to provide 700 car parking spaces on a site that at the current time had a capacity of circa 100 spaces. The brief called for a category 2 car park, for medium-stay users, mainly commuting to London from Milton Keynes central train station.

The site was identified for use as a MSCP in the original Milton Keynes masterplan and completes what is known as ‘The Wall’ of facades to the south west edge of the town centre grid along the rail corridor. The car park sits next to the group of original buildings that form the station square and are composed from the classic Milton Keynes palette of orthogonal mirror glass forms with graph paper elevations. The car park elevation evolved to reflect and compliment this palette reinterpreted through a perforated aluminium panel system.

The design consists of a split level deck with one way flow and ramps between levels laid out asymmetrically, which provided a longer entrance route exposing users to a high proportion of stalls and a separate shorter exit route providing a rapid exit. Vertical pedestrian core circulation was provided at both ends optimising external pedestrian routes and maximizing visibility within the structure. The completed car park provides 706 standard car parking spaces, plus 45 additional disabled bays located at entrance levels, 10 motorbikes and 80 cycle parking spaces.

Planning approval was granted in February 2019. Construction started in June 2019 and was completed in May 2020.