Parking beneath a beautiful city garden
On the roof of the underground parking garage for Belastingdienst in Groningen lies a beautiful city garden of nearly 25,000 m².
Water drainage system for one of The Netherlands’ largest rooftop parks
The garden is built on top of the underground parking garage of the office building. With an area of 25,000 m², it is one of the largest rooftop gardens in the Netherlands. On behalf of the DUO2 consortium—a collaboration between Strukton, Ballast Nedam, and John Laing—the Antea Group/Reef Infra partnership carried out the engineering and construction of the garden. The garden design is by Lodewijk Baljon Landscape Architects. The pavilion and underground parking garage were designed by Ben van Berkel/UNStudio.
Consulting and implementation
Joosten Ecodak was involved in the project from an early stage. The engineering firm commissioned to prepare the cost estimate asked us to contribute our expertise on water drainage. The contractor then also brought us in for the technical execution, as our products fit well within the budget.
Anchoring
The development of the city garden faced many technical challenges involving the roof structure, drainage system, and various water buffers. Because the office building is often exposed to strong winds, careful attention was also given to the right planting and anchoring solutions. The anchoring of the green windbreaks around the building could not be attached directly to the roof. Geosynthetics combined with the weight of the soil above provide a secure and stable anchoring system.
Specifications
