Leiden is a city of 124,000 inhabitants in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. A university city since 1575, Leiden has been at the forefront of science in Europe for more than four centuries. It is a typical university city, with university buildings scattered throughout and a large international student body that gives the city a bustling, lively and cosmopolitan atmosphere.

Sika flooring system in parking garage Lammermarkt in Leiden Netherlands

The city of Leiden

Many important scientific discoveries have been made here and the city is home to the oldest university in the Netherlands. Leiden University is one of Europe’s top universities, with thirteen Nobel Prize winners to its name, and appears near the top of all international academic rankings.

Leiden is a city with a rich cultural heritage, not only in science, but also in the arts. One of the world's most famous painters, Rembrandt, was born and educated in Leiden. Other famous Leiden painters include Lucas van Leyden, Jan van Goyen and Jan Steen.

The historic center of Leiden has many museums, shops, theaters and catering  establishments. It is a pedestrian zone, so there are no cars. The area is a favorite spot with visitors, and wherever there are lots of visitors, there is a need for well-designed, efficient parking garage. The Lammermarkt parking lot has become a perfect solution by virtue of the unique and pleasant parking experience it provides. But what`s behind the project?

Architecture of Parking Garage Lammermarkt in Leiden Netherlands

New underground parking spaces

The Lammermarkt Parking Garage is one of two parking lots located within walking distance of the city historic center to provide parking space for visitors. The new underground parking lot has 525 generous spaces and eight charging stations for electric cars. Every floor has a certain number of disabled parking spaces.

With a diameter of approximately 60 meters, it was necessary to excavate more than 60,000 m3 of soil. A 5 km-long pressure pipeline was installed through the canal system in Leiden to transport the soil to a ground depot outside the city, where the sand will be reused. This saved about 2,500 return trips by truck  through the center of Leiden.

The parking garage under the Lammermarkt was designed by JHK Architects in collaboration with the Dura Vermeer - BESIX consortium. An underground architectural masterpiece, the design is an elegant combination of functionality and its mode of construction that respects the heritage of its city center surroundings.
The cylindrical shape of the garage is not only a sound basis for a user-friendly  parking garage, its compact volume also minimizes interference with the historically important buildings surrounding it. Achieving the visual effect of the parking space as designed required high-quality flooring and wall systems with tailored color  shades.

Owner: Gem. Leiden
Architect: JHK architects
Contractor: Dura Vermeer / Besix
Applicator flooring: Vlaq groep

Sika flooring system in parking garage Lammermarkt in Leiden Netherlands

The Sikafloor® MultiDur EB-14 AT park deck system

With clear signage and guidance, generous parking spaces and easy-to find stairs  and lifts, the Lammermarkt Parking Garage provides a delightful parking experience. The traffic flow is well planned, with signs, arrows, icons and other direction  signage by the architect to ensure safety. The orange back wall on the parking levels and the orange floor edging in the central void reinforce the spatial character of the parking garage and give the interior depth and color.
The Sikafloor® MultiDur EB-14 AT park deck system was specified and applied by VLAQ Infra en Industrie B.V. together with the Sika flooring team.

The parking lot has recently won the ESPA Gold Award. The ESPA (European Standard Parking Award) was instituted by the EPA (European Parking Association). The Gold Award is presented to garages that score very highly on safety, quality and customer-friendliness.

In addition to the ESPA Gold Award, the garage was also awarded the Rijnlandse Architectuurprijs 2017, a public award which is presented every two years to the best spatial design in the Leiden region, as well as the Betonprijs 2017 in the  “Execution” category.

Recent reviews on Google say things like “Spacious parking garage” or “This parking in central Leiden is very well done. We are so impressed”, so car drivers seem to be very satisfied with this new parking facility and its easy-to-find parking spaces in an accessible location.

Sika flooring system in parking garage Lammermarkt in Leiden Netherlands
Sika flooring system in parking garage Lammermarkt in Leiden Netherlands