Car lift enables new parking garage for MIPIM award winner in Amsterdam

Space saving PEGASOS lift provides access to new basement parking level

The PEGASOS car lift was delivered in 2019 by Lödige Industries to DCV Bouw B.V. in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

About the building and project

The Diamond Exchange, Diamantbeurs in Dutch, was built in 1911 to a design by Gerit van Arkel as the centre of the Amsterdam diamond trading industry. It housed a large trading hall on the first floor and offices above that. In 2015, the building was purchased by Sijthoff Media Groep and Zadelhoff Beheer and underwent a significant renovation and transformation based on designs by Zwarts & Jansma Architects and Heyligers design + projects. The new design aimed at three objectives: to restore the original qualities of the Diamantbeurs in its full glory, to adapt the interior for use as a modern, flexible office environment and to build a contemporary addition open to the public.

The most prominent new addition to the 2020 MIPIM Award winner, is the elongated dome of steel and glass on the roof, called High Light. The curved glass structure incorporates solar cells, which generate solar energy as well as shade. The shape of the structure, which houses a public space, references the property's past as the center of the diamond trade. Today, under its new name, ‘Capital C’, it serves as a centre for the creative industry and houses conference and event venues as well as co-working spaces for various companies.

Offering enough parking spaces by enabling access to parking garage via car lift

Parking spaces around the building located in the centre of Amsterdam are rare and costly. As the Capital C building offers co-working spaces it benefits from the excellent public transport connections in the area. Nevertheless, it needed to find a way to offer parking spaces for cars and bicycles. To solve this a new basement was added to the building to create the space needed for parking. The inclusion of a ramp for access, however, would have severely limited the number of spaces on offer.

The PEGASOS © car lift is the most space saving car lift on the market today. It requires neither pit nor engine room and thanks to its extremely slender shaft geometry it offers an access solution even in very restricted space situations.

Today tenants of the building simply drive up to the lift, press their remote and enter the lift for a quick delivery to the garage – a fact that is very popular with the users of the co-working spaces in the building.

About the customer

DCV BOUW B.V. was founded in 2006. Since then, it has grown into an important player in the construction sector of the Netherlands.

DCV BOUW carries out a wide range of projects for its clients. Recents projects include the renovation of ‘De Oliphant’ and newbuild of the Orato Offices in Amsterdam, as well as the Aon building renovation in Rotterdam.

Challenges of parking at Diamantbeurs

• The Capital C building was renovated and now houses a new creative centre offering co-working spaces and event venues, leading to increased parking requirements
• Parking spaces are limited in the city centre of Amsterdam,
• The building had an underground level for parking cars and bicycles but no space for a conventional access ramp. Given the integration into the existing building, there was limited headroom available above any potential lift.
• The customer required access not only for cars, but also for bicycles and egress for building management functions such as waste removal.

Enabling access to parking garage

• The Lödige PEGASOS© car lift installed serves as a space efficient and convenient entry to the underground parking garage.
• Cars are being transported vertically to the parking garage, without the need for a conventional access ramp
• The design of the PEGASOS car lift needs no pit and minimal headroom, facilitating integration into the existing building
• Cars and bicycles can be comfortably transported to the underground parking garage. The lift also enables easy waste removal and goods delivery.