Park Pergola

Without question, the design and construction of the Parkpergola were a challenge to realise. The pergola has been built using elements made from high-quality fair-faced concrete. This placed demands on both the material and the production process. Additional considerations were the construction itself, safety and sustainability. The entire construction of the Parkpergola has an expected lifespan of 100 years. In terms of its scale, slender appearance and level of detail, the design by West 8 tested the limits of the current technology. Coarse-grained concrete was applied to one side of the elements, allowing plants to better adhere to the surface. In order to make the project feasible, a great of experimentation with moulding techniques and the reuse of moulds was conducted during the preparatory stage. This repetition and the decision to use regular concrete instead of high-strength concrete were deciding factors in terms of feasibility. By repeating standard elements, we limited the number of moulds required. One major challenge was finding a way to free the extremely slender concrete elements, which are curved in two directions, from the moulds. Through experimentation and test castings, the proportions and dimensions of the standard elements were optimised. The desired degree of reinforcement could not be achieved on the sides, however; hot-dipped galvanised rebar was applied to these areas. A conscious emphasis was placed on quality during the tender. The project was assigned to a prefab supplier, Züblin Gladbeck, as the main contractor, which eliminated the need for communication through another contractor as middleman. Scale models of two of the elements were also fabricated as part of the bid process. These needed to meet a minimum quality standard (based on CUR Recommendation 100) in order to earn the contract. The costs of the mock-up were submitted and reimbursed separately. In this way, it was possible to realise the structure within the stipulated budget. Other enabling factors were the strong, meticulously-conceived design, the highly-engaged client and the optimal cooperation between the various parties. ABT bore responsibility for the technical consulting services, with regard to both feasibility and construction.