Final designs for £14m MSCP unveiled

Eye catching final designs for Riverside Sunderland's new car park have been unveiled in CGIs released today. 

Designs have been fine-turned to deliver a striking 'mesh'-wrapped building, with a stunning living wall, in a planning variation submitted to Sunderland City Council for the 650-space multi storey car park (MSCP).

Artist, Tonkin Liu, was commissioned to develop designs for the MSCP, which will be constructed by Sir Robert McAlpine after the business won a competitive tender for the £14m project, which will stand on the edge of the city's Riverside Sunderland development.

Riverside Sunderland is a world-class urban quarter, with the MSCP providing a very prominent welcome point to the area.  The designs for the building were developed to make a positive, high quality contribution to the Riverside Sunderland cityscape, providing a memorable and distinctive building by day and by night. 

Patrick Melia, chief executive of Sunderland City Council, said: "We want to ensure that every building at Riverside Sunderland reflects the level of ambition we have for this city, including infrastructure like car parks which are often the first place people see when they arrive. 

"We're really pleased with the final designs for the MSCP, which are distinctive enough to stand out, but discreet enough to ensure what will be a large building does not overtake or distract from the beautiful residential buildings that will stand close by when this site is fully developed."

The car park is expected to serve the increased number of people living and working in Sunderland, as well as more visitors who will attend leisure venues including the new Auditorium and the city's planned Culture House, a £25m library and community living room that will deliver a world-class visitor experience.

Taking around 16 months to complete, McAlpine will construct the MSCP as well as delivering some external works including refurbishing the Galleys Gill Bridge.    

Once complete, it is estimated that the Riverside Sunderland development will create up to 10,000 jobs and significantly boost the city centre population with the construction of hundreds of homes, providing a huge boost to footfall in the city centre by increasing the number of people visiting, living and working in it.  Making it easy for people to access the city centre is paramount to the area's success, and the development of the MSCP will be a central pillar in the wider transport and infrastructure strategy to bring the area to life.

Provision of the car park capacity should reduce pressure on other city centre parking such as St Mary's MSCP, as well as ensuring additional provision is made for a surge in people heading into the city on a daily basis when more commercial office spaces open. 

With a commitment to sustainability on the Riverside Sunderland project, the car park will include an initial 15 per cent electric vehicles spaces.  It is expected the car park will operate outside of normal working hours, to support the evening economy in the city centre, and will operate through a combination of pre-paid permits and paid parking. 

It's position on the edge of the city centre, linked by the Strategic Transport Corridor to Sunderland communities, will also help reduce congestion in the heart of the city, and by consolidating parking in one large facility, the MSCP should help to achieve a pedestrian-priority for Riverside Sunderland.

For the latest developments from Riverside Sunderland, visit www.riversidesunderland.com.