Welbeck Street car park
Welbeck Street car park is a multi-storey car park in Marylebone just off Oxford Street in central London.
The car park was designed by Michael Blampied and Partners for the nearby Debenhams store and was completed in 1970. Its unusual design consists of a tessellated façade of prefabricated concrete polygons, the bottom point of each slotting alongside one of the corners of another.
The frame is open to the elements, acting like the radiator grill of a car in that it ventilates fumes from the interior.
Despite being seen as a Brutalist landmark in the city, the car park was denied listed status by Historic England in 2016. Although they described is as '...an exemplar of 1960s car parks’, Historic England said that ‘...it does not meet the very high bar for listing buildings of this date… The car park is not innovatory in terms of its structure and also exhibits flaws in its design.’
Shortly after listing was denied, it was sold to Shiva Hotels in a reported £100 million deal reflecting its lucrative site so close to the UK’s busiest commercial street.
In August 2017, it was announced that the car park would be demolished and replaced with a 10-storey hotel.
Consternation has been raised about the decision, with some continuing to argue the case for its architectural merit, such as Sam Jacob of FAT who has written: ‘…it is part of a small gang, a batch of buildings produced in a small window when car parks were treated as civic monuments, significant structures that expressed the modernity of the moment.’
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
There are plenty of sources with the potential to be redeveloped.
Change of use legislation breaths new life into buildings
A run down on Class MA of the General Permitted Development Order.
Solar generation in the historic environment
Success requires understanding each site in detail.
Level 6 Design, Construction and Management BSc
CIOB launches first-ever degree programme to develop the next generation of construction leaders.
Open for business as of April, with its 2026 prospectus and new pipeline of housing schemes.
The operational value of workforce health
Keeping projects moving. Incorporating unplanned absence and the importance of health, in operations.
A carbon case for indigenous slate
UK slate can offer clear embodied carbon advantages.
Costs and insolvencies mount for SMEs, despite growth
Construction sector under insolvency and wage bill pressure in part linked to National Insurance, says report.
The place for vitrified clay pipes in modern infrastructure
Why vitrified clay pipes are reclaiming their role in built projects.
Research by construction PR consultancy LMC published.
Roles and responsibilities of domestic clients
ACA Safety in Construction guide for domestic clients.
Fire door compliance in UK commercial buildings
Architect and manufacturer gives their low down.
Comments
Welbeck Street car park
The car park, designed by Michael Blampied and Partners, was completed in 1970 for the use of the nearby Debenhams store using a design of tessellated concrete polygons
Can anyone tell me please who built this car park? Was it Sir Robert McAlpine?