Normally we don’t associate cars and parking garages with environmental friendliness and sustainability. However, there is a connection between these contradictory word constellations.

Macdonald Zuberec Ensslen Architects (MZE Architects) designed this LEED Silver designated parking garage with 600 parking lots for residents and city visitors in the commercial center of St. Catharines in Ontario, Canada. Important to the achievement of the LEED® Certification was the high recycled content within the project. One part of this sustainability strategy is the architectural wire mesh from Haver & Boecker. The architectural wire mesh façade provides a positive benefit to the energy balance of the car park, as the stainless steel mesh can be made from 90 % of recycled materials. The open area of the wire mesh supports the natural ventilation inside the car park and reduces the amount of lighting and ventilation equipment required. Furthermore the mesh acts as an effective guard rail to prevent pedestrian falls.

In total 1,310 m² of stainless steel wire mesh DOGLA-TRIO 1010 were installed in this parking garage. Due to the strength of the utilized material and the special weave structure of wire mesh type DOGLA-TRIO 1010, the resulting mesh is very robust but at the same time offers a high degree of transparency.

600 m² of architectural wire mesh are used to clad the façade. 470 m² of wire mesh are used within the building as safety barriers. 240 m² of wire mesh, in elements of 25 x 2.40 m, are installed inside the four stairwells of the parking garage.

The 30,000 m² extensive car park in the commercial center of the city plays an important part in the transformation of the city center, representing order to promote the economic life in the area. On the ground floor of the parking garage additional retail units are available for rental space for future business.