Sunderland’s ‘living’ car park goes LIVE!

A pioneering eco-friendly car park in Sunderland with ‘living walls’ is now open for business in a major boost to the city centre and a tick in the box of its green credentials.

For many months now, Wearsiders have watched the huge and distinctive multi-storey car park (MSCP) take shape and dominate the skyline at Farringdon Row and have had to be patient while finishing touches were made to the sprawling superstructure.

Now though, the wait to use it is over as it officially opened its doors towards the end of June, providing more than 600 parking spaces which will be vital in supporting the successful development of the Riverside Sunderland project.

The photograph, above, shows how it will fit into the city centre’s infrastructure, overlooking the River Wear from the south bank.

Gleaming white in the summer sunshine, the new car park will be anything but a white elephant as it is regarded as absolutely crucial in drawing visitors and workers into the new offices and facilities which will be on offer on the redeveloped Riverside which is set to become a vibrant focal point of a city on the up.

The car park’s ‘living walls’ – plant-covered structures at either end of the building with thousands of plants and shrubs running from ground to roof level, provides unique green credentials for the new building, reducing its carbon footprint and making it more eco-friendly.

Having opened for the first time on a temporary basis to support Beyonce and Pink concerts in the city in May and June, it is now fully operational and receiving visitors.

The car park was designed by award-winning architectural practice Tonkin Liu and will be illuminated by night, to feature a blue wave, with coloured displays occasionally being used to mark key moments and awareness days in the city calendar.

Coun Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “Sunderland has a strong association with light, so it’s fitting that the new spaces we are creating as we transform the city centre should feature it so spectacularly in their design.

“There’s a quality to the design of our new buildings that points to the ambition we have for this city.

“We want our residents to see exceptional buildings because we want to create an exceptional city. And that applies to every new space we create.”

Groundwork to prepare the area started in November 2022, with construction partner Sir Robert McAlpine and car park specialist Goldbeck working on the main structure of the MSCP, which will deliver parking provision to support the city centre, in particular people who will live, work and play at Riverside Sunderland as the development moves forward.

Some 10,000 new jobs are expected to be created at Riverside Sunderland, with 1,000 new homes also set to be built and a range of new leisure developments including Culture House – a new interactive, immersive library – and Sheepfolds Stables, a food and drink venue on the edge of Stadium Park.

A new Eye Hospital, replacing Sunderland Eye Infirmary, will also locate on the Riverside Sunderland site, meaning spaces in the cashless car park will be well-used by residents, commuters and visitors.