Sylvia Park SEM car park

One of four major concurrent projects that our Auckland team completed at Sylvia Park shopping centre, the South Eastern Multideck (SEM) car park is a five-level car park building with space for 900 cars.

The new car park not only connects to existing and new parts of the mall on both the ground and first floors, it has a link bridge spanning the national rail corridor for access directly off Carbine Road. Preparation for the project included demolition of a two-way arterial bridge over the rail corridor. Meticulous planning played a large part in the successful completion of major works right over a busy railway line!

Other challenges successfully overcome by our team during this project include the relocation of a high voltage switch farm and transformers, relocation of a high-pressure gas main, maintaining then relocating a live loading bay, and maintaining a fire egress route through the middle of the construction site. We managed to maintain the rail corridor, critical council infrastructure and shopping centre services throughout – all in a live, seven-day a week retail environment.

Sitting on 156 eight to 28 metre-long bored piles (depending on the basalt thickness at each location), the cladding on the steel and ComFlor car park is a two-tone lightweight punched aluminium system. The building also contains a service lobby, lifts and two stairwells.

Yet another example of Naylor Love’s collaborative approach paying dividends in a complex live environment, we handed over the SEM car park five weeks ahead of schedule in May 2020.