NEW CAR PARK RISING FROM THE GROUND

The start of the new year saw a renewed effort to continue the construction of the multi-storey underground car park at the front of Canterbury. The basement level of the car park has been completed and workers are progressing upwards, one concrete level after another. 

During the mammoth effort of building this new car park, architects have used new technology to install the large column footings via specially-made concrete column forming tubes which hold in the concrete as it sets. This new system offers advantages over traditional methods and reduces build time because it is easier and quicker to pour and set concrete. The larger column footings are necessary to future-proof the area for potential redevelopment above the site. 

Above Bakehouse Café, advanced work is continuing to complete the shell of the future cocktail bar. Large glass panes have been fitted around the shell to weather-proof the area and separate the indoor section from the balcony which will eventually turn into a luxurious outdoor terrace. The external area has been further softened with planter boxes full of plants that wrap around the terrace, tying its landscape design to Bakehouse Café’s greenery underneath it. 

Builders are working in tandem to complete the offices above the cocktail bar as well. Once the third level has been completed, the team will move into their new offices; their old space will be demolished to make way for the new showroom and function rooms in the next phase of development. The new showroom will have capacity to seat 450 guests buffet style or 700 guests cocktail style and will be able to host larger entertainment acts.  

On the western side of the Club, work is still continuing to join the new extension to the current edge of the building which has seen a lot of progress since the last Journal. The majority of the roof structure has already been installed, new exhaust ducts have been turned on, and the remaining gantry support steelwork as patrons drive into the car park has been removed. 

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