Roads are a critical element in the design of site infrastructure. They provide vital access to the outside world, help to knit developments together and create living, breathing communities. By connecting buildings and spaces and providing links to car parks and transport interchanges, roads are the key to unlocking the potential in a project, whatever its size or location.

Buro Happold has a long track record in road construction projects around the world. These range from regeneration schemes and building developments to commissions for the construction of public highways. Our long experience of meeting the needs of both private developers and local authorities ensure our designs comply with the latest planning requirements for road schemes.

As well as being able to travel easily to and from a site, people need to be directed to well lit, safe and accessible car parks. The car park is often the first experience a visitor has of a development, and first impressions count… Our designers work as part of a team with architects and others to provide well-engineered car parking solutions that range from surface and above-ground multi storey structures to basement car parks associated with major building projects.

A car park should be welcoming and user-friendly, with clear circulation routes and bays that are easy to drive in and out of. It should also be open, brightly lit and attractive to make visitors feel safe and visible. One of the structural engineering challenges is to limit the number of columns, as these can obstruct drive paths and make it difficult to park. The quality of the car park environment often determines its profitability, either as a stand-alone unit or as the entry point to (say) a shopping complex.

As a company at the forefront of environmentally responsible development, Buro Happold always aims to implement sustainable transport solutions. By carefully integrating roads and car parks with public transport, cycleways and footpaths our urban designs can help to reduce dependence on the car and give the travelling public alternative, ‘greener’ ways of getting from A to B, perhaps by completing their journey using several means of transport.