The Middle East has been characterized in recent years as a region increasingly fond of architectural feats, as is the case of the world’s largest robotic parking lot, which serves the large judicial complex Al Jahra Court in Kuwait.
A nation that joins the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in its commitment to XXXL mega-constructions, with this massive 14-story building with a total built area of almost 104,900 m2. So big is the enclosure that in early 2018 the World Guinness Records recognized it as the largest automated parking lot on the planet, a merit with which it is still listed today on the institution’s website.
Although the really interesting thing about this robotic parking garage lies in its intricate system of elevators, conveyors and sophisticated programming algorithms. When a driver arrives at the parking garage, a state-of-the-art scanning system identifies the vehicle and assigns an optimal location within the complex.
From here, the magic of automation takes over, as carefully synchronized robotic lifts lift and place vehicles in their assigned location, maximizing the utilization of available space. This mechanical choreography is carried out with astonishing precision, ensuring that each vehicle is quickly accessible and ready for retrieval.
The structure has more than 2,300 automated parking spaces.
The massive facility was designed as a combination of 684 concrete ramp parking spaces with 2,314 automated overhead spaces. In addition, the robotic parking system provides nearly 3.5 times as many vehicle storage spaces in approximately the same volume.
This according to Robotic Parking Systems, the company that was responsible for the design, machinery and automation of the parking garage, which also claims that the maximum traffic throughput for this robotic system is 425 cars per hour delivered through the 12 entry and exit spaces that service the garage. A capacity to deliver almost 7 cars every minute.
The Al Jahra Court represents a monumental milestone in the field of parking space automation and management. With its unparalleled capacity and efficiency, this project not only set a Guinness World Record, but also set a new standard for the design and implementation of parking solutions in the 21st century.
While the Al Jahra Court parking garage is striking in its size, capabilities and operation, it is not the first record-breaking robotic parking garage in the Middle East, nor will it be the last. In fact, Robotic Parking Systems had already been commissioned to design a similar parking garage for Emirates Financial Towers in Dubai, with 1,191 vehicle spaces. Thanks to this considerable capacity, it was able to hold the title of “largest automated parking garage” for a while.
But both parking garages will be dwarfed by that of the New Kuwait Courthouse, which is intended to become one of the largest judicial buildings on the planet. And such an aspiration had to be accompanied by a modern parking lot to meet this enormous challenge.
On its website, the company explains that it is building a facility that will have 2,433 robotized spaces, which, once completed, will take the Guinness World Record from the Al Jahra. By November 2020, construction was already 42% complete.
“The project is located in a prime location in Kuwait City, on a 34,500 m2 plot of land. The building will have a floor area of 356,189 m2 and will feature 141 hearing rooms and offices on 25 floors. In addition, both conventional and automated parking will offer 2,741 parking spaces,” says the Pace architectural firm, which also notes that the project is still in progress.