After the floods, the changes. Or at least the reflections. If the DANA that shook the province of Valencia just a month ago demonstrated anything, it is that, during intense downpours, underground constructions can become a fatal trap. This was confirmed a few weeks ago by the Data Integration Center (CID), which in its death count contained a devastating idea: a good part of the victims who lost their lives during the torrential rains were found on the ground floors of homes, garages and basements. Hence there are already those who advocate a radical change in the parking model.
And there is a reference to which they point: the “Ikea model.”
The parking trap. The CID data is resounding. And they inevitably invite reflection. A good part of the more than 200 deaths left by DANA were found in low-lying buildings and, therefore, more exposed to floods and waterspouts. Specifically, of the 218 fatalities that the agency had recorded last week, 68 appeared on the ground floors of homes and 35 in parking lots and basements.
If those figures were not enough, the parking lots took on an unexpected role with the dance of information (and especially hoaxes) that revolved around the Bonaire parking lot, which kept a good part of the country in suspense for days. With all that on the table, it is not strange that, as I stated yesterday Levante-El Mercantilthere are Valencian urban planners and engineers who already advocate rethinking the current garage model. As? Review the regulations to ban subways and look for alternatives.
A fact for reflection: 3,125. Recently Sergio Palencia, professor of Urban Planning and Territorial Planning at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), had to do an estimated count to assess the damage to buildings with basements in the area affected by DANA and obtained a striking result. He got 3,125. That is, more than 3,100 residential, commercial and industrial buildings equipped with a basement. And most of these spaces, he points out, are dedicated to the same purpose: parking vehicles. “We have many basements in flood-prone areas,” he assumes in statements to the Valencian newspaper.
But… Aren’t they regulated? Yes. Although as engineers and urban planners from the region insist, what happened during DANA invites reflection at the very least. The first key is provided by Palencia himself: the “majority” of these basements are prior to the Valencian Community’s flood risk prevention plan, better known by its acronym, Patricova, approved in 2003 and which imposed limitations on low-rise buildings. . To be more precise, it allows basement or semi-basement floors in buildings in flood zones that are going to be dedicated to “intensive residential” use as long as they comply with certain conditions.
The buildings can include garages, but their access must be watertight and they must be equipped with a pumping system independent of the sewage network, with a generating set. It is not the only Patricova guideline, which requires that in constructions for residential, industrial, commercial or service uses, the floor level must be adjusted to a certain height.
The plan also outlines instructions related to the doors, windows and enclosures of the façade and the plot. In addition to Patricova, there is other related legislation, such as the municipal action plans for floods, Pamri. The big question that DANA has left behind is… Are they enough?
“It should be banned”. The phase returns to Palencia, who during his interview with Lift-EM is emphatic: “Building underground parking should be prohibited.” “There are alternatives such as high-rise parking, taking advantage of the space in block patios and even on the first floors of buildings,” highlights the expert. In his opinion, what happened should mark “a before and after” in urban planning.
The newspaper also cites experts who regret that, although there are resources that can mitigate the risks of flooding in garages, “they are not applied.” And this complaint, they specify, extends to both constructions already built and new works. “It is necessary to learn from mistakes and adapt the technical building codes so that it does not happen again,” agrees Pedro Calderón, an engineer also from the UPV, before remembering that today there is no “specific regulation” that prevents the construction of garages. underground in flood-prone areas.
Their opinion is once again the same, especially after what happened a month ago: city councils would have to make a move and in the future they should rethink the construction of surface or high-rise parking.
A model “made in Sweden”. It’s not all theory. The DANA has not only left a trail of victims, destruction and an open reflection on underground constructions. It has also given us a model of success, an architectural example of how a building can avoid the worst DANA of the century. And curiously, Ikea stars.
The Swedish multinational has a large premises in Alfafar, in the middle of DANA’s “ground zero”, which hardly suffered any damage compared to other buildings in its surroundings. In fact, at the end of October, just after the tragedy, it served as a refuge for hundreds of affected Valencians.
And how did he get it? It also explains it Lift-EM In this other chronicle: those responsible for building the structure were farsighted, they understood the risk that water posed and chose to rethink the project they already had on the table to avoid it. In other words, the fact that the Ikea in Alfafar came out much better from the DANA than other neighboring buildings was not the result of chance, but rather a deliberate decision to build the store at a height and the reformulation of the project.
The Scandinavian multinational proposed raising the store above ground level, getting one more floor than what was initially planned and thus ruling out underground construction. In fact, initially his idea was to create an underground parking facility. Thanks to an agreement with the owners of the land and a change in the Comprehensive Action Plan (PAI), he designed a building with four floors, in which the store would occupy the two upper levels and the lower ones would be reserved for access and parking. .
Time has shown that it was a wise decision. And it has turned it into an unexpected model that urban planners look at with interest after the DANA.
Images | WorldOfSoftware, IDP
Via | Levante-El Mercantil Valenciano
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