Article,
Building Transformation for Precautionary Measures against COVID-19 Pandemic: Case of Off-Street Car Parking of Campuses
Sustainability, 14 (10): 6010 (May 2022)
DOI: 10.3390/su14106010
Abstract
COVID-19 set off a problem for businesses due to an unbalanced utilization of buildings,
services, and utilities. Thus, some countries reduced the length of the quarantine period and returned
to natural life earlier than necessary to allow the economy and businesses to survive. This research
aims to review the standards of off-street car parking (OSCP) for higher education institutes (HEIs)
and examine the possibility of the transformation of the car parking buildings. Secondary and
descriptive research approaches have been applied, and OSCP standards of different countries
have been reviewed to identify the challenges facing the transformation design process in terms of
standard dimensions, finishing materials, building envelope, illumination, ventilation, and technical
installations. OSCP of Kingdom University (KU) in Bahrain has been analysed for proposing the
rescheduling of space planning and accommodating a certain number of in-person attendance
students as per the three situations of the COVID-19 pandemic. The author concluded that OSCP
spaces of the HEIs are the most feasible building for design transformation in terms of rescheduling
the space planning, but it is not very achievable in terms of affordability due to much adaptation
being required and additional technical installations. At least 68% of the area of OSCP is used for
circulation and services. Future studies seeking the feasibility of smart rotary car parking to save
such a huge area of car circulation in the traditional OSCP building are recommended.
