Aluminium Facades for Car Parks and Parking Structures

Car parks are rarely the most considered part of a building’s facade - but they are almost always visible. Whether standalone or sitting beneath residential floors, the car park facade needs to manage ventilation, screen vehicles from view, and present as a coherent part of the broader composition. Aluminium systems handle all three.

What NCC requirements apply to car park facades?

Car parks are classified as Class 7a under the NCC. The construction type required depends on the building’s rise in storeys. Multi-storey car parks of four or more storeys require Type A construction, which means external walls and their components must be non-combustible.

This applies even to open-deck car parks. While the ventilation provisions for open structures are different from enclosed ones, insurers and certifiers often still expect non-combustible screening materials as a condition of approval or coverage - particularly where the car park is part of a mixed-use development with residential or commercial floors above.

All Valmond & Gibson aluminium systems - conneQt battens, interloQ rainscreen panels, and element13 solid panels - are non-combustible, tested to AS 1530.1. This keeps the compliance pathway straightforward and avoids the fire engineering assessments that combustible screening materials can trigger.

How do car parks meet ventilation requirements?

AS 1668.2 governs natural ventilation for car parks. The standard requires permanent natural ventilation openings on at least two opposing or adjacent walls, with the total opening area calculated as a percentage of the floor area served. The intent is adequate dilution and exhaust of vehicle emissions - carbon monoxide in particular.

conneQt aluminium battens are the natural solution. Battens at designed spacings provide permanent open area between each element, satisfying the ventilation requirement while screening the car park interior. The spacing is calculated to meet both the required open-area percentage and the visual closure angle needed to screen parked vehicles and headlights from public view.

One system, two outcomes: ventilation compliance and architectural screening from the same installation.

Which systems work on car park facades?

conneQt battens - the primary system for screening and ventilation zones

conneQt is the workhorse on car park projects. Aluminium battens at regular spacings on a steel or aluminium subframe create the permeable facade that car parks require, handling large repetitive wall areas efficiently.

Spacings are adjustable to meet specific ventilation open-area requirements while achieving the desired screening effect
Available in a range of profiles and sizes, giving architects control over rhythm, depth, and shadow line
Powder coat and anodised finishes tie the car park into the broader building palette
Lightweight and fast to install across large wall areas

interloQ - where the car park meets the building

On mixed-use projects, the car park often sits at podium level beneath residential or commercial floors. At the transition between car park and occupied building - and on street-facing elevations where a solid, architectural facade is expected rather than open screening - interloQ’s interlocking rainscreen panels present the car park as part of the building rather than as an afterthought.

This is common where the car park facade wraps a corner onto a main street frontage, or where the podium needs to read as a unified base beneath the tower above.

element13 - feature panels and wayfinding

element13 solid aluminium panels work well at car park entries, stair cores, and wayfinding zones where a flat, precise panel finish is needed. A contrasting colour or finish at entries helps with legibility and gives the structure a sense of address. Over 30 standard colours including woodgrains and metallics provide the accent options to turn a utilitarian entry into a considered design element.

Why does aluminium suit the car park environment?

Car parks are tough on materials. Vehicle exhaust contains acidic compounds. Water runs through constantly - rain on open decks, vehicles dripping after wet weather, washdowns. In coastal areas, vehicles carry salt spray into the structure on their bodywork.

Aluminium’s natural oxide layer provides inherent corrosion resistance in these conditions. Combined with powder coat or anodised finishes, aluminium systems hold up without the rust, staining, or degradation that affects less durable materials. No repainting cycle and no structural corrosion risk - a meaningful advantage on a building element exposed to vehicle traffic and moisture daily for decades.

Practical design considerations

Batten spacing and visual closure. The design challenge on a car park facade is balancing open area for ventilation with sufficient visual closure to screen vehicles. Tighter batten spacing screens more effectively but reduces ventilation area. Wider spacing improves airflow but reveals the car park interior. Getting this balance right - often through facade engineer input and mock-up review - is worth the time early in design.

Integration with adjacent uses. Where the car park sits within a mixed-use building, the transition between permeable screening and solid facade needs careful detailing. Using the same material family (aluminium) across both the screening zones and the solid facade zones simplifies the junction details and creates visual continuity.

Lighting and security. Permeable aluminium screening allows natural light into the car park during the day, reducing energy costs for artificial lighting. At night, the screening contains interior lighting glow while maintaining the ventilation that the structure requires year-round.

Getting started

For architects and developers working on car park or mixed-use projects, Valmond & Gibson provides ventilation-compliant screening solutions, solid facade systems for adjoining building elements, and the compliance documentation that certifiers expect. The team can help with batten spacing calculations, system selection across different facade zones, and coordination between screening and solid facade areas.

Contact our team to discuss your project, or explore our product range to see how conneQt, interloQ, and element13 work across different building types.

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Working on a car park or mixed-use project? Our team can help with ventilation-compliant screening, facade system selection, and the documentation your certifier needs. Talk to our team today.

Last updated: 4 April 2026

Aluminium Facades for Car Parks and Parking Structures