The office complexes at 16845 Von Karman Ave, Irvine California received an emergency vehicle access area that uses the Bomanite Grasscrete System. Bomanite Licensed contractor, T.B. Penick & Sons, Inc. worked with Wolcott Architecture to select the sustainable pervious concrete system that would work best with the intended use.
The Partially Concealed Grasscrete System is engineered to provide long-term durability, low maintenance and structural strength. Access around or to buildings for fire trucks or other emergency vehicles are typically concealed with grass and defined with curbs, bollards or landscaping to complement the design of the structures and walkways.
The combination of concrete, steel and aggregate interlock ensures that Grasscrete can bear isolated loads; such as downriggers placed in an emergency situation with no support blocks. The robustness of the system minimizes the potential for failure during critical use.
Grasscrete, pervious concrete, constructed with one time use formers is time proven. Because of its structural integrity and continuous reinforcing, Grasscrete is not subject to the differential settlement that can occur with precast blocks and thin plastic products. The sustainable Grasscrete Molded Pulp Former System, used for the office complex project, has been engineered and field proven to bear the continuous weight of up to 114,000 pound vehicles along with such customized applications as military tank use or light speed rail track access– even when the sub-base becomes saturated making this ideal for this Emergency Access area.
The owners of this grand estate in Essex County, Massachusetts installed several decorative concrete systems throughout their property. The estate contains an indoor swimming pool, BBQ house, several patios and courtyards, a Barn and two garages, plus a full indoor basketball court that doubles as a Hockey Rink.
After working with Premier Concrete Construction, LLC on their garage project and reviewing additional needs, the homeowner acquired their services for a Pervious Concrete System. The homeowner wanted a pervious cobblestone driveway for the tradesmen estate entrance. The driveway needed to reflect the exterior design of the home and be able to handle storm water runoff while supporting the weight and use of delivery vehicles.
Bomanite Grasscrete is the green alternative to standard concrete surfaces providing a variety of landscape solutions while maintaining a sustainable green product design used for emergency access lanes, delivery access routes, overflow parking areas, and for intermittent drainage channels that help prevent erosion.
Grasscrete has been used as an exposed utilitarian product for functional applications and as a concealed system with vegetation such as grass or native ground cover installed over the concrete allowing consumers to mitigate drainage issues while maintaining strong structural integrity for some of the heaviest vehicles to operate unencumbered. The Partially Concealed Grasscrete System provides the differential spacing you see with cobblestones giving the homeowner the look desired.
The Grasscrete single-use molded pulp formers were shaped and laid on the sub grade at approx. 1,300 sq. ft. to create the access for the service vehicles. Concrete was poured and placed over the formers and then voids were opened after the concrete hardened, allowing for grass to be planted. Grasscrete offers the ability to provide year-round access for a variety of applications requiring structural paving surfaces without compromising the aesthetics of the exterior landscaping.
AWARDS: Best Bomanite Grasscrete Project – Silver Award
Bomanite Grasscrete Systems provide a variety of landscape solutions while maintaining a sustainable, “Green” product design. As a cast-in-place, monolithic, pervious concrete pavement that is continuously reinforced to provide superior structural integrity, Grasscrete offers the ability to provide year-round access to a variety of applications without compromising surrounding aesthetics or environment.
Bomanite Licensed Contractor, Green Pervious Systems was contacted to provide a solution to an existing entry courtyard that was landscaped with gravel and plants. Due to heavy foot traffic across the landscaped areas it was impossible for the school to maintain the upkeep of the landscaping. Bomanite Grasscrete Systems was selected to replace the gravel courtyard for several reasons, first, it would allow for foot traffic across the courtyard without destroying the planted grass. Second, the courtyard receives storm water runoff from the surrounding buildings and Grasscrete allows the water to be absorbed rapidly in the confined courtyards and provides a porous surface to stockpile snow that is removed from the walks in the winter months.
The Grasscrete System consisted of a lose ¾” gravel aproximately 6” thick for the drain bed which was covered with a filter fabric / weed barrier. The filter fabric then was covered with a 2” sand leveling course for the Molded Pulp Formers. The formers are placed to grade and concrete is placed on the formers and screeded level with the tops. The concrete was given a broom finish and after the concrete had set the tops of the formers are removed and clean topsoil was used to fill the forms. The soil was left approximately ½” low to prevent compaction of the planting material from foot traffic. The forms were then filled with grass seed to complete the system.
Grasscrete offers the ability to provide year-round access for a variety of applications requiring structural paving surfaces without compromising the aesthetics of the exterior landscaping. Grasscrete is a very sustainable product that can employ a large recycled material content both in the form of aggregate and binder such as fly ash or slag—its lifespan is indefinite and can be recycled itself to form the aggregates for future Grasscrete applications; providing Specifiers with a truly sustainable, eco-friendly system to accommodate a variety of needs.
Approximately 10,000 square feet of Grasscrete was installed in NREL’s Central Arroyo Detention Pond by Bomanite Licensee, Colorado Hardscapes. NREL (Natioanl Renewable Energy Labatory) has had great success with the application of on-site pervious pavement systems to reduce site runoff and maintain predevelopment hydrologic conditions.
Over 59,000 square feet of pervious paving materials have been implemented on the STM campus in support of their living laboratory environment. Grasscrete allows the native planting in the pond to grow, protecting the root systems within the voids, and provides easy cleaning and scraping of the pond as needed without disrupting the pond’s shape and root system. The concrete was integrally colored an earthy brown tone to blend in with the natural surroundings. Grasscrete provided an excellent, continuously reinforced, cast-in-place pervious concrete solution for NREL.
The Design-Build team for the memorial to commemorate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. consisted of McKissack and McKissack, Turner Construction, Tompkins Builders and Gilford Corporation known as (MTTG). The site is adjacent to the President Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial on the Tidal Basin and in a direct line between the Lincoln Memorial, where Dr. King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, and the Jefferson Memorial, symbol of liberty and democracy.
The memorial honors Dr. King’s contributions to world peace through non-violent social change. Natural elements such as water, stone, and trees underscore the themes of justice, democracy, and hope. Quotes from Dr. King’s sermons and speeches capture the essence of his message in the commanding tenants of the American Dream – Freedom, Democracy, and Opportunity for All. The centerpiece of the Memorial, the “Stone of Hope”, features a 30-foot likeness of Dr. King.
Grasscrete was installed and is used for access to the back of the auxiliary building which houses the Martin Luther King Jr. bookstore, restrooms and a ranger station. The area is approx 2,000 square feet with the voids being planted with grass. The Grasscrete pour used a Buff Integral Color to provide a cohesiveness to the surroundings. The Grasscrete installation minimizes the non-pervious surfaces and includes a letdown between the sidewalk and street to allow daily access for the Park Ranger and maintenance vehicles.
PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS/INFORMATION
Description:
Denver Parks and Recreation was in need of a pervious, grassed pavement system for the maintenance access to the Barnum Wetlands Forebay. They sought out WHPacific, Inc. for recommendations. The vacuum truck used for maintenance weighs 103,000 lbs fully loaded. Grasscrete, a pervious concrete system designed to allow water to pass freely through while maintaining a structural integrity adequate to support the required vehicles was chosen.
The Grasscrete system selected can be purely functional or can be a concealed product that is both functional and pleasing in appearance. Grasscrete offers the end-user the ability to provide year-round access for a variety of applications requiring structural paving surfaces without compromising the aesthetics of their exterior landscaping and having to utilize traditional hard pavements, minimizing the need to control storm water runoff.
Grasscrete constructed with Molded Pulp Formers can be employed as a stabilization product for areas that experience seasonal runoff or storm water channeling. Pervious installations requiring maximum water capacity, such as those over rainwater harvesters or crushed stone reservoirs, are excellent applications for the Grasscrete product cast using the Molded Pulp Former. Grasscrete can be customized to suit a wide variety of applications, including, but not limited to, the elimination of retention ponds or utilization of retaining areas, flood plain for overflow parking and the management of sediment buildup such as adjacent to large storm water inlets.
Recently to handle stormwater coming off the adjacent Federal Boulevard, the Colorado Department of Transportation opted to build a new constructed wetland, to store the stormwater runoff before it ultimately reaches the 4-acre Barnum Park Reservoir. The newly created Barnum Park Wetlands now catches stormwater runoff from Federal Boulevard. The stormwater system first directs the runoff into a concrete basin, from which it drains into the wetland, which is approximately an acre in size. Any overflow from the wetland enters the Barnum Park Reservoir, just west of the project. Starting this summer the Grasscrete access road originally installed will be extended to the newly developed area.
For more information on the Barnum Park Wetlands visit:
http://www.erosioncontrol.com/EC/Editorial/Bringing_Back_the_Wetland_19112.apx
The Grasscrete System was selected for the project due to it’s LEED characteristics. Grasscrete Molded Pulp Formers were utilized for this project providing sustainability with their 100% recycled content and ability to degrade over time into the sub-soils. The selection of a Grasscrete System is one of the easiest ways to achieve LEED points due to the reduction in heat island effect, management of storm water runoff, recycled content used in the application process as well as the concrete and sub-base, the long lifespan and the low maintenance required. Grasscrete Systems are highly sustainable with a very low life-cycle cost and the ability to be completely recycled and used in a future project.
