LASN is a photographically oriented, professional journal featuring topics of concern and state-of-the-art projects designed or influenced by registered Landscape Architects.
Issue link: https://landscapearchitect.epubxp.com/i/150657
hardscapes (Continued from page 20) various materials used on site. Segmental paving – specifically concrete unit pavers – can accommodate many elements, including multiple shapes, solid colors, blended colors and surface textures that can stand alone or be combined to meet a designer's intent. The selection and ability to combine these concrete paver shapes, colors and textures are unequaled in architectural paved surfaces. Standards & Specifications Top, Left With over 5 million square feet of interlocking concrete pavement in service since 2004, the surfacing at the Port of Oakland, Calif., supports wheel loads 5 to 10 times heavier than highway trucks. Top, Right The Pavestone pavers that cover the streets in downtown Hamilton, Ontario, have been supporting traffic, snow, salt and plows since 2002. Above Built to replace worn asphalt pavement in 1985, this interlocking concrete pavement street in Dayton, Ohio, enhanced the neighborhood's historic character. Although installation costs are typically higher than asphalt, segmental concrete pavers can save municipalities and homeowners money on maintenance costs because of the ease and rarity of replacing the interlocking stones. 22 Landscape Architect and Specifier News Significant progress has been made in developing standard practices for concrete pavers in vehicular applications. For example, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) standard for the structural design of interlocking concrete pavements – ASCE/T&DI;/ICPI 58-10 – was published in 2010 for the installation of municipal streets and roadways. The Interlocking Concrete Paver Institute (ICPI) has established a pavement condition index (PCI), a distress manual and an ASTM standard practice (ASTM E2480-11) for PCI surveys of interlocking concrete roads and parking lots. All of these validate concrete pavers as a cost effective and high performance pavement system. All building materials have a design life and are subject to incorrect design and use of inferior materials and or construction practices. Any building material, whether used for a vertical or horizontal surface, has to have proper design elements, use steadfast materials and be constructed properly to prevent failures. Specifications are only as good as the enforcement of those specifications. The ICPI has a full complement of concrete paver specifications, but the challenge is continuing education. Educating specifiers, installation contractors and general contractors is essential in expanding the use of segmental paving, and, ultimately, the surfacing's end-use performance. One area of the ICPI's educational focus is the Quality Control/Quality Assurance authority, and/or the involvement and inclusion of project inspectors. Typically, segmental paving product installation and application is not common knowledge for building inspectors. The ICPI is dedicated to providing education and resources for all of these stakeholders.