At the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company's new brewery in Mills River, N.C., protection of the neighboring water supply was essential to the planning and construction process. Limestone colored Aqua Roc II permeable pavers were selected for the majority of the parking lot for their low solid reflexivity index (SRI), which decreases the possibility of creating a heat island effect that could harm the surrounding ecosystem. The pavers were installed in a herringbone pattern that used half-sized pavers to mark parking stalls and lines. (Photo credit: Kevin M. James)

 

Leftover half-sized pavers from the parking lot were used to fashion a beer bottle shaped walkway for the employee area of the facility. According to landscape architect and designer Drake Fowler, keeping a consistent joint when cutting permeable interlocking concrete pavers (PICP) can be a challenge, so using half pavers was ideal for this project.

Named after the favorite hiking grounds of founder Ken Grossman, the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company has had a commitment to the environment since day one. With a firmly held belief that the best beer is born of the purest ingredients, their environmentally conscious business model holds particular respect for the purity of mountain water, since it is their principle water source and makes up more than 90% of their beer products.

When planning their second location above the French Broad River in the Appalachian Mountains in Mills River, N.C., the Grossman family insisted the facility take the utmost care in protecting the neighboring water supply, both during and after construction.

''We worked to set up not just a porous pavement system, but something that linked the pavers to the rain garden that linked to the underground system,'' described designer Drake Fowler. ''By using these different systems, the same natural drainage that existed before they were here is maintained, and even water from the rooftop feeds into the system so that most stormwater gets reused, like for irrigation or flushing toilets.''

In addition to reducing stormwater runoff, the targeted LEED platinum pavement design also had to withstand heavy vehicular traffic, be ADA compliant, and offer a favorable solid reflexivity index (SRI) that would decrease the risk of creating a heat island effect. In order to meet all of the environmental, aesthetic, and functional needs of this project, a blend of Belgard Aqua Roc II permeable interlocking concrete pavers (PICP) were selected for their ability to address all of these construction goals in one product.

The 147,000 square foot PICP system, however, was only the first part of a coordinated stormwater management system that incorporated rain gardens, a cistern, and an overflow dry stream bed with a series of 20 checked dams, all designed to filter water to make sure no sediments or pollutants get to the river. ''It's an amazing system. Surface water is not an issue. With PICP, you can shoot a fire hose at it, and it permeates. But if the cistern overflows due to heavy rain, we want to treat that water and control its route to the river,'' Fowler said.

The blend of walkway paver colors, including Ardennes gray, slate and Westerwood blend, mimic the architectural details of the building's fa?????ade. So far, 147,000 square feet of PICP has been installed.

The complex stormwater management system incorporates several design elements that filter and clean rainwater before it is returned to the existing natural systems. In addition to the permeable pavement system and underground cistern, the stormwater collection system includes rain barrels that collect roof water and reuse it for irrigation and flushing. During heavy rains, the stormwater management system is designed to flow into a man-made stream bed that includes a series of 20 checked dams designed to filter water of sediments and pollutants on its way down to the French Broad River.

One particular project goal was especially challenging to meet. Sierra Nevada wanted to protect the beauty of the surrounding viewshed and look as though their brewery had always existed as a part of the surrounding natural landscape. Creating a landscape design that already looked mature and natural required the hardscape and landscaping phases to be pushed to an earlier part of the overall construction schedule.

''We were putting driveways in while they were still framing the buildings,'' said Rob Atema, landscape contractor of Rivertop Contracting, Inc. ''It was a logistical challenge, but we got it done.''

According to Atema, the heavy construction traffic would have caused unsightly and costly damage to traditional pavement, but because the PICP system was constructed of individual pavers that distribute weight differently than traditional pavement and can be easily replaced if individually damaged, construction traffic was not an issue.

However, weather complications did wreak havoc on the production schedule when twice the amount of usual rainfall occurred during construction. "We had delay after delay, but Belgard stored the material until we were able to work," said Atema, whose crews worked weekends to make up the time.

Current hardscape applications on the property include driveways, parking lots, crosswalks, and a plaza. A blend of four different paver colors were used in the design: Ardennes gray, slate, Westerwood blend, and limestone. For the overwhelming majority of the project, the limestone paver color was selected due to its SRI index and ability to reduce the possibility of creating a heat island effect, which could otherwise increase the temperature of runoff and potentially harm the ecosystem.

The parking lot design incorporated a herringbone pattern that called for the use of half-sized pavers for the parking stalls and lines.

''When you cut PICP, it's hard to keep a consistent joint, so using those half pavers here was good,'' Fowler said. The team used the leftover half-sized pavers to create a beer bottle-shaped design in the employee break area.

Although only phase one of the brewery construction has been completed, the pavement design has already won two national awards. The Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute (ICPI) awarded the project first place for PICP Commercial Design in the 2014 Hardscape North America Project Awards. In addition, the project earned a merit award from the 2014 PLANET National Landscape Awards of Excellence.

Additional work is still in the design phase for a pub and music venue that will include an outdoor terrace, beer garden, and amphitheater. The expansion project will incorporate an estimated additional 15-20,000 square feet of pavers and is planned to begin construction in the spring of 2015.