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

Named after the favorite hiking grounds of founder Ken Grossman, the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company has been committed to the environment since day one. With a firmly held belief that the best beer is born of the purest ingredients, their business model respects the purity of mountain water, since it is their principle water source and makes up over 90% of their 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 care to protect the neighboring water supply both during and after construction.

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 permeable interlocking concrete pavers (PICP) has been installed.

"We worked to set up a porous pavement system and something that linked the pavers to the rain garden to the underground system," described designer Drake Fowler. "By using these different systems, the same natural drainage that existed before is maintained, and water from the rooftop feeds into the system so that most stormwater gets reused."

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. The 147,000 square foot PICP system was 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 make sure no sediments or pollutants get to the river.

The complex stormwater management system incorporates several design elements that all 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, all designed to filter water of sediments and pollutants on its way down to the French Broad River.

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 landscape contractor Rob Atema of Rivertop Contracting, Inc. "It was a logistical challenge, but we got it done. We had delay after delay, but Belgard stored the material until we were able to work." Atema's crews worked weekends to make up the time. A blend of four different paver colors were used in the design: Ardennes gray, slate, Westerwood blend, and limestone, which was used for the majority of the project 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.

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 PICP can be a challenge, so using half pavers was ideal for this project.

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 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. The project also earned a merit award from the 2014 PLANET National Landscape Awards of Excellence. Additional work is in the design phase and will incorporate an estimated additional 15-20,000 square feet of pavers. Construction will begin in the spring of 2015.