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Beyond the Building LANDSCAPE PRODUCT SUPPLIERS CONTINUE TO DIVERSIFY AND EXPAND by Godfrey Budd S Success breeds success, it is said, and the adage seems to hold true across a wide spectrum of human endeavour. But in the case of landscape products, you can, it seems, have too much of good thing. When the demand for something rare or unique surfaces, as it does in the landscape products sector, you can bet that a popular product won't be selected. For example, clients are looking for alternatives to the popular split-face concrete block products that have been around since the mid-1980s, says Ernie Bone, B.C. sales manager for Basalite Concrete Products. "Its biggest drawback is that it's everywhere. People want an alternative," he says. The new Stonebridge product line that Basalite makes under license from Rosetta Hardscapes could be just the sort of alternative for retaining walls that clients will go for. Apart from cap and corner units, each block is the same size with an interlocking component that functions similarly to other retaining wall blocks. The face of the blocks varies with threeinch-deep chiseled relief and 30 unique stone textures. "It precisely mimics the look of chiseled natural rock. The face of the block gets its individual look or shape from the mold. It can be used on retaining walls up to 16 feet high. We see this as a high-end garden or backyard look, with various uses, from garden walls to high, structural retaining walls," says Bone. After a test run in January, production began in April, says Bone, who notes that the Stonebridge blocks are available in a range of colours. "We've shown the line to some dealers and contractors and the feedback has been positive," he says. The demand for a unique look, via customization, is a factor in many projects at Kate Holland Landscape Accessories Ltd. despite the fact the irm offers a seemingly full spectrum of landscape products from imported Asian pottery and decorative sculptural products like lions and gargoyles to site furnishings ranging from planters to picnic tables. "There's a lot more demand for custom products. Architects come to us with a design and we make it, so the client gets a unique product," says Nic Pook, a sales representative at Kate Holland. The irm has recently done work for UBC, the town of Whistler and several other municipalities. Park benches and planters are some of the products that the irm has delivered to institutional and corporate clients. "It often comes down to a look they want but can't ind in a catalogue. Or a particular site may have certain requirements regarding the size of the planter, or a style they want. For example, a client may need a planter to be higher or it into a corner. We do custom ibreglass planters but they are more expensive. So we do lots of custom steel as it's more cost effective," says Pook. Larger projects of many kinds, from Vancouver condo developments to university buildings and municipal infrastructure projects across the country, are seeing increased demand for permeable paving systems. As extreme weather events associated with climate change become more frequent, and lash loods because of overloaded stormwater systems become an increasingly common occurrence, municipalities are facing increased costs for stormwater management. But, instead of adding capacity and shouldering the attendant higher costs, likely to be passed on to rate-payers in higher taxes, some municipalities are mandating that large new Landscape Products p.18-27Landscape_Masonry.indd 19 projects, including strip malls and of ice complexes, include measures to reduce water run-off into the municipal stormwater system. Permeable paving systems, perhaps with a iltration component, are widely viewed as a way to limit run-off and abate lash- lood risk in many builtup environments. In most traditional types of paving, the stability of the paving surface is, in part, maintained by the exclusion of water from the ground underneath. The trouble with this, of course, is that, besides channelling runoff into the stormwater system and increasing the risk of lash looding, the area of impermeable surfaces affects natural water catchment systems, reducing the amount of water reaching aquifers. Also, stormwater run-off from urban areas often contains contaminants that can deteriorate the water quality of rivers, streams, and lakes into which it lows. So, in general, the rule is, the less stormwater run-off the better. The structural integrity and functionality of modern permeable paving systems are also making them a preferred choice for reducing pollution, erosion, erosion and heat-island effect in roads, parking lots, walkways, ports and driveways. "We're seeing increasing demand for permeable paving. The permeable paver is part of a system. Water goes through gaps that are illed with aggregate that allows for drainage," says Vito Lore, a senior manager and business development specialist at Mutual Materials. The company, says Lore, has been making permeable pavers for about 10 years, and the latest in its line-up of permeable paving goes under the trade name, Eco-Priora. With patented interlocking spacer lugs, the new system is designed for solid structural performance that supports motor vehicle traf ic. One permeable paving system, called AquaPave, and sold under license in western Canada by Abbotsford Concrete Products, includes a iltration system that can remove 99 per cent of oil and hydrocarbons and "up to 97 per cent of heavy metals," according to the AquaPave website. A paving system igures prominently in the landscaped area surrounding a new library at the University of Calgary. New roadways and walkways were built with pavers in white (55 per cent) and grey, covering an area of about 10,000 square metres of campus surface. Designed to accommodate pedestrians and a range of vehicle sizes including heavy garbage trucks, the patented VS 5 paver system, manufactured by Expocrete Concrete Products Ltd., has narrow joints for pedestrian convenience or a smooth ride in a wheelchair, and an interlocking system for stability in handling heavier loads. An Expocrete case study of the library paving project says that the white paving component "will help achieve the LEED SScr7.1 [non-roof Heat Island] credit." Eco-Priora permeable pavers from Mutual Materials, available in 100 by 200 and 200 by 200-millimetre sizes. JUNE 2012 /19 5/25/12 11:41:45 AM

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