Bituchem Sees First Application Of New Porous Material

Posted by Chris Sullivan on Tuesday, 21 April 2015 at 18:10:16

Filed under: Bitumen

Hard landscaping specialists, Bituchem has completed the first application of its advanced Natratex Cotswold Porous material at the recently redeveloped Royal William Yard in Plymouth. Approximately 2000sq.m of the porous material was applied to the ‘secret garden’ car park, giving both a practical and aesthetically pleasing finish to the site.

Designed by Dartington-based Gillespie Yunnie Architects the new car park is situated within a number of Grade II listed walls, formerly a Grade I listed Nursery Walled Garden. The 140-space car park has used Bituchem’s Natratex Cotswold Porous material as well as real grass with plastic trays for reinforcement, to give the entire car park a natural drainage system.

Will Hoare, architect at Gillespies Yunnie, commented. “Due to the nature of the site there were some planning restrictions put in place with the design of the new car park in terms of appearance and sustainability. It was particularly important that the new car park maintained the natural aesthetics of the Nursery Garden without using normal drainage systems. We found that Bituchem’s Natratex Cotswold Porous material offers a solution to both of these requirements and we are really pleased with the outcome.”

The Natratex Cotswold Porous material is particularly suitable for applications on sites with preservation restrictions, due to the lack of deep earth work needed. This also makes the application and maintenance of the material significantly easier than other infiltration systems. The application does not require any additional drainage systems which reduces the overall time and cost of the project.

Bituchem re-designed its popular Natratex Cotswold material to replicate natural infiltration methods, in response to the demand for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS). The asphalt material is laid on a porous receiving layer and has an open structure to allow water to permeate through the surface into the ground and eventually finding its way to a natural water source. The material has been designed to remove the need for conventional drainage systems, thus eliminating the likelihood of blocked drains and water contamination.

Natratex Cotswold Porous is suitable for areas that see pedestrian and light vehicular use and are susceptible to flooding, such as car parks, footpaths, recreational parks and residential roads. The material is crafted using colour co-ordinated aggregate and pigments available in a range of colours, combined with a clear binder to provide an attractive and durable hard landscaping surface.

The new car park at the Royal William Yard is just one part of the redevelopment of the Plymouth landmark led by developers, Urban Splash. The project has been taking place for a number of years and has introduced a range of commercial, residential and leisure areas, including a large variety of restaurants, making it the perfect socialising environment for locals and tourists.

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