Case Study Nonprofit Picks Composite Pavers for Patio Project

This Application Saved     425 scrap tires     12,750 plastic bottles (And, stopped the manufacture of over 25,500 lbs of concrete.)    Learn More

Memorial Blood Centers is the local community blood bank that provides blood and blood components for over 30 hospitals in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area, northern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin. They collect, test and distribute more than 100,000 units of blood each year.

When Memorial Blood Centers moved from the original headquarters where it was founded in 1948, the new building required significant renovation. Two goals leading the renovation were to reuse as much of the existing facilities as possible, and, as a nonprofit, to minimize the financial impact. For example, they were able to take some solid wood chemistry benches left over from the previous owner's lab, plane them down and use them in the employee lounge.

"A good percentage of what we did in this building we reworked from the previous occupants," said Kyal Klawitter, manager of performance metrics and facilities for Memorial Blood Centers. "Reusing and recycling helps with the capital costs and is good for the environment."

Fitting into the goals for the renovation was the development of the employee patio using VAST composite pavers, made from 95% recycled materials such as car tires and milk jugs. "We wanted a place where employees could step out and get some fresh air," continued Klawitter. "We're putting picnic tables and gas grills out there. We're a small company with a family atmosphere, so we want a place for casual barbeques. The patio designed with the VAST pavers is just what we wanted."

Green By Design

Doug Wild, of BWBR Architects, a full-service St. Paul architectural and interior design firm, managed the renovation project, including the patio design. "We've had a long-time interest in sustainable design – including the use of products with either low life cycle cost or recycled content. The use of the VAST pavers with the Memorial Blood Centers project was a good fit.

"There's a lot to love about these pavers," added Wild. "The range of colors and look are great." VAST pavers are available in a variety of natural and custom colors, and can be used together in a limitless number of patterns and blends. Specially designed colorants provide a long-lasting "always wet" look, unlike traditional concrete pavers which can appear chalky with age or require repeated applications of toxic sealers.

"Secondly, the scale of the pavers is a really attractive feature," continued Wild. "People look at the patio and can get a sense of the individual pieces laid out by hand. One of the reasons bricks are the size they are is that they fit into the bricklayer's hand. In a similar manner, VAST pavers provide a scale that people can relate to and are comfortable with. It's an innate relationship people have with their surroundings. These pavers fit that formula."

The 'green' factor was one of the most appealing reasons BWBR's design team specified the VAST composite paver system. "The high percentage of post-consumer recycled materials is a unique characteristic. There's no other paver product out there quite like it. Overall, a building project involves many different processes and products. To green up the whole construction process, you incorporate it wherever you can. VAST allowed us to take advantage of a green building initiative in the patio, and achieve a durable, beautiful result."

A Lucky Break

A fortunate miscalculation during installation meant that the patio project had enough leftover pavers to also be used near the entryway of the Memorial Blood Centers main doors. The area was planned to be landscaped, but there was no immediate budget for that part of the project. "We didn't have the funds for what we originally planned, so we used the VAST pavers instead," said Klawitter. "Actually, it turned out even better."

The VAST pavers were installed in an area surrounding three flagpoles and sunken spotlights. "In the patio area, things were nice and square, continued Klawitter. "It's easy to put rectangular blocks into a square area. But the flagpole area has a big arc to it and in-ground lights. They had to cut around a lot of non-square components. That could have caused some problems, but there were none. It's modeled around all those features. It's perfect."

VAST pavers use a patent-pending grid system that takes the frustration and difficulty out of manually setting and aligning heavy concrete pavers. First, grids are placed on an even, compacted base, similar to that used by conventional concrete pavers. Next, VAST pavers are inserted into the grid system in any desired pattern – the alignment is automatic. The pavers are secured using a flat-plate compactor, and finally, sand is swept into the paver joints to complete the installation.

Tough Under Foot

At just one-third the weight of concrete, VAST pavers are durable under foot traffic and light vehicle traffic. And unlike concrete, VAST pavers absorb almost no water and won't crack in cold weather climates.

At Memorial Blood Centers, Klawitter is pleased with the pavers' performance. "Our areas get a lot of foot traffic. They get shoveled in the winter, and get a lot of sand and salt. We've had no issues. And they didn't pop up in the Minnesota freeze/thaw cycle – they're flat and in place. They look just as good today as when they were installed."

That look has even fooled some professionals. "We've had other architects go through the building and they're convinced the pavers are concrete until they get down and start to feel them. When they hear that the VAST pavers are made from recycled tires they have a whole different vision in their minds until they try to scratch them with their fingernails. Then they're sold."

Klawitter is keeping the VAST pavers in mind as the Memorial Blood Centers plans future expansions. "We're an organization whose livelihood is based on good community relations, and using materials that are recycled is important to the community. It fits our culture."

VAST composite pavers are available beginning in Spring of 2007 from Certified VAST Resellers and Installers. For more details, contact us.

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