Unveiling Pervious Concrete

By Paul Fournier
June 25, 2007
New England Construction
Demonstration project reveals secrets about sustainable but relatively unknown material

A Sutton, Mass., pavement demonstration conducted as part of an industry seminar provided designers, contractors and materials producers with important tips on using pervious concrete, a building material fast gaining recognition for its stormwater management and sustainable characteristics.

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Typically, the use of pervious concrete in the U.S. has been for the most part limited to low-traffic-volume pavements, but there have been applications for parking lots, tennis courts and as base for high-volume pavements. In Europe, the material has even been used for structural applications, for example, in bearing walls for buildings up to 10 stories tall.

Unlike traditional concrete, pervious concrete has a significant amount of interconnected voids