onAsphalt

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Holey Asphalt
Kris Lucius
Prototypes with Aggregate Industries, Chelmsford, Massachusetts
2008
Asphalt Option Studio | Paula Meijerink | Harvard Graduate School of Design
Photos by Kris Lucius

Conventional wisdom would have us believe that asphalt surfaces and natural systems are mutually exclusive. Asphalt spaces are impervious, continuous and smooth, with no traces of nature left. This project challenges this dichotomy by exploring hydrological systems, recharging ground water and spontaneous vegetation. A water table solution for impermeable surface lots, PVC-permeation can be applied to existing asphalt lots. Holes of variable diameter are core drilled into the asphalt, and Exterior Rigid PVC - available in virtually any size, color, or shape imaginable - is inserted. The PVC holes can be filled with porous material, stone, planting soil, or even specialized permeable asphalt pavement. Further potential exists for a sub-sub-strata of aggregate that can host microbes for in-situ bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons.