SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/49194
Facility&Operations Modern field design: "Asphalt to Green" Editor's note: This article was written by Megan Rinebarger of Engineered Sportfield Solutions. T HROUGHOUT URBAN AREAS in the United States, green space has become scarce leaving many schools and recreation programs searching for a suitable solution. From coast to coast, demand has grown to the point where more than 800 multi-use syn- thetic turf sports fields are installed annu- ally in North American alone. The majority of these projects replace existing natural fields to increase daily playability. A new design concept for synthetic turf fields is now coming to the surface for owners and institutions with limited space. The Asphalt to Green (A2G) synthetic field concept was developed by Engineered Sportfield Solutions (ESS) to replace exist- ing impervious areas of asphalt or concrete into much needed viable green space to re- vitalize communities in an urban setting. New York, Los Angeles, and other major metropolitan cities have turned to innovative ways to convert their overly abundant impervious areas into modern synthetic turf athletic playing fields. In particular, New York City Parks and Recre- ation has fully embraced the practice of turning asphalt or concrete areas to "green" for their public parks. The A2G turf system has been paramount in ensur- ing these easily converted parks maintain safety and performance. The A2G system uses Sport DrainMax to provide drainage and shock attenuation in one layer. Sport DrainMax has been specifically developed for drainage directly under synthetic turf, offering enhanced performance while providing impact pro- tection. It lends itself to the designer's plan by enhancing environmental sustainability and water conservation while improving today's synthetic turf design. Most syn- thetic turf surfaces are a compromise be- tween performance and safety; Sport Drain- Max allows you to create a surface with ex- ceptional Gmax and performance values. In 2011, Pomona College in Claremont, CA completed construction of the new ath- letic facility that includes a full-size athletic field to accommodate lacrosse and soccer atop a two-level parking structure. The school, like most, was trying to maximize their footprint and functional needs. The structure was designed for sustainability and includes a variety of green building fea- tures. In keeping with the plan, the parking structure specialist Watry Design, Inc. of The escalating need for durable fields that accommodate multiple sports and the inability to expand have prompted a rising number of facilities to look for modern alter- natives to the traditional. Redwood City, WA teamed up with Lloyd Consulting Group of Phoenix to create a sport field with a best practice approach, satisfying all the needs of their customer. They selected Sport DrainMax to be placed directly over the concrete deck and mem- brane, eliminating the need for any natural aggregate materials required for drainage. In 2009, Georgetown Day School com- pleted a similar structure, located in the center of our nation's capital, where the school is challenged for open space. The need for additional parking drove the school to construct a synthetic turf athletic field on the top of the parking garage. An A2G synthetic turf system was selected and the project was completed on time with an aggressive schedule. The field is now being enjoyed by a variety of sport programs. Dozens of smaller projects are continu- ally being constructed nationwide. The Edi- son School in Brighton, MA just completed converting an existing tennis court to a syn- thetic turf surface using Sport DrainMax as the drainage and impact attenuation layer. 30 SportsTurf | December 2011 www.sportsturfonline.com