People will not stop building or consuming, but that doesn’t mean we can’t change our ways. Cutting-edge construction suppliers such as Hanover Architectural Products are helping to find the middle ground between excellent materials and a greener future.
If you take a quick tour through human history, you’ll notice that most engineering advancements seemed like science fiction until they became science.
Flight. Video chat. Submarines.
Each of these innovations made its appearance in art and literature before it debuted on the stage of reality, and when it comes to sustainability, this is heartening indeed.
Why? Because, says Chris Slusser, Midwest Technical Sales Director for Hanover Architectural Products, “It takes a lot of steps to get up the mountain of sustainability.” We won’t be there for a long time, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get there eventually.
Indeed, even the definition of “there” varies, depending on whom you ask and where your focus lies. But there is a “there,” and Slusser is helping us move toward it with each ecofriendly paver Hanover designs.
Let’s take a look at how he, and Hanover, are shooting for the happy medium between an Earth-friendly future tomorrow and better building materials today.
Sustainability: A Definition for the Ages
In his role as tech spec and PR person for Hanover, Slusser has good cause to think about the definition of this buzzword.
Yet it’s not just a buzzword; it is also a concept that’s integral to making this planet more livable, both for our generation and the ones to come.
“If you look up the definition of sustainability, it’s basically coexistence or maybe even regeneration of materials,” he explains.
This is very much not our current reality. “As humans, we build things that are disposable. There are disposable materials on almost everything we eat. It sometimes seems like food products have more wrapping than they do actual food.”
Our approach to consumption is out of balance, he says. The goal is what he calls a happy medium, where “You’re not taking any more than you’re giving back. Sustainability means you’re keeping a level keel on the water.”
We can, therefore, make products that maintain the imbalance. Or we can innovate every day to return to that happy medium.
The Right Products Prioritize Longevity
Hanover Architectural Products is steadfastly committed to designing and manufacturing high-quality, American-made concrete pavers, and has been for more than 50 years.
Their approach to sustainability?
“We want to try to build a product that will outlast the roof itself. Ninety percent of the time, we achieve that.”
~ Chris Slusser
Much of Slusser’s work is dedicated these days to green roof applications and mixed-use buildings. Typically, their pavers go over the top of a waterproof structure, sitting on pedestals, with the layers of the green roof on top. As you might imagine, it takes a lot of work to remove all those layers, pavers, and pedestals to repair a roof, so you need long-lasting materials.
“What I like about green roofs is that usually they require some of the highest-quality membranes or waterproofings on the market,” Slusser says. Hanover strives to ensure its pedestals can last as long as that waterproofing does — at least for the 20- to 30-year lifecycle of the roof.
And hopefully longer.
After living for decades on a roof, Slusser says, pavers are “going to get soiled and crusted with pollen, but a lot of times, they can be reused. We simply remove the overburden (anything on top of the waterproofing membrane), lift the pavers and pedestals, put new waterproofing down, then clean our materials and reuse them.”
Hanover has also committed to using more environmentally friendly materials during the cleaning process, such as distilled vinegar or Dawn dish detergent. “Most of the waterproofing manufacturers prefer we use something that mild,” he says.
Ultimately, long-lasting products mean fewer trips to the roof to fix it, Slusser says. Strike a point for sustainability.
Strike another point with ecofriendly cleaning agents.
To complete the trifecta, he adds, a well-designed paver can protect not only itself, but the roof beneath it: “Quality products are going to avoid leaks and keep the building a lot better insulated, and the insulation will give a longer performance to the waterproofing.”
It’s a synergistic process that starts with good materials, and that in turn starts at the factory.
Designing for Sustainability, from the Factory Up
So what makes for a paver that is in and of itself sustainable?
Well, Slusser says, “That’s a tough question. Everyone has a different opinion about how to build a green roof and the materials you use.” This is true also of the paver qualities you prioritize, such as solar reflective values that matter to LEED certification and tax benefits. “The question could go in so many directions.”
At the end of the day, though, carbon impact is a good place to start.
To build their high-quality product, Hanover needed a quarry, and they knew they wanted it close. Whereas many companies drive upwards of 20 miles one-way to pick up and drop off aggregates, burning diesel all the way, Hanover chose a site only 2 miles from their quarry as the crow flies.
“That gives us a lower carbon footprint,” Slusser says, not to mention cost savings.
Although they’re paying less than other companies might on raw materials, though, they still prioritize recycling wherever possible.
Recycling Right: A Challenge for Our Times
Reduce, reuse, recycle. They’re all lovely ideas, but each presents challenges.
Of course, as discussed, Hanover is already nailing the first two variables in this equation by washing and reusing their pavers. Recycling, though? That’s a little harder.
“You can only use so much recycled materials in there before you get to a point where you start affecting the integrity of the product,” Slusser says. While they use a fair amount of recycled content — from brick chips to recycled reclaimed brick to flash — it’s once again a happy medium.
Why?
Let’s say you use too much brick chip. It has a tendency to absorb water, but Hanover shoots for concrete absorption rates of less than 5 percent, which imposes an inherent limitation on how much brick chip you can mix in.
Ditto seashells, which are recycled, well-draining, and pretty to boot — but which just aren’t the most durable product.
Glass is similar. While some manufacturers like to use it, glass requires a lot of chemical stabilization well to achieve proper performance. It also requires sorting, washing, trucking to and from manufacturers who are willing to perform these tasks (of which there are only so many), and chemical cleaning agents. That’s a lot of variables to juggle.
“How far do you have to ship that glass and how much diesel do you have to burn to bring it to you and then turn around and ship it back, probably to the same state?” Slusser asks. “The end result requires a lot of bad stuff to happen before you get there. So I believe in recycling, but sometimes it just isn’t an efficient way to go.”
These hurdles are similar to those posed when recycling paper. Each time you reuse the pulp, the paper fibers get shorter. Eventually, they’re too short to maintain their structural integrity effectively, and they compromise the final result. And as with glass, paper recycling is a process that requires potentially damaging inputs, namely electricity and fossil fuels.
Still, some recycling is better than none. “We try to get in as much recycled content as we can without affecting the product,” Slusser says.
The question becomes, then, whether these processes can become more efficient over time.
“Every day, we’re trying to build a better method of developing our concrete pavers,” he says. “If there’s a better way for us to do it, we’re going to do it. There are technologies being developed every day to make concrete stronger, but you start going the wrong way again. It seems a lot of improvements require a lot of not-great materials to be used.”
That’s not to say there aren’t workarounds to get to the happy medium. For example, instead of using chemical additives to reduce the amount of air that gets trapped in their products during the manufacturing process (since air bubbles can weaken the concrete), Hanover uses a manual solution, hydraulicly pressing them instead.
Overall, their approach is as clean as it can be today.
“Concrete is probably one of the cleanest products you can make. You’re mixing stone, sand, cement, and water, reconstructing stone in the form of concrete.”
~ Chris Slusser
But Hanover’s not about to take their eye off the prize.
They recycle their water. They try to minimize cements, which can require significant fossil fuels. “It’s that fine dance that you do to be able to improve on efficiency but still maintain the paver’s integrity,” he says.
Today’s Goals Are Tomorrow’s Achievements
Such focus on bettering their process might make it seem as though Hanover isn’t achieving its goals yet, but that’s far from true. In many ways, they’re a model of efficient, sustainable design for the future of construction materials.
“One of the things we pride ourselves on is how clean our plant is,” Slusser says. They try to keep everything tidy and recycle even their waste materials. For instance, if they have a bad run of concrete, they’ll crush it and use it as base materials for local contractors to use. “We don’t make money on it, but we find a home for it.”
Plus, Hanover works closely with architectural and engineering communities, collaborating on better ways to make a more efficient building. Their overriding concern is what designers need to achieve buildings that are LEED-certified, whether that’s the basic certification or silver, gold, or platinum levels.
“I gain a lot of personal gratification from developing a specification with a designer, working through all the challenges of building that building with them, and taking it from paper and making a structure. I love getting to the finish line and seeing that building turn over to the owner.”
~ Chris Slusser
When it comes to surfaces, their offerings run the gamut. “We make products both that cover the roof, the facade, and the on-grade of the building,” he says. “We can surround and cover the entire building now.”
Currently, they’re bringing their talents to some truly impressive — and in some cases, historic — structures.
“One of the best I’m working on right now is the Alamo,” Slusser says, “which is about as historic as it gets.” Located along the San Antonio River Walk, the project is a collaboration between The Office of James Burnett and Gensler. “We’re working on a section that will pop off the canal and walk right into the Alamo to the fort. That means thousands and thousands of people walk over the top of our product every day.”
Currently, they’re completing Phase One of a five-phase project, and Hanover hopes to be involved throughout. Slusser is excited to see how it all pans out at the Alamo … and everywhere else. “Taking it from paper and seeing it on the ground or building is where I derive my satisfaction,” he says.
We must admit, we’re deriving a great deal of satisfaction watching their commitment to sustainability unfold as well.