A 2024 third-party study found that 73 percent of Gen Zs and 77 percent of Millennials actively take steps to reduce their impact on the environment. One way they (or any homeowner) can do that is by tapping into the benefits of permeable pavers to manage stormwater and comply with applicable water management requirements. Increased permeable surfaces also help mitigate urban heat island effect and recharge groundwater resources.
This shift in homeowner preferences puts opportunity with contractors and landscape architects to incorporate a permeable driveway into a new construction or home remodel. Beyond their environmental benefits, permeable driveways can also contribute to the aesthetics of a project.
Porous paving solutions provide a more functional, durable and visually appealing alternative to traditional concrete or asphalt surfaces. With the right product and design approach, porous pavers can quickly and efficiently drain surface runoff better than a regular lawn or a standard gravel driveway. The pavers can also be customized to suit any landscape vision. Let’s look at some driveway design ideas that porous pavers make possible.
Grass-covered permeable driveways
It’s hard to beat the appeal of a grass-covered, permeable driveway for homeowners who want to soften the visual impact of a paved surface while still managing stormwater. Bringing this vision to life requires a solution that can accommodate vegetation growth without sacrificing the strength that a driveway needs to provide.
Grasspave2® by Invisible Structures is a porous paving that can be filled with grass. It has a drainage rate of 32.5 inches per square foot per hour, as compared to natural grass that may drain at 1-5 inches per hour. Grasspave2’s impressive compressive strength of 2,295,000 psf, allows it to easily handle vehicular loads and the demands of driveways. Its ring-on grid configuration enables 92 percent void space that easily accommodates grass and vegetation. Because of the large void spaces, the paving nearly disappears from plain sight and seamlessly blends into green landscapes.
Gravel-filled permeable driveways
Gravel driveways have been a popular design solution for many decades because of their affordability, ease of installation and ability to provide good drainage. However, they have a reputation for high maintenance requirements as unstabilized aggregates tend to migrate, which leads to shifting, ruts and bare spots. But a permeable driveway made with a porous paving solution, like Gravelpave2®, helps eliminate such concerns.
A simple solution to a complex problem, Gravelpave2 accommodates gravel infill and enables a drainage rate of up to 38.5 inches per square foot per hour. For context, traditional concrete pavers drain at about 6.5 inches per square foot per hour. Gravelpave2’s innovative ring-on-grid system stabilizes loose aggregate filled in the void spaces. When it comes to upkeep, the homeowner will only need to sweep the aggregate in high-traffic areas back into place, once every six months or so. This capability helps contractors deliver a gravel driveway that is permeable and has minimal maintenance requirements.
Organic and curved driveways
Not all driveways are straight. Many houses align with the natural contour of the property and require an organic, curved driveway. Sometimes such forms are desired because they add visual interest. But these elegant shapes can be tricky to pave with rigid concrete blocks.
Porous pavers by Invisible Structures come in flexible rolls that can easily be bent or trimmed with simple pruning shears to create curves or custom layouts for design-forward clients. This capability helped the landscape architects and contractors commissioned for the Das Residence in California seamlessly integrate the driveway with the coastline’s topography and bring fluidity to their designs.
Driving the performance home
Whether you’re building new or retrofitting an existing site, Invisible Structures makes it easy to create permeable driveways that check all the boxes: low environmental impact, durability, drainage and beauty.
Let’s talk about your next driveway project. Contact us to learn more about specifying Grasspave2 or Gravelpave2 for your next residential or commercial design.