Hexagonal and permeable pavers. Asak Flyt pavement system by Snøhetta
18/04/2023.
[Skjetten] Norway
metalocus, ANA SAIZ
metalocus, ANA SAIZ
Project description by Snøhetta
Snøhetta has collaborated with Norwegian manufacturer Ask Milijøstein on the design of an outdoor surface to aid water management. Named Asak Flyt, the permeable concrete paver system consists of three hexagonal interlocking unit types that can be combined to "provide landscape architects with another powerful tool for nature-based water management".
The varying sizes of tiles in the Fly system create different interlocking spaces between each stone, allowing for greater control over the extent of permeability through the system. The team estimates that their system allows for up to 28% permeability per square meter of water.
Asak Flyt permeable pavement system by Snøhetta. Photograph by HISM.
The varying spaces between the tiles also create what the team calls a "visually exciting expression", with the intention that the system becomes a design feature in its own right alongside its water management functions.
"Permeable surfaces are part of the increasingly needed category of nature-based water management systems, including green roofs, rain harvest beds, open natural water streams, and similar approaches to managing larger water loads, cloudbursts, and flash floods", Snøhetta said. "The system is a new flexible design tool to program outdoor spaces without compromising their permeable needs to ensure a more sustainable approach in the future".
Snøhetta is an integrated architecture, landscape, and interior design company based in Oslo, Norway, and New York City, formed in 1989 and led by principals Craig Dykers and Kjetil Thorsen. The firm, which is named after one of Norway's highest mountain peaks, has approximately 100 staff members working on projects around the world. The practice pursues a collaborative, transdisciplinary approach, with people from multiple professions working together to explore diverse perspectives on each project.
Snøhetta has completed a number of critically acclaimed cultural projects, including the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt; the National Opera and Ballet in Oslo, Norway; and the Lillehammer Art Museum in Norway. Current projects include the National September 11 Memorial Museum Pavilion at the World Trade Center site in New York.
In 2004 Snøhetta received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, and in 2009 the firm was honored with the Mies van der Rohe Award. Snøhetta is the only company to have twice won the World Architecture Award for best cultural building, in 2002 for the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and in 2008 for the National Opera and Ballet in Oslo.