Indianapolis Zoo International Orangutan Center
The $30 million International Orangutan Center is an interactive exhibit at the Indianapolis Zoo. For the outdoor areas, the Indianapolis Zoo wanted a sustainable option for the walkways and staging area for the exhibit’s skyline ride. imi featured the company’s Eco Pave pervious concrete for this portion of the project.
Project Overview
For this exhibit, the flatwork was built with a pervious concrete pad that filters stormwater before it is drained into a landscaped rain garden. To meet the project’s needs, imi supplied 38 yards of imix Eco Pave. Pervious concrete is used as both a water management and water quality material. Typically pervious concrete is placed without any kind of crack control. The voids in the aggregate are sufficient to handle freeze/thaw cycles, and there is very little moisture in the mix to cause plastic shrinkage.
However, this project called for the pervious concrete to be mixed with synthetic fibers to reduce any surface deterioration due to metal blades used to remove snow. Since water flows through the concrete, it was important to ensure the fibers were resistant to chemical and alkali substances that would run through the pervious slab. These chemicals are trapped in the concrete and are naturally broken down by bacteria in the concrete.
While most people walking through the International Orangutan Center will have their eyes up looking for the primates above, most will be unaware that the pervious pavement under their feet will be taking care of any water draining off the site from rain.
