Pine Hall Brick used in winning projects

Pine Hall Brick had its products selected for projects that received one award and an honorable mention in the recent Fourth Annual Hardscape Project Awards competition, sponsored by Hardscape North America.

Both winners came in the permeable clay brick paver category. The Plaza at Kenan Hall, an installation at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Fla., won for installer PaverScape Inc. Gotts Court, a parking plaza and garden in Annapolis, Md., won an honorable mention for Avon Construction.

The awards, which recognize a contractor's ability to create and install outstanding hardscape projects, were presented during the HNA 2011 Awards Breakfast on Oct. 28 at the group's annual trade show in Louisville, Ky.

The HNA award is the second for The Plaza at Kenan Hall. Earlier this year, the project won a Silver Award in the annual Brick In Architecture competition, which is sponsored by the Brick Industry Association.

The projects are separated by almost 800 miles and are widely different uses, but both had to solve an existing stormwater problem, while using a design that was in keeping with the design and colors of nearby historic buildings.

The Plaza at Kenan Hall is an area in front of a main classroom building, equipped with seating and access to outdoor electrical outlets, to power laptops, lighting and sound systems. The plaza redirects stormwater to be absorbed back into the earth – and the colors of the permeable pavers chosen were a good match for a nearby century-old building.

Since its completion, the 5,300-square-foot space has become a popular gathering spot. Classes sometimes meet there and after class, it's used for student-sponsored events, meals and parties, or fairs where potential employers and graduate school representatives set up tables and meet with students.

Gotts Court serves as the entry point for visitors to Historic Annapolis and the Annapolis and Chesapeake Bay Visitors Center.

Close to historic sites, shopping and art galleries and the U.S. Naval Academy, the permeable brick plaza and parking area is the first new public urban space in the Annapolis Historic District in recent memory.

The brick elliptical plaza creates the first impression that visitors get when they arrive. The goal was to improve the existing parking lot, both in appearance and functionality. The original lot was landlocked from surrounding streets, which means that it could only be accessed through a parking garage. When the garage was full, it blocked traffic from entering, even if the parking lot was empty.

As in the Plaza project, the concern was twofold: Find a way to improve the parking lot in a design that is both in keeping with a nearby historic district and in a way that improves the existing stormwater problem. In the existing parking lot, stormwater would pool up in curb-deep puddles and drain slowly off the property in summer – and in winter, would freeze over in ice so thick that it would sometimes force the parking lot to be closed.