Mirafi S800 Geotextile Fabric - 15' x 300' Roll - TenCate

Geotextile Fabric Installation

The Challenge

Enrollment at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has increased significantly over the past few years. The increase is attributed to their athletic program where participation has increased over 60%. Due to the significant increase, the school was challenged to build several new athletic fields and increase its parking capacity to accommodate the number of new students.

The school was also planning to increase space for large-scale events on campus including sporting events, robotic competitions, admission open houses, career fairs, and alumni events without having to sacrifice space on campus.

Also, the Board of Trustees voiced their suggestions by wanting the project to be sustainable and environmentally compliant.

The Design

In order to address the lack of athletic fields and the need for additional parking, they decided to be the first Rooftop Field in Massachusetts on top of the parking garage. Even though parking garages are not eligible for LEED certification, the combination facility will be a sustainable building with added features including stormwater management, energy efficiency, an electric charging station, and using recycled materials. More importantly, the facility that the land is being used for will serve 2 purposes at the same time.

The completed facility offers good parking and a rooftop athletic field for softball, field hockey, soccer, and other recreational activities. Once the 534 space parking space was finished, they started working on the rooftop synthetic athletic fields.

Rolling out Mirafi Fabrics

Construction Workers at Jobsite

Construction

To begin with, a PVC geomembrane was placed over the concrete roof deck which would offer waterproofing and guide stormwater to the right location for drainage.

TenCate Mirafi S800 non-woven polypropylene geotextiles were placed on top of the membrane for cushioning and protection. This was followed by a lightweight plastic air drainboard, which was approximately 2-inches thick, placed on top of the Mirafi S800. The drainboard was a lighter and thinner alternative to drainage stone while allowing the synthetic turf free draining and dry. The drainboard was then covered with Mirafi S800 by offering a drainage layer.

TenCate Mirafi RS380i*woven geosynthetic was placed down. Stone was then placed on top of the geosynthetic. Lastly, the synthetic turf field was placed on top of the stone.

Mirafi RS380i offered excellent separation and drainage to help with stormwater infiltration and providing a reinforcement layer that seriously reduced the thickness of the aggregate to support the field turf. It also reduced the entire weight of the stone on the roof deck which provided a significant reduction in cost for WPI.

Performance

Thanks to the superior products provided by TenCate Geosynthetics, the school was able to build a first-class athletic field in a short period of time while saving a great deal of money.

To date, Worcester Polytechnic Institute's athletes have the first-of-its-kind sports field in Massachusetts. The plan came together perfectly, giving the school needed parking and fields for sporting events which they needed for a long time. This entire project will give years of pride to the students and faculty along with plenty of parking space!

Completed Rooftop Field