Does gravel count in "Total Paving Area"

From a past v3 project, GBCI required that the gravel area(s) of the site be considered "paving material". We had a sample of the gravel sent to a lab to test for its' SRI value (The SRI was 42) and listed it within the calcs as "paving material".  I believe this is still the case for v4 projects. 

We did not try to claim the gravel area as open space. Looking at the v4 reference guide (Table 3 Nonroof Strategies), gravel can be consiered 'open space' if it is 50% unbound. Which I doubt gravel would ever be "50% unbound".

Hope this helps! 

I also do not think it can be considered open space, but since it is vehicular-oriented rather than pedestrian oriented (and it comes up in the Open Space credit). Do you mean open-grid? 

I agree that it'd be considered a paving material, especially where vehicles would be on it. I could maybe see a worthy discussion if it were cover for a playground or something similar.

Hi Emily,

In the LEED v4 nonroof measures strategy, paving material must be used with a three-year aged solar reflectance (SR) value of at least 0.28 or use materials with an initial SR of at least 0.33 at installation (if three-year aged value information is not available) (LEED BD+C v4 guide page 198).

So, if gravels meet the requirements above, they should be counted in the total paving area.

Best regards - Afogreen Build Team

All - Do we need to inlcude compacted/stabilized soil area in the total paving area for SSc Heat Island Reduction calculations? 

If it's temporary (for construction period) - no. 

I haven't met situation where such soil woild be intentionally left so as exposed soil during reqular explautation of the project. In my experience such soil that was left without an attendance will be 100 % cowered by plant in couple of years. So even in such case I would not include such areas justify it per above. 

It will be permanent for sometime - soil will be compacted using perma-zyme. Perma-zyme uses enzymes to permanently bond clay particles together. Its suppose to last for 10 years or more after single application. Therefore, compacted/stabilized soil will not have vegetation for at least sometime. Not entirely sure how LEED interprets such compacted/stabilized soil area. 

I think in summary:

• Gravel is a hardscape element. It should be counted as such and considered part of the total paving area. You can only count it as compliant area contributing to your credit calcs if you have had the SRI tested, or if the provider has the data already.
• Gravel is not considered "open grid"; that is reserved for pervious pavers.
• I would guess that intentionally compacted soil should also be considered as hardscape, since that is its intended use. This element should really be documented as how it's intended to function in the way the spirit of the credit (and LEED) intends.