Learn more about recent Bluelay projects
BlueLay has been developed to function in hydraulic harmony with synthetic turf infills to retain water and mimic the physical performance properties and cooling effects of natural sports pitches.
After observing world's coolest pitch in the Netherlands, our partner in Japan realized that sports pitches do not exist only for playing sports. More importantly, especially for children, the artificial turf pitches are overheating these days due to the changing climate and hot summers in the Kobe region. They observed that the surface of conventional pitches sometimes cause young players to hurt themselves. With the BlueLay water retaining shockpad and Permavoid system we managed to cool down the temperature from 40.8 degrees to 23.9 degrees oC on an average summer day (trial set-up).
- Trial size 16m2 (4 x 4 m)
- Followed by a full training pitch installation (4.000m2)
- Permavoid 85S sports subbase with capillary irrigation and BlueLay
The project developer incorporated a novel and innovative rooftop sports facility, utilizing valuable rooftop space for sports. BlueLay, a stone wool product, is non-combustible and acts as a natural fire barrier with a high melting point (> 1000 °C), meaning it does not contribute to a fire. The water retained in the BlueLay increases fire resistance because water is cold and something only burns when it’s hot. Water seals off a burning object from air, and fire needs oxygen from the air to burn.
- A sand-infill turf with BlueLay can be classified as B-Roof (T4), according European classification and UK classified as EXT.F.ACD.
- Adding the water retaining BlueLay shockpad and reusing stormwater makes this building a perfect example of how cities can be built more resilient
For cooling and wetting the pitch we only use (storm)water that is stored in the Permavoid system caught during rain showers. There are no longer any puddles on the field, because stormwater drains directly into the BlueLay and Permavoid system. Stormwater is stored beneath the entire playing surface. The capillary system makes irrigation via the conventional method obsolete, resulting in savings on (drinking) water and a pitch that fits the cities' climate resiliency agenda.
- The HC Athena pitch build-up with Permavoid and BlueLay provides a waterstorage capacity of >600.000 litres
- Stormwater overflow is only being used in extreme water conditions
Inspired by Project Citysports we've installed two sports pitches in Amsterdam with full stormwater management. The football pitch contains a natural infill, from where water eventually can evaporate during hot summer days. This evaporation generates the cooling effect, allowing athletes to play safely on the pitch. Instead of contributing to the urban heat-island effect these two pitches mitigate the effects of climate change.
- Hockey pitch (Permavoid & BlueLay) 6.000 m2 | 600.000 litres storage capacity
- Football pitch (Drainmix & BlueLay) 3.000 m2 | 225.000 litres storage capacity
- The subbase of the pitches consists of 85 mm high water-storing Permavoid units, where rainwater is collected and stored for reuse. These units are made of 100% recycled material and contain capillary fibre cylinders that naturally transport the stored water to the BlueLay shockpad. Apart from providing all desired sport-technical characteristics, the capillary shockpad is able to naturally transport the water to the synthetic turf placed on top.
Project CitySports is a pilot project from the Top Consortia for Knowledge and Innovation (TKI) program of the Water & Maritime Top Sector and focuses on innovations that revolve around urban cooling solutions, the circular use of (waste) material & rainwater, and safely playing sports on synthetic turf pitches.
- VVA Spartaan pitch: 1400 m2 | 152.600 litres
- In spring 2020 all sensors in the CitySports research fields came online and have recorded impressive results. In the middle of the hottest period, on June 25 around midday, the surface temperature of the conventional synthetic turf was 62.2 oC degrees and the cooled synthetic turf with 35.9 oC degrees; just 1 oC warmer compared to the natural grass condition.
- More official R&D information available www.projectcitysports.com
