Architect 2014-03.pdf
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60<br />
PRODUCTS<br />
ARCHITECT THE AIA MAGAZINE MARCH <strong>2014</strong> WWW.ARCHITECTMAGAZINE.COM<br />
To the delight of the<br />
public, Starpath is being<br />
tested on 1,615 square<br />
feet of an existing path<br />
through Christ’s Pieces<br />
municipal park in<br />
Cambridge, England.<br />
MIND & MATTER<br />
Star-Crossed Paths<br />
PRO-TEQ SURFACING’S PHOTOLUMINESCENT FINISH GIVES<br />
PAVING NEW LIFE IN A BRILLIANT WAY.<br />
Text by Blaine Brownell, AIA<br />
ILLUMINATING THE OUTDOORS can be a good—<br />
and necessary—thing in areas of pedestrian and<br />
vehicular traffic. While NighTec Leuchtsteine’s<br />
luminous pavers, Studio Roosegaarde’s Smart<br />
Highway, and BIG’s Digital Interactive Roadway<br />
are either still in the early stages of development<br />
or have proven too costly to implement<br />
market wide, U.K.–based Pro-Teq Surfacing has<br />
a solution that literally dazzles.<br />
Starpath is a surfacing product that is<br />
sprayed onto common paving materials, such<br />
as concrete, asphalt, or timber, and it costs just<br />
under $11 per square foot. The elastomeric substance<br />
contains luminescent aggregates that<br />
absorb ultraviolet radiation during the day and<br />
release low-level lighting in the evening via<br />
photoluminescence, a process by which a material<br />
absorbs and releases photons, moving from<br />
a heightened energy state to a lower one, over<br />
time. Once the UV light penetrates Starpath’s<br />
aggregate, the treated surface will glow for up<br />
to 16 hours if blue or green aggregate is used;<br />
other colors are available but their glow is<br />
shorter lived.<br />
Starpath can revive degraded pathways<br />
with a smooth, anti-slip coating, according to<br />
Pro-Teq. Applicators must wear face masks to filter<br />
the polyurethane-based mixture’s fumes, but<br />
the coating is inert once applied and should last<br />
at least a decade before re-application is needed.<br />
The product adjusts to ambient light levels,<br />
Pro-Teq owner Hamish Scott said in an October<br />
2013 press release. It’s “almost like it has a mind<br />
of its own,” he said. “[T]his is pure nature doing<br />
its work.”<br />
Although Starpath represents a notable<br />
improvement in self-illuminated surfacing<br />
products, the diffused and low light output is inadequate<br />
for pedestrian safety, which requires<br />
lighting levels that clearly reveal the features<br />
and behavior of other pedestrians. However,<br />
the technology may allow for a reduction in the<br />
number and frequency of streetlights and could<br />
even eliminate pedestrian lighting in areas designated<br />
as safe. Such a change would not only<br />
reduce energy consumption, but also please<br />
dark-sky advocates, revealing stars in the nighttime<br />
sky as well as on the ground.<br />
Luminous Efficacy of Conventional Sources<br />
High-Intensity Discharge<br />
75 lumens/watt<br />
Linear fluorescent<br />
74 lumens/watt<br />
Compact fluorescent<br />
55 lumens/watt<br />
LED<br />
45 lumens/watt<br />
Halogen<br />
17 lumens/watt<br />
Incandescent<br />
12 lumens/watt<br />
Since Starpath’s brightness depends on the strength of<br />
the solar energy it absorbs, its output at night can vary.<br />
SOURCE: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY<br />
PRO-TEQ SURFACING
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