Executive Summary

If you haven't yet heard of CalStar Products, chances are you'll stroll across them soon. 

Based in Racine, WI, CalStar develops and manufactures bricks and other building products that allow sustainably minded architects and specifiers to dramatically reduce the energy and CO2 footprint of their projects and incorporate recycled materials without compromising building performance or budgets. Moreover, the company recently completed rigorous product benchmarking and published the first environmental product declaration (EPD) for brick. 

Sustainable Industries caught up with CalStar at Greenbuild 2012 in San Francisco and captured the following video interview from the floor of the exhibition hall.

(Click here to check out additional Greenbuild 2012 interview videos).

Here we offer for download a CalStar Products Case Study on an affordable housing project in Boston. 

The outdoor area behind the Bradley Properties rowhouses in was more than just a courtyard—it was a gathering place for a close-knit community. Situated between two six-story affordable housing units, the space had become integral to the lives of the residents, who over the years had added shared garden beds and a pig-roasting pit.

This spirit was top of mind for architect Josh Rose-Wood as he set out to address the site’s chief challenges—namely poor drainage and excessive runoff, surfaces in disrepair, and no defined layout—while still maintaining the communal purpose and beloved features of the original space. The crew excavated the courtyard, installed 2 inches of sand over 12 inches of fabric-wrapped gravel, then topped it with harvest-color CalStars’ permeable pavers. The large lugs of the pavers deliver a drainage rate of more than 800 inches per hour.

What’s more, the pavers are manufactured with 40% recycled content in a process that uses 50% to 85% less energy and emits up to 85 percent less CO2. Click the download button to learn more.