Urban surface design

Designing surface water runoff in urban environments

Urban squares + plazas

Plazas and urban squares have been argued to be the most important area of city design. It is these areas that create the setting for public and commercial buildings in our cities.

While they can be an attractive amenity when designed and constructed properly these spaces too often become unsightly with weed growth, pooling water and dangerous trip hazards all of which create costly maintenance demands. It is only through good and careful attention to the surface design detail that these problems can be avoided.

Increasingly sustainable design principles require sophisticated approaches to water management all of which need to work harmoniously with parameters that are set for landscaping, lighting, trafficking and security and safety.

ACO’s Qmax and  MultiDrain Brickslot ranges are frequently used in Squares and Plazas on account of the grating’s slot detail enabling discrete lines to be incorporated in the surface. ACO Freestyle gratings are often used to create designs that standout and ‘tell a story’. ACO’s MultiDrain sloped systems can be combined with gratings of the appropriate material, water intake, aesthetics and fixing to ensure water can be drained away efficiently from footpaths to prevent ponding and icing. Products like the ACO Lightpoint and the ACO Eyeled combine drainage and lighting enabling light and colour to be used in creating cohesive and pleasing design in the surface.

Concise case studies

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Squares & plazas
Squares & plazas

Concise case studies on Squares & plazas

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Urban squares + plazas

Urban squares & Plazas

Channel Drainage

Freestyle
Freestyle

Load Class D 400

LightPoint
LightPoint

Load Class D 400

MultiDrain MD
MultiDrain MD

Load Class D 400

MultiDrain MD Brickslot ST
MultiDrain MD Brickslot ST

Load Class D 400

MultiDrain PPD
MultiDrain PPD

Load Class D 400

Qmax
Qmax

Load Class F 900

AS1050 Discrete Channel
AS1050 Discrete Channel

Load Class A–B

AS201 Mechanical Clamp
AS201 Mechanical Clamp

Load Class A-C

AS301 Box Channel
AS301 Box Channel

Load Class A-C

AS401 Fire Lift Channel
AS401 Fire Lift Channel

Load Class A 15

AS501 Easy-Clean
AS501 Easy-Clean

Load Class A-C

AS601 Slot Channel
AS601 Slot Channel

Load Class A-C

AS701 Upstand
AS701 Upstand

Load Class A-C

AS801 Micro Channel
AS801 Micro Channel

Load Class A–B

AS901 Hi Load
AS901 Hi Load

Load Class A–D

Deckline 125
Deckline 125

Load Class A-C

FreeDeck
FreeDeck

Load Class A 15

Radius Channel
Radius Channel

Load Class A–B

StormBrixx Range
StormBrixx Range

Load Class N/A

Q-Brake Vortex
Q-Brake Vortex

Load Class N/A

Q-Plate Orifice Plates
Q-Plate Orifice Plates

Load Class N/A

Bespoke Access Covers
Bespoke Access Covers

Load Class AA-D

UniFace Recessed Covers
UniFace Recessed Covers

Load Class AA-D

UniTop Solid Covers
UniTop Solid Covers

Load Class AA-B

How we can assist you

Our Design Team

Collaboration is very much a part of ACO’s way of working. For over 50 years we have been offering creative design solutions to all sectors of government, public and private enterprise and have a track record for development and regeneration informed by community aspirations and environmental context. Our in house design team and our external design engineers have excellent technical understanding of interconnected systems that can help you create sustainable drainage solutions in all categories of the urban environment.

Tools to support you

We also offer software for design surface to assist you in making your own calculations, as well as design visualisers to assist in helping assess impact of various grating/inlet details. BIM product files along with a variety of other support documents are all available for download here.

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