Engineering Solutions and Architectural Visualizations in Upfront Design
It doesn't matter how well a product is specified if the client isn't sure how it's going to look. And with the rise in Design-Build services by General Contractors, there is mounting pressure to be able to defend the choices made by the architect to achieve the intended design. Parasoleil offers a pre-booking process that includes full design services and engineering to determine the right panel system configurations for the wind loads at the site conditions and code requirements.
Parasoleil has always been know for understanding the impact of pattern. Design Assist allows that knowledge to transfer to a specific project. "Being able to build-in product sustainability and structural integrity into the specification allows the whole team, I mean the architects, developers, and us, to have the assurance that the customized product is designed as well as possible and integrated into the architecture," says CEO Uriah Bueller. All Parasoleil patterns are rated for performance and each structural member has an ASD design pressure associated with it. But this program allows for those calculations and inputs to directly contribute to the architecture at a point in the project when value engineering cost savings can be achieved without cutting scope.
And while Parasoleil has a whole library of customizable product systems for shade, screen, cladding, and railing, there is often a need for site specific design files for analysis and visualization. An exterior screen in front of the southwest elevation of glazing for an occupied space can impact the building's solar heat gain and reduce the peak load requirements for the HVAC system. A ventilated façade for a parking garage can be submitted to the city as part of the public art requirement for the project. A rooftop guardrail can be designed for the specific wind loads for the building's risk category, exposure, and required deflection values without it having to be over engineered with unnecessary factors of safety.
The ideal projects for Design Assist include large, commercial new builds and institutional development where the team is still determining the mix of solutions to impact the energy model and the performance of the building. "Design Assist is contracted through the architect or GC in early stages so that the unknowns are unpacked," says Bueller. "And Parasoleil's team of engineers, designers, and fabricators are dedicated to finding the best solutions. We have the right people around the table at the best time."
Design Assist provides visuals to the owner, specification details to the architect, known performance calculations to the project engineer, and answers to the contractor. The Art Lab For Architecture is Parasoleil's answer to using custom project guidance as a way to customize our turnkey systems and dedicate the right people to the right project at the right time.
