Shade systems, privacy screening, design branding railings, and decorative cladding now have hardware, brackets, and fasteners specifically designed to be integrated with Parasoleil panels.  To be released online and at the national conference for American Society of Landscape Architects this week in Chicago, the universal hardware fits all thicknesses and structural span options.
Director of R+D, Michael Schock (AIA), has been working to create hardware that is as versatile and elegant as the rest of Parasoleil’s products.  “It needed to be clean and simple, like the panels and patterns.  We wanted to make the structure part of the overall aesthetic.”
Each combination of Parasoleil panel and piece installation hardware is designed to withstand wind loads and snow loads to be covered under Parasoleil’s 25-year structural warranty.  All hardware uses a pre-set fastener placement with each set of panels to minimize confusion around installation and which combination of panel thickness, structural span, and hardware fits with their local building code requirements.
Shade applications have the PFL series bracket, which uses a flush-mounted bracket that centers on a support beam and creates a single point of installation to space and install four panels.  PFL-100 uses one pin as a corner bracket.  PFL-200 uses two pins on the edge of an array.  And PFL-400 uses four pins in the middle of an array of panels.
Cladding panels use the PSO series bracket hardware to off-set the panels from the wall surface.  The design is similar to the PFL bracket and can be used with shade, screen, railing, or cladding standard panel products.  Parasoleil points out that the ease of installation and precise spacing of the panels is what architects and general contractors will be most interested in.
Railing panels use the PBI series hardware to suspend a panel between posts and create a floating or inset installation.  Face-mounting railing panels to the posts can utilize either the PFL series hardware or Parasoleil PD series drill screws which match the rest of the systems hardware in color and design language.
Screen applications will need to consider wind and use loads before using one of the three same installation methods as for railings. This application adds the PDS fastener to supplement the brackets.  The PDS drill-screw is tamper-resistant and has a hidden-driver receiver gear for installation.  In an extra effort to make installations easier, Parasoleil supplies drivers with each order of fasteners.
 
Parasoleil insists that this new offering of hardware does not limit their structural warranty to using only Parasoleil brackets and hardware.  “Our spec is written to a standard of performance.  If there are other products out there that meet the same standards, then the architect should specify whichever will work best for that project,” says Robert DeVries, Chief Marketing Officer.  “We want our design reps and clients to collaborate to make the best use of each project space.”
Parasoleil, LLC, has been designing and manufacturing commercial architectural panels since 2007.  They are best known for their load tested patterns to filter light and create shadows that move over the course of the day.  They are also known for developing their own line of Patina Powdercoat finishes, such as their newly released, COR-11 finish on aluminum, which mimics a rusted, weathered steel look without staining the surroundings and at half the weight, minimizing structural engineering loads.
For more info, please visit www.parasoleil.com.