Architectural Awnings: The Tips And Tricks That Make All The Difference

As an architect, your business is to create buildings that will be functional and a source of pride for their owners. Architectural awnings are a natural component of that work. Here are some tips and tricks that will help you create something exceptional.

Think outside the “slope.”

There are countless ways to design and use traditional styles ofarchitectural awnings and canopies, with a level rooftop deck, slanted or rounded covers. They can be wall-mounted or post-supported, retractable or permanent. But those aren’t your only options.

Pergolas are popular to mark entryways or cover outdoor seating where you want dappled light. And tension membranes in unique triangular or trapezoidal shapes create sails that shade outdoor areas or simply add unusual visual interest.

Be a resource for your clients.

Suggest ways they can use architectural awnings for multiple purposes they might not have considered. For instance, business owners often overlook the marketing “properties” of architectural awnings.

Suggest associated options to augment their architectural awnings, such as window films and roller blinds that can provide additional shading and privacy for stores, restaurants or offices without loss of natural light. Or add-on accessories such as see-through walls or curtains that can be used permanently or seasonally to provide greater protection under architectural awnings.

These products can be designed and produced at the same time as your client’s awnings, ensuring aesthetic and branding consistency and adding impact to your overall building design. You’re helping clients improve their business, not just create a structure, and they’ll appreciate that.

Identify your toughest challenges.

Just like buildings themselves, designing architectural awnings requires you to consider the physical surroundings and weather conditions that affect strength and durability year round. But there are other details that can affect your design decisions, too, and they can very localized.

Challenges come in other flavors as well. You have to design within a budget. You may have tight time constraints, whether you need a quick turnaround on a quote for a client or you need a rush on the entire project. You may be aiming for LEED certification , so you’ll want fabrics for architectural awnings that are made of recycled materials. You may be remodeling a building that has Landmark status .

The trick is to get professional help.

You can smoothly address both significant and subtle challenges without sacrificing the integrity of your design, if you team up with an established commercial awning company that knows what it takes to produce architectural awnings that fulfill their visual and functional promise. With a full-service shop, you won’t have to make multiple calls and juggle multiple contractors to get the work done, so you can develop long-term working partnership you can count on, project after project.

Your architectural awnings partner will give you savvy advice, but they can also provide practical, hands-on practical assistance with autoCAD drawings, renderings and so on. They will ensure you’re aware of all the options and help you spec the best materials choices. And they can show you lots of examples of how similar design concepts have been executed in different situations.

And here’s something else you’ll like. They can help you with regulations and permitting. In and around NYC there are a lot of building and zoning codes that affect each project, and multiple rule-makers. You can use your time most wisely, focusing on creative design, by using your architectural awnings expert as a “regulations resource” and letting them handle permitting on your behalf. You won’t have to worry about getting tangled in bureaucracy, and they can get sign-offs faster because they know what’s needed and how to deftly navigate the system.

Architects are artists at heart, so why not let your imagination take flight? Whatever architectural awnings you dream up, your expert professionals can build it. You can follow these tips and tricks, knowing you’ll get what you want – on time and on budget.

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