Parasol Provides Hospital Contractor with Less-Expensive Entrance Covering

The Challenge: A local contractor was managing the construction of an addition to Methodist Hospital. The addition was to include a permanent structure designed to provide shelter at the building’s entrance, as well as to improve the aesthetic look of the facility. When presented with the cost for this permanent structure, the client expressed budget concerns. The contractor contacted Parasol for a creative alternative.

The Solution: Parasol designed a fabric entrance canopy to replace the permanent structure at a fraction of the cost of the original solution. In fact, the fabric canopy cost a mere 15 percent of the cost of the permanent structure. With an average lifespan of 8-10 years, the hospital could afford to construct the fabric entrance canopy and recover it more than 8 times over about 80 years for less than it would have cost to build a permanent structure. The hospital was thrilled that the contractor was able to identify such an affordable solution that still added to the building’s aesthetics.