DIADEM^® railing system solves design dilemma

When the specified side-mounted hand rail on the roof proved inadequate, DIADEM^®’s medium-anchored railing system saved the roof design for Epic System’s corporate headquarters in Verona, Wisconsin.

“As the construction neared completion we realized that the parapet (the extension of the outside wall above the roofline) wasn’t high enough above the roof surface to mount the hand rail and pass code for an occupied roof area,” said Richard Milburn, Project Manager with J.H. Findorff & Son construction. “And penetration through the roof was not an option for our client.” After brainstorming with the client and project architects at the Cuningham Group, the decision was made to use DIADEM^®’s railing system, DRS-Light, which anchors a heavy base into the green roof’s medium.

Although it doesn’t penetrate the structure, the handrail exceeds building safety specifications for perimeter railings. The new office buildings, completed in fall 2013, were constructed on the south end of the expanding Verona campus and were designed to resemble a farmhouse, stable and barn. The DIADEM^® railings separate a meeting patio and green roof above the barn.