Habitual readers know of my long-standing feud with drywall. In past posts including those on Kaynemaile’s Seamless Mesh, Extenzo’s Stretch Ceiling Systems, and Bencore’s Composite Wall Panels, I’ve waxed rhapsodic about some of this historical combat: “kicked over ladders in a gypsum-encrusted rage, spent minutes bent over the sink attempting to dislodge the tiniest speck of painful, tear-inducing dust, even proclaimed that painting is a veritable symphony of synaptic ecstasy.” If hanging and finishing drywall makes painting sound fun, than it makes the hands-off ease and lifetime durability of Barrisol’s Stretched Ceiling System sound absolutely delightful.

Barrisol Acoustics® A20 Acoperf®. Manufactured by Barrisol.

Normalu Barrisol is a French company founded in 1967. This means they have some 43 years of experience creating, refining, and installing their patented PVC-based, heat-reactive, track-mounted stretch ceiling systems. This stretch of time is long enough for the company to have refined the product into manifold incarnations with a myriad of uses. The stretch system is easily installed on Barrisol’s patented aluminum rack system, which means the applications for the product extend from ceiling coverings, to wall coverings, to privacy screens, to acoustic and thermal barriers, back-lit lumieres and other lighting features/installations, projection devices, product signage, “painted deco” installations, and even decorative 3-D statuary. In short, if you need to conceal, illuminate, advertise, or display, you can custom-order from Barrisol’s range of 230 colors and 15 finishes to create a durable architectural solution.

Barrisol TrempoDesign 1. Manufactured by Barrisol.

Barrisol Lumière Color. Manufactured by Barrisol.

Barrisol Printed Deco. Manufactured by Barrisol.

Barrisol Printed Deco. Manufactured by Barrisol.

A small sampling from Barrisol’s project gallery will give some sense of the product’s range. There’s a large faceted acoustic panel that resembles a phosphorescent organic membrane; a hypnotic residential ceiling that looks like a zebra on acid; a back-lit 3D form display that might be a millennial incarnation of Stretch Armstrong. And this is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. Barrisol’s functional advantages include strength and long-product life (“retired” panels are recycled back into the mix), adaptability, modularity for easy alterations to existing installations, excellent acoustical and insulative properties, water resistance, safety (non-flammable), and easy maintenance.

But this is just a gloss of Barrisol’s wide adaptability and compelling aesthetic potential. If you’d like to know how Barrisol can solve your particular A&D conundrum, check out the company presentation. And by all means, dispense with those clunky sheets of drywall you’ve got on reserve in your basement or garage.