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 Senior designer Nigel Browne travels throughout the UK giving CPD presentations to architects and designers on how to design a tensile structure. As a building medium, fabric requires a different approach to that of conventional roofing materials, and offers limitless possibilities of three-dimensional forms. Why fabric? Fabric can achieve far greater spans than conventional roof materials with minimal supporting structure. Greater translucency and dynamic, organic shapes bring the feeling of outside inside, as well as providing shade and protection from the weather. Tensile structures generate live loads instead of the static loads of conventional roof materials and modern architectural fabrics offer increased stability and longevity of more than 20 years. What are the advantages in using fabric? There is an economy of cost per square metre, strength and longevity with fabrics compared with concrete and steel construction. The significant cost saving is the reduction in installation timre required, as the support structure and fabric membrane is pre-fabricated and assembled on site. Tensile fabric shapes breathe life and excitement into a building, and blend steel construction with organic fabric forms. This provides shade and weather protection from a low maintenance material, reducing UV transmission and controlling solar gain. Is this an environmentally sensitive solution? Tensile fabric structures significantly reduce the volume of materials required in construction, therefore reducing the carbon footprint of the project. The future of design and construction demans greater use of renewable materials and reducing carbon emissions. Over the past three years, a specially developed silicone-coated glass weave material has been introduced by Fabric Architecture and used on a growing number of projects. The material is totally inert and recyclable as it is almost entirely made from silicone, a naturally occuring element. Where to start? A tensile structure should be viewed as an integral part of a building, rather than a last minute add-on, even though it is categorised as an optional extra. It should be included in the design process from the concept stages, and the following issues whould be addressed:  Determine the loads that will be exerted on connecting buildings and/or ground.Calculate and locate foundation pads. Locate services adjacent to foundations and re-route if required. Manage rainwater run-off. Find out whether there is a need for lighting and security.  Download: Technical article (pdf) |
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