fabric architectureinspired by nature: beautifully practical tensile structures
Fabric Architecture have been specialising in the design,
manufacture and installation of Tensile Fabric Structures
since 1984.
The company specialises in both bespoke design and build
structures as well as pre-designed and engineered "off the
shelf" Signature Structures with 5000 installations
throughout the world.
The staff bring over 25 years experience in the field of
fabric architecture, from concept to visualization, design,
engineering, manufacture and installation.
Nigel Browne, one of the two Partners has won The British
Design Award and been nominated for The Duke of
Edinburgh’s Design Award for his work in the field of
tensile design. He is the only RIBA (Royal Institute of
British Architects) certified presenter in the area of tensile
structures, giving seminars to architects to qualify for their
Continued Professional Development certifications.
Fabric Architecture operates to ISO 9001- 2000 standards.
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About Us
Complete Design and Build project from concept to
completion for St Thomas Moore Catholic College, Stoke on
Trent. Bespoke curved conic walkway and 18 metre
diameter conic supported by tripods with integral drainage
and flying masts. Euroflood mini lighting and metal halide
bulbs with coloured gels.
Conic walkway 9m x 35m
Performance flying conic 18m diameter
Type 2 pvc canopies with built in rainwater handling using
perimeter barrier strip.
Steelwork zinc rich primed with 2 pack epoxy paint to RAL
234
Supporting steelwork mounted on C30 concrete slabs with
no reinforcement using chemical anchors with 200mm
penetration.
Installation time 5 days.
Project Notes
This distinctive application
provides large covered
areas which could not be
achieved with conventional
building techniques for the
same budget and minimal
groundworks.
Clients & projectsinclude:BDP ArchitectsCostainDisneyworldJohn LaingPartnershipBAABovis LendleaseHeathrow Terminal 5Glasgow Fort RetailParkIkeaMiller ConstructionAsda
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Project Snapshot
Fabric Architecture has taken centre stage in the £34m
Aintree Racecourse grandstand redevelopment, which
opened in time for the Grand National in April 2007.
The tensile membrane roof of the six-storey link building
that joins the two new stands has pushed this exciting
construction medium to a new frontier. In Building Design
Partnership’s original design, the tensile started life as a
conventional tin roof, matching those of the grandstands.
Fabric Architecture was invited to develop an alternative
scheme within the existing budget.
Early attempts to emulate BDP’s roof concept took a
form which is best described as a giant “pringle” crisp.
To improve coverage and shelter the shape morphed into
a three-cornered pringle with a continuous curved wave
edge beam and concealed gutter. However it was
becoming apparent that to successfully support this form
was unrealistic and a radical rethink was required.
Confined by the base structure, which was rapidly
coming out of the ground, Fabric Architecture side-
stepped from a parabolic to a conical form. With a bi-pod
perimeter mast system pulling the fourth floor pre-tension
slab into compression, three supporting masts, and the
second floor slab into tension, the maths started to work.
The remaining engineering problem was how to get the
edge gutters linking both grandstands to work. The
tensile membrane roof was exerting large asymmetric
loads that neither grandstands had been engineered to
accept. To absorb these massive loads, an inventive
double hinge was developed at one end of each of the
Aintree triple crown1 Original flat roof design
2 Pringle design
3 Three-cornered hat design
4 Rainwater issues
5 Resolution of rainwater
management
6 Loading analysis of canopy
7 3D of final design
8 Gutter hinge connection
detail
9 Gutter hinge installed
10 Gutter connection to
“floating” mast
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1.5 tonne gutters, while the other end was supported on
a floating bi-pod. This effectively dampened the loads
from the “live” tensile structure to the static grandstand
buildings and could allow up to 120mm of movement
under extreme weather conditions.
The final fabric form now needed to be engineered with
particular consideration to water management. Dam
gutters were incorporated to direct water into the two
gutters and off the canopy at agreed points to avoid the
public and horses below.
The fabric was extensively tested to understand its
characteristics, as every batch has subtle differences that
have to be compensated for so that when the fabric is
welded together, it fits perfectly.
To ensure that such a large piece of fabric could be
installed safely in the middle of winter, during potentially
poor weather, a lifting system, nicknamed the Christmas
tree, was designed. This bolted on top of the three
pin-mounted masts, which in turn were linked together
and stabilised in a cobweb of cables and winches.
Prior to the mast erection, the 600m2 fabric canopy
was laid out on the 4th floor, the masts installed and then
the fabric hoisted via the Christmas tree up to an
intermediate position. The masts were designed as a
two-part telescopic system, and jacked up to finally
tension the fabric to its final form.
The structure was a huge success during the Grand
National weekend, hosting a large corporate contingent
both in comfort and out in the open air.
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Senior designer and Partner, 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.
Q: Why Fabric?
A: Fabric can achieve far greater spans than
conventional roof materials with minimal supporting
structure. Greater translucency and dynamic, organic
shapes brings 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 over 20 years.
Q: 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 time required, with support
structure and fabric membrane 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.
Q: Is this an environmentally
sensitive solution?
A: 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
demands greater use of renewable materials
and reducing carbon emissions. Over the
last 3 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 occurring element.
Nigel Browne Senior design partner
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Technical briefing
Hypar form
There are 3 basic forms of a tensile
structure which incorporate double
curvature to create the strength and
organic design.
Barrel vault form
Conic form
Q: Where to start?
A: 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 address the following:
• 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
• Is there are need for lighting and security?
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Property PVC/Polyester silicone/fibre glass PTFE/fibre glass
Life expectancy 10-15 years 30+ years 30+ years
Burning Polyester combustible glass non-combustible glass non-combustible
Characteristics PVC – flame retardant silicon –inherently flame retardant PTFE – inherently flame retardant
Toxicity during CO/CO2 CO/CO2 only above 290˚ C HF,
Combustion Halogens, traces of Dioxin non toxic fluorine compounds
Oxides of N
FDA (Food Approval) None certain grades FDA, BgW approved approved
Light Transmission up to 20% up to 30% up to 20%
UV light transmission No Yes UV-B and UV-C filtered No
Allows photosynthesis mainly UV-A transmitted
Colour any colour limited limited
Bleaching n/a not necessary tan, until bleached with time
Cost low-medium medium-high high
Soiling Behaviour medium very good excellent
Chemical resistance good very good excellent
Capillary Rise < 20 mm < 2 mm no data yet
Temperature Range -30 to 70˚ C -55 to 200˚ C -20 to 260˚ C
Stiff below -20˚ C
Tensile strength medium high high
Tear strength medium high high
Dimensional stability medium high high
Flexibility high excellent low
Reuseability possible yes with difficulty
Joining Techniques Welding Stitching/Sewing with Tenara glass thread Thermal splicing with aid of
or bonding with silicon adhesives FEP tapes
Recycling Yes Yes n/a
Membrane comparison table
fabric architecture
Unit B4 Nexus, Gloucester Business Park Hurricane Rd, Brockworth, Glos. GL3 4AGT +44 (0)1452 612800 F +44 (01452) 621200 E [email protected]
Signature StructuresWhat are Signature Structures?
A range of specially selected tensile fabric designs popular
for their shade, shape, application, ease of installation and
long life.
Steelwork can be painted to any RAL colour and canopies
are available in a range of colours.
Engineered to 50 year wind cycles with installation in
1 to 2 days. Many designs can be joined together while
multiple freestanding units create dramatic visual impact.
Signature Structures deliver the
organic beauty of design and build
tensile structures yet they can be
customised and are easy to specify.
Alternatively, they act as an excellent starting point
from which exciting new possibilities can be developed.
Options include:
Lighting and heating
Fabric type and colour
Steelwork paint colour
Building connections
Drainage