Tension Fabric Buildings
Encyclopedia
Tension fabric buildings are constructed using a Rigid Frame which can consist of timber
, steel
, rigid plastic, or Aluminum and a sturdy fabric outer membrane . Once the frame is erected in place, the fabric
cover is stretched over the frame. The fabric cover is tensioned to provide the stable structural support of the building
. The fabric is tensioned using multiple methods varying by manufacturer, creating a tight fitting cover membrane. The benefits of tension fabric buildings compared to traditional structures can be: Lower operational costs, energy savings, naturally bright, quick installation, ability to re-locate building, flexible foundation design options,and corrosion
resistance. Unlike conventional or metal clad buildings, tension fabric buildings can be more economically relocated
.
In some political (building code) jurisdictions, tension fabric buildings may qualify as temporary structures which benefit from a shorter capital depreciation period, relative to a permanent structure, for tax purposes. Buildings classified as temporary structures may have significant limitations on occupancy, applied load and fire safety considerations and period of installation.
Tension fabric buildings have gained popularity over the last few decades in many industries including the following applications: hay
and feed
storage, horse riding
arenas, commercial
, manufacturing, warehousing
, sand
and salt
storage for road maintenance departments, environmental management
, aviation
, airplane hangar
s, marine
, government
, military
and emergency shelters.
Building sizes are usually standardized by the nature of being a pre-engineered building
. Some manufacturers produce tension fabric buildings spanning up to 300 feet wide and to almost any length. Buildings can be designed to be portable, mounted on wheels or other rolling crane-type designs fitted to the baseplates, or lifting in modules by overhead crane
s. Exceptional projects require special design considerations which should be communicated to the manufacturer at the quote proposal stage or in project tender specifications.
Industrial strength fabric, some of which can have life expectancies of 20–30 years, have been used for many applications. Fabric's life expectancy is affected by local environmental factors (e.g. sunlight, temperature, wind, air quality) and occupancy conditions (e.g. humidity, chemical vapours). The current structural membranes available are made of PVC
or Polyethylene
. Some fabrics are sufficiently translucent to allow sunlight to pass through, creating a naturally lit environment inside the building. Fabric selection influences project capital cost and maintenance. Material decision factors should consider the project budget, nature of the project and the required durability.
While common application of tension fabric buildings are for temporary use, they are not exempt from regulatory requirements including compliance with building codes, occupancy classifications, aesthetics and building permits. Fabric tension buildings are required to meet the same Building Code
safety requirements and applicable design standards as any other structure. Professional architectural and engineering consultants should be engaged to design the project to ensure proper compliance to all safety and code issues.
Tension fabric buildings may have assembly details that make them amenable to disassembly and reassembly at a new location. This is different from other forms of pre-engineered buildings: Metal clad buildings require sealants that make disassembly difficult and fastener penetrations that cannot be easily duplicated (e.g. new screw in existing hole) in reassembly if all reconstruction tolerances are not exactly duplicated at the new location. However, in all cases, code compliance and structural loads at the new location must be considered for occupant safety.
Tension fabric building manufacturers accept the responsibility to design some or all elements of the building: strength and stability of the structural system, cladding (fabric), thermal/air/vapor retarding membranes and service limit conditions (e.g. deflection under load) as specified by the project designers and within the context of applicable building codes and design standards. Tension fabric buildings are designed with CAD (computer-aided design
) software for the customization of the building and to ensure it will meet load and service expectations (e.g. wind/snow/collateral/seismic loads and deflection/vibration service requirements).
Structural load
, architectural and performance or service requirements will influence building pricing. It is important to be able to assess variations in proposals to ensure that prices reflect similar product offerings. Consultants who specialize in tension fabric building projects should be engaged to specify and review supplier submissions.
Tension Fabric Buildings are commonly referred to as: Fabric Structures, Fabric Tension Buildings, Cover-All Buildings, Fabric Buildings, Hoop Buildings, Quonset Structures, Sport Halls, Tents and Bubbles. Note: Cover-All is a manufacturer name which, through regional commercial success, is generally suggestive of specific forms of manufactured building products. Cover-All ceased business in 2010 after several highly publicized large structural failures and lawsuits. Quonset hut
s, corrugated metal arch buildings, achieved common recognition due to their popular use by the U.S. Military services during World War II but the form is easily duplicated with tension fabric buildings.
Project Professionals and Manufacturer Designed Buildings
The project Architect, sometimes called the Architect of Record, is typically responsible for aspects such as aesthetic, dimensional, occupant comfort and fire safety. When a pre-engineered building is selected for a project, the Architect accepts conditions inherent in the manufacturer's product offerings for aspects such as materials, colours, structural form, dimensional modularity, etc. Despite the existence of the manufacturer's standard assembly details, the Architect remains responsible to ensure that the manufacturer's product and assembly is consistent with the building code requriements (e.g. continuity of air/vapour retarders, insulation, rain screen; size and location of exits; fire rated assemblies) and occupant/owner expectations.
Many jurisdictions recognize the distinction between the project engineer, sometimes called the Engineer of Record, and the manufacturer's employee or subcontract engineer, sometimes called a specialty engineer. The principle differences between these two entities on a project are the limits of commercial obligation, professional responsibility and liability.
The structural Engineer of Record is responsible to specify the design parameters for the project (e.g. materials, loads, design standards, service limits) and to ensure that the element and assembly designs by others are consistent in the global context of the finished building.
The specialty engineer is responsible to design only those elements which the manufacturer is commercially obligated to supply (e.g. by contract) and to communicate the assembly procedures, design assumptions and responses, to the extent that the design relies on or affects work by others, to the Engineer of Record - usually described in the manufacturer's erection drawings and assembly manuals. The manufacturer produces an engineered product but does not typically provide engineering services to the project.
In the context described, the Architect and Engineer of Record are the designers of the building and bear ultimate responsibility for the performance of the completed work. A buyer should be aware of the project professional distinctions when developing the project plan.
References:
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
, steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
, rigid plastic, or Aluminum and a sturdy fabric outer membrane . Once the frame is erected in place, the fabric
Fabric
A fabric is a textile material, short for "textile fabric".Fabric may also refer to:*Fabric , the spatial and geometric configuration of elements within a rock*Fabric , a nightclub in London, England...
cover is stretched over the frame. The fabric cover is tensioned to provide the stable structural support of the building
Building
In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...
. The fabric is tensioned using multiple methods varying by manufacturer, creating a tight fitting cover membrane. The benefits of tension fabric buildings compared to traditional structures can be: Lower operational costs, energy savings, naturally bright, quick installation, ability to re-locate building, flexible foundation design options,and corrosion
Corrosion
Corrosion is the disintegration of an engineered material into its constituent atoms due to chemical reactions with its surroundings. In the most common use of the word, this means electrochemical oxidation of metals in reaction with an oxidant such as oxygen...
resistance. Unlike conventional or metal clad buildings, tension fabric buildings can be more economically relocated
Structure relocation
A structure relocation is the process of moving a structure from one location to another. There are two main ways for a structure to be moved: disassembling and then reassembling it at the required destination, or transporting it whole. For the latter, the building may be pushed on temporary rails...
.
In some political (building code) jurisdictions, tension fabric buildings may qualify as temporary structures which benefit from a shorter capital depreciation period, relative to a permanent structure, for tax purposes. Buildings classified as temporary structures may have significant limitations on occupancy, applied load and fire safety considerations and period of installation.
Tension fabric buildings have gained popularity over the last few decades in many industries including the following applications: hay
Hay
Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...
and feed
Compound feed
Compound feeds are feedstuffs that are blended from various raw materials and additives. These blends are formulated according to the specific requirements of the target animal...
storage, horse riding
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
arenas, commercial
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
, manufacturing, warehousing
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
, sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
and salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
storage for road maintenance departments, environmental management
Environmental management
Environmental resource management is “a purposeful activity with the goal to maintain and improve the state of an environmental resource affected by human activities” . It is not, as the phrase suggests, the management of the environment as such, but rather the management of the interaction and...
, aviation
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
, airplane hangar
Hangar
A hangar is a closed structure to hold aircraft or spacecraft in protective storage. Most hangars are built of metal, but other materials such as wood and concrete are also sometimes used...
s, marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
, government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
, military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
and emergency shelters.
Building sizes are usually standardized by the nature of being a pre-engineered building
Pre-engineered building
In structural engineering, a pre-engineered building is designed by a manufacturer to be fabricated using a pre-determined inventory of raw materials and manufacturing methods that can efficiently satisfy a wide range of structural and aesthetic design requirements...
. Some manufacturers produce tension fabric buildings spanning up to 300 feet wide and to almost any length. Buildings can be designed to be portable, mounted on wheels or other rolling crane-type designs fitted to the baseplates, or lifting in modules by overhead crane
Overhead crane
An overhead crane, commonly called a bridge crane, is a type of crane found in industrial environments. An overhead crane consists of parallel runways with a traveling bridge spanning the gap...
s. Exceptional projects require special design considerations which should be communicated to the manufacturer at the quote proposal stage or in project tender specifications.
Industrial strength fabric, some of which can have life expectancies of 20–30 years, have been used for many applications. Fabric's life expectancy is affected by local environmental factors (e.g. sunlight, temperature, wind, air quality) and occupancy conditions (e.g. humidity, chemical vapours). The current structural membranes available are made of PVC
PVC
Polyvinyl chloride is a plastic.PVC may also refer to:*Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military honor*Peripheral venous catheter, a small, flexible tube placed into a peripheral vein in order to administer medication or fluids...
or Polyethylene
Polyethylene
Polyethylene or polythene is the most widely used plastic, with an annual production of approximately 80 million metric tons...
. Some fabrics are sufficiently translucent to allow sunlight to pass through, creating a naturally lit environment inside the building. Fabric selection influences project capital cost and maintenance. Material decision factors should consider the project budget, nature of the project and the required durability.
While common application of tension fabric buildings are for temporary use, they are not exempt from regulatory requirements including compliance with building codes, occupancy classifications, aesthetics and building permits. Fabric tension buildings are required to meet the same Building Code
Building code
A building code, or building control, is a set of rules that specify the minimum acceptable level of safety for constructed objects such as buildings and nonbuilding structures. The main purpose of building codes are to protect public health, safety and general welfare as they relate to the...
safety requirements and applicable design standards as any other structure. Professional architectural and engineering consultants should be engaged to design the project to ensure proper compliance to all safety and code issues.
Tension fabric buildings may have assembly details that make them amenable to disassembly and reassembly at a new location. This is different from other forms of pre-engineered buildings: Metal clad buildings require sealants that make disassembly difficult and fastener penetrations that cannot be easily duplicated (e.g. new screw in existing hole) in reassembly if all reconstruction tolerances are not exactly duplicated at the new location. However, in all cases, code compliance and structural loads at the new location must be considered for occupant safety.
Tension fabric building manufacturers accept the responsibility to design some or all elements of the building: strength and stability of the structural system, cladding (fabric), thermal/air/vapor retarding membranes and service limit conditions (e.g. deflection under load) as specified by the project designers and within the context of applicable building codes and design standards. Tension fabric buildings are designed with CAD (computer-aided design
Computer-aided design
Computer-aided design , also known as computer-aided design and drafting , is the use of computer technology for the process of design and design-documentation. Computer Aided Drafting describes the process of drafting with a computer...
) software for the customization of the building and to ensure it will meet load and service expectations (e.g. wind/snow/collateral/seismic loads and deflection/vibration service requirements).
Structural load
Structural load
Structural loads or actions are forces, deformations or accelerations applied to a structure or its components.Loads cause stresses, deformations and displacements in structures. Assessment of their effects is carried out by the methods of structural analysis...
, architectural and performance or service requirements will influence building pricing. It is important to be able to assess variations in proposals to ensure that prices reflect similar product offerings. Consultants who specialize in tension fabric building projects should be engaged to specify and review supplier submissions.
Tension Fabric Buildings are commonly referred to as: Fabric Structures, Fabric Tension Buildings, Cover-All Buildings, Fabric Buildings, Hoop Buildings, Quonset Structures, Sport Halls, Tents and Bubbles. Note: Cover-All is a manufacturer name which, through regional commercial success, is generally suggestive of specific forms of manufactured building products. Cover-All ceased business in 2010 after several highly publicized large structural failures and lawsuits. Quonset hut
Quonset hut
A Quonset hut is a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel having a semicircular cross section. The design was based on the Nissen hut developed by the British during World War I...
s, corrugated metal arch buildings, achieved common recognition due to their popular use by the U.S. Military services during World War II but the form is easily duplicated with tension fabric buildings.
Project Professionals and Manufacturer Designed Buildings
The project Architect, sometimes called the Architect of Record, is typically responsible for aspects such as aesthetic, dimensional, occupant comfort and fire safety. When a pre-engineered building is selected for a project, the Architect accepts conditions inherent in the manufacturer's product offerings for aspects such as materials, colours, structural form, dimensional modularity, etc. Despite the existence of the manufacturer's standard assembly details, the Architect remains responsible to ensure that the manufacturer's product and assembly is consistent with the building code requriements (e.g. continuity of air/vapour retarders, insulation, rain screen; size and location of exits; fire rated assemblies) and occupant/owner expectations.
Many jurisdictions recognize the distinction between the project engineer, sometimes called the Engineer of Record, and the manufacturer's employee or subcontract engineer, sometimes called a specialty engineer. The principle differences between these two entities on a project are the limits of commercial obligation, professional responsibility and liability.
The structural Engineer of Record is responsible to specify the design parameters for the project (e.g. materials, loads, design standards, service limits) and to ensure that the element and assembly designs by others are consistent in the global context of the finished building.
The specialty engineer is responsible to design only those elements which the manufacturer is commercially obligated to supply (e.g. by contract) and to communicate the assembly procedures, design assumptions and responses, to the extent that the design relies on or affects work by others, to the Engineer of Record - usually described in the manufacturer's erection drawings and assembly manuals. The manufacturer produces an engineered product but does not typically provide engineering services to the project.
In the context described, the Architect and Engineer of Record are the designers of the building and bear ultimate responsibility for the performance of the completed work. A buyer should be aware of the project professional distinctions when developing the project plan.
References: