The Many Faces of Fabric Buildings

More than the many fabric and tension-fabric faces and facades accenting buildings, or the commercial and industrial applications to which these structures are directed are the names and terminology used to describe them.

A few of the names (wrongly and rightly applied) for fabric buildings are: membrane buildings, polymer structures, tarpaulin buildings, tent buildings, canopy structures, poly-fabric structures, acrylic buildings, tensile structures, fabric-tension buildings, dome buildings and pvc structures. The list goes on. Whether accurately or inaccurately named, fabric buildings have found homes (and been designed as homes) in myriad environments and varied locations. They range from low-end, loose polyester-covered portable garages and party tents to massive airplane hangars and intricately designed architectural canopies around the world. Because of the prevalence of the budget garages and artistic, even futuristic artistic applications, the fabric building often is disregarded as a practical solution to commercial, industrial and residential (yes, residential) needs. The many names also create many faces for this versatile building and tend to dilute the real value in the structures.

As the structural integrity and reliability of these buildings becomes recognized, though, more and more jurisdictions are welcoming them into their planning districts as suitable, even preferred alternatives to steel or wood structures.

Inflated fabric buildings have been in use for decades for such venues as golf driving ranges or indoor go-cart tracks. Many sporting venues similarly have adopted the building concept.

However, it is only in the past fifteen years that the fabric building has become the choice of manufacturing and industrial operations that require large, open indoor workspaces. Following in their footsteps, commercial enterprises have found them to be excellent open-air or divided storefront and kiosk venues.

Most recently, some architects have styled residences using tension-fabric design. Could multi-housing projects follow soon?

Companies like Calhoun, with its reputation for high-quality structures, advanced engineering and excellent technical support, have found markets in what used to be unusual places, but now have become almost mainstream. Still, many people are reluctant to invest in such designs, until they research the innumerable advantages of a tension-fabric building.

As potential owners become familiar with this new, advanced construction alternative, the derogatory names, like tarp building or portable building will fall out of favour. The structures are neither flimsy tarp or fly-away tents, yet are lightweight and quickly constructed. As they learn of the high-quality materials used, the idea of a polyester and aluminum budget building will be replaced with the real image of a durable steel and long-life fabric complex.  Even the idea of a dome building becomes obsolete as prospective owners realize that there re almost limitless configurations and adaptations that can be incorporated into a fabric building.

There are countless faces and scores of facades involved with tension fabric buildings, but the real face is the face of progress. That is no façade.

Myths, Misconceptions and Mistaken “Facts” About Tension Fabric Buildings

“It’s made of plastic and other crude oil products. It must be flammable.” “It is so light that a good windstorm could blow it away.” “There is no way it could withstand a snowstorm.” “If it tears, there goes the whole building.” “It must cost a bundle to heat.” “You can’t wire or plumb these buildings.” “What if you want to expand? How can you add on to something like this?” These, and dozens of other arguments against tension-fabric or fabric buildings generally are nothing more than misconceptions and inaccurate beliefs about one of the most economical and safe structures – fabric or “tarpaulin” buildings.

Let’s deal with general safety perception and the reality surrounding them as they apply to these structures.

Fire: Acrylic and poly-fabric buildings have a high rating as fire retardant material. So long as flame is applied directly, they while burn, but once the flame is removed, they smolder and extinguish.

Lightweight: The fact that the buildings are lightweight is an extreme advantage, rather than disadvantage. Their light weight means that they use far less material than a conventional building. This makes them more environmentally benign, while also meaning that the intense, heavy infrastructure required to support conventional wood or steel buildings is not needed. Thus they can be constructed with greater free spans and more open space. The design means that they also are erected more quickly than conventional structures. As to “blowing away,” the tension in the building fabric design makes them extremely solid, and they are well anchored to prevent the parachute effect experienced by tents, etc.

Durable: Acrylic, fiberglass and poly-fabric tension buildings withstand extremes of temperature exceptionally well. They are suited for northern Arctic weather as well as Sahara Desert-like conditions. Their design means that they shed snow and redirect wind very well. Unlike steel, they do not transmit heat and cold rapidly, so they are easier to maintain a controlled climate within.  The fabric is very unlikely to tear spontaneously, and any tear inflicted by an accident is easily repairable.

Heating: The fabric generally is a good transmitter of light, requiring far less cost to provide ambient lighting. Their open nature allows freer movement of air, meaning there are fewer “dead zones” or pockets of hot and cold. The buildings are more able to accommodate efficient heating and cooling concepts than a closed stell or wood building.

Electrical and Plumbing: Actually, the tension-fabric building is the easiest building to wire and plumb, because it is so open and accessible.

Expansion: Almost all tension-fabric and poly-fabric buildings lend themselves well to expansion and redesign, making them the perfect building for a growing manufacturing company.

Miscellaneous: Fabric buildings resist rodent damage, chemical and salt spills and deterioration due to environmental conditions. They are versatile and cost-efficient structures that are safe and expandable. Their primary drawback? Their benefits largely are not understood by most prospective owners! 

Cost Benefit of Covering An Outdoor Rink

 The magic of outdoor rinks in Canada is that, of course, that they are outdoors. However, small communities and remote villages often do not have enclosed arenas because of cost or difficulty constructing and maintaining these structures. Enter the fabric-covered structure. Think of Investors Field in Winnipeg, or any of the retractable and fabric domes on stadiums across North America. While some use metal as a covering, many use polymers or fiberglass, so that the feel of outdoors remains.

To fully enclose an outdoor rink would be sacrilege for many purists. Yet, without some sort of sheltering, community rinks are limited in many ways. Seasons tend to be shorter because the sun melts the ice early and autumn sun allows the ground to hold heat longer. A canopy, on the other hand, provides the shade needed to mitigate the sun’s heat. Snow days are a welcome relief for workers who get a day off when the weather is uncooperative. But open rinks become unusable as snowfall increases, and volunteer (or worse, paid) labour is called upon to clear the accumulations. Then there is rain. Climate change is hitting outdoor rinks hard, with rain occurring in every month of the year in much of Canada. Rain ruins rink ice. Sacrilege or not, the need to provide some shelter for rinks is obvious.

A covered rink can double as a skating rink or curling rink, as a recreational site or a place to hold regular games. However, cost is the ultimate deciding criterion.

Today’s tension-fabric structures are adaptable and flexible. Their inherent design means that they can be fitted and configured to any size, layout or location, without a substantial change in cost. Poly fabric buildings are lightweight, easy to install and, best of all, inexpensive. This opens up the opportunity for small communities to invest nominal amounts in a recreational facility that benefits everyone.

Fabric buildings can be constructed with fixed in place walls or with removable walls, similar to party tent structures. This means that the resistance by purists is overcome, since, in good weather, walls can be removed to allow for an open feel. The remaining canopy provides protection against the sun and snow, and even offers limited protection against wind – the evil partner of cold.

Interestingly, the winter shelter offered by fabric structures for outdoor rinks also extends the benefit into summer. The rink now can be used as an events venue, party venue, or even rented for private, revenue-generating functions. This means that fabric canopies can pay for themselves quickly.

An open canopy also circumnavigates the need for adherence to building codes that apply to permanent structures. This, in turn, reduces construction costs and ongoing costs.

Maintenance of fabric buildings is minimal, meaning that operating expenses are minimized relative to wood or metal coverings.  With fabric, light filters through, so there is little need for the daytime lighting that would be needed for wood or metal structures. At the same time, there is no bleeding of moisture in early spring days, such as experienced in metal buildings with bolt and nut extrusions in the roofline.  This reduces ice maintenance.

Local communities that want to keep their outdoor rinks, or that can not afford to enclose their inexpensive outdoor facility now can save money while installing a poly-fabric complete cover or canopy. Even individual families or small groups can afford to cover their own rink. With the lightweight nature of the structure and the ease of installation, even location is not fixed, since it is relatively easy to relocate moderate sized units. In fact, some can be constructed on caster wheels or rollers, making them truly portable.

Ideally, communities eyeing their future may consider building a fabric structure that can be adapted or expanded, or to which insulated walls and other features or amenities can be added.  This provides further cost benefit.

Covering an outdoor rink is far from the sacrilege that purists claim, when the options available in a tension fabric building are considered.

Metsl Versus Fabric Structures

While pressure washing a vehicle inside a Quonset, I noticed that moisture was dripping from the curved roof, yet none of the spray was reaching higher than a few feet above the truck. It was cool outside, and I was using warm water. The vapour was rising, condensing on the upper reaches of the steel ribbing and falling like rain.

That was not the problem that I saw, however. What I saw was that the condensation that remained on the bolts and nut ends was evaporating, and over only a few years of this type of incident reoccurring, rust was evident everywhere. Yes, galvanized metal is supposed to be rust resistant, and it largely is. However, at key stress points such as bolt holes, rust inevitably takes hold and soon those rust spots turn to holes and leakage occurs, exacerbating the problem. This metal building leaked everywhere.

Leakage is one of the problems common to older metal buildings. Cycles of heat and cold, sun and wind and differences between the internal and external conditions lead to warping of the metal so that rivets pop or moistures accumulations lead to rust penetration at key points.

Metal is a great conductor, too, not only of electricity, making steel and aluminum buildings risky for a handyman to wire on his own, but of heat and cold, making them quite uncomfortable in which to work during extremes of temperature.

Once wind gets hold of a loosened panel, it makes short work of the metal, stripping it from its moorings., One of the most common scenes in hurricane season is the flapping of aluminum panels on buildings, or sheets of the metal flying by like a kite in the air.

Metal is rigid. This limitation restricts the design of metal buildings and forces engineers to construct smaller spans than can be created with fabric buildings. The unwieldy configuration of metal buildings reduces options for expansion, development and usage of the interiors. Cuts and bends form stress points or weakened spots in the material, making them prone to breakdown.

Manufacturers of steel clad, steel roofed or aluminum buildings claim that their buildings have lifespans exceeding 50 years, yet simple observation of older steel buildings across the rural landscape shows that many of these supposedly durable buildings already are falling into disrepair, after as little as 20 years. Why? Simply put, manufacturer’s claims of longevity apply to the thickest gauge, most expensive products. These buildings may well be out of the economic reach of most consumers.

On the other hand, fabric buildings, like metal ones, come with a wide range of material options. The differences are many, but the two most salient  are initial cost and replacement cost. Fabric building skins can be replaced as needed, and very often repaired quickly and easily. Yet, even moderate- or budget-level fabric is designed to last twenty years or more. With almost no maintenance, these stretched fabric buildings last a similar length to steel buildings but do so at a fraction of the cost.

Trusses and base plates of fabric buildings generally are coated and designed to last virtually forever, making them less likely to age like many of the swayback and buckling metal building counterparts.

Because of the inherent tensile strength of fabric buildings, they resist wind, rain and snow load easily, deflecting the elements while metal build design encourages blunt resistance against the wind, with roof lines often allowing snow to accumulate and compress roof infrastructure.

Poly-fabric, unlike metal, is resistant to rot, corrosion and even the impact of chemicals and fuels. This makes these buildings much more suitable for use as machine shops, hazardous chemical storage buildings and other high-risk uses. While steel and aluminum served their purpose decades ago, the new fabric, poly-fabric or tension-fabric buildings would serve the majority of applications much better and much more economically, even as a place where I can wash my truck without carrying an umbrella to protect against the falling raindrops from roof rivets.

Rural Business Opportunities with Fabric Structures

Short summer seasons limit many of the recreation businesses in the northern areas of the US and Canada. Go-carting, mini-golf, waterslides and splash parks, along with dozens of other outdoor summer events cease in early fall and do not recommence until late spring. The primary reason is weather.

The entertainment businesses that attempt to defy this simple barrier to being open for longer durations experience prohibitive costs. Virtually the only waterslides that remain open are those located inside hotels. Mini-golf facilities close shop when the ground freezes. A few go-cart operations have found homes in old warehouses, but the facilities are pricey, taxes high and maintenance and insurance costs on the old buildings unreasonable.

Yet, fabric buildings offer a cost-effective alternative. With the ability to build clear spans exceeding three hundred feet and ceiling heights more than one-third of that size, almost any summer sport can be housed indoors and offer nearly year-round availability. A few driving ranges, opened more than two decades ago in fabric buildings, have found a niche and a profit path that seasonal operators would do almost anything to achieve.

Because of the design and materials used in tension fabric structures, almost all of the space becomes useable, while wood, concrete or steel buildings must incorporate buffers, design for support beams and posts that interrupt the flow of the building and consider the limitation of ceiling height in selecting a business in the buildings.

Batting cages, driving ranges, mini-golf, soccer and football and even full-fledged baseball operations easily can be held in a fabric building, extending seasons and revenue flow while incurring only modest operating and capital costs for infrastructure.

Small communities struggle to find a way to offer sporting venues and recreation opportunities for their residents in winter. Most frequently, they are limited to conventional winter sports. Yet, a small fabric building can house waterslides, splash parks and track and field facilities.

Go cart racing is simply the starting point for similar activities. Dirt bike tracks, mountain biking and so on fit well in the tension fabric structure.  Archery, short-range gun and target shooting and similar sports are also possible.

With the range of recreation businesses that can be housed in fabric and poly-fabric buildings, new doors are opened for would-be entrepreneurs, in rural towns across Canada and the USA, either operated in partnership with the community, in a private partnership relying on local investors or as a privately owned business.

  

 

     

Business Opportunities Using Fabric or Tarpaulin Buildings

Short summer seasons limit many of the recreation businesses in the northern areas of the US and Canada. Go-carting, mini-golf, waterslides and splash parks, along with dozens of other outdoor summer events cease in early fall and do not recommence until late spring. The primary reason is weather.

The entertainment businesses that attempt to defy this simple barrier to being open for longer durations experience prohibitive costs. Virtually the only waterslides that remain open are those located inside hotels. Mini-golf facilities close shop when the ground freezes. A few go-cart operations have found homes in old warehouses, but the facilities are pricey, taxes high and maintenance and insurance costs on the old buildings unreasonable.

Yet, fabric buildings offer a cost-effective alternative. With the ability to build clear spans exceeding three hundred feet and ceiling heights more than one-third of that size, almost any summer sport can be housed indoors and offer nearly year-round availability. A few driving ranges, opened more than two decades ago in fabric buildings, have found a niche and a profit path that seasonal operators would do almost anything to achieve.

Because of the design and materials used in tension fabric structures, almost all of the space becomes useable, while wood, concrete or steel buildings must incorporate buffers, design for support beams and posts that interrupt the flow of the building and consider the limitation of ceiling height in selecting a business in the buildings.

Batting cages, driving ranges, mini-golf, soccer and football and even full-fledged baseball operations easily can be held in a fabric building, extending seasons and revenue flow while incurring only modest operating and capital costs for infrastructure.

Small communities struggle to find a way to offer sporting venues and recreation opportunities for their residents in winter. Most frequently, they are limited to conventional winter sports. Yet, a small fabric building can house waterslides, splash parks and track and field facilities.

Go cart racing is simply the starting point for similar activities. Dirt bike tracks, mountain biking and so on fit well in the tension fabric structure.  Archery, short-range gun and target shooting and similar sports are also possible.

With the range of recreation businesses that can be housed in fabric and poly-fabric buildings, new doors are opened for would-be entrepreneurs, in rural towns across Canada and the USA, either operated in partnership with the community, in a private partnership relying on local investors or as a privately owned business.

  

 

Fabric Buildings A Great Opportunity For First Nations Communities

On a recent visit to a northern Manitoba First Nations community, I sat down with a few of the residents to discuss their housing issues.

It was early spring and the frost was just coming out of the ground. Like many northern communities, homes are built on a combination of rock and moss, none of which is level. In the spring, the moisture in the moss expands, pushing a corner of the foundation of the home upward. This causes the doors and even windows to shift, with broken windows, popped by this movement, a common sight. In the worst of winter, residents remove door knobs so that the shifting does not trap them inside or out of their homes when the lock striker plate and latch misalign. The local carpenters are kept busy replacing windows and adjusting door frames.

A part of the problem is the inability to bring up materials and complete the necessary quality work in the short summer season. Materials often can only arrive on winter roads. Tradesmen play “catch-up” on repairs while trying to build new housing on site throughout the community. Thus, the quality of workmanship suffers, making the housing crisis worse.

Yet, a seemingly simple solution has been overlooked by the band and by INAC: build several houses at once in an enclosed environment, year round. One of the reasons that bands have not embraced this idea is that authorities are still thinking 1970s construction. In their view, building a giant wood or steel warehouse in which to build a handful of houses would be counterproductive. They have failed to examine the benefits of using a fabric structure in which to build the homes.

Standard wood or steel buildings are heavy and the large spans of open interior space would be interrupted or segmented by support beams and posts. This would make building and removing the completed houses from the warehouse an almost impossible task.

Fabric, or tension-fabric buildings can be constructed with huge clear spans, sometimes exceeding three hundred feet. Being lightweight, they require much less support than conventional buildings. Because they rely on tension of the fabric for strength, they offer a more sturdy design in a harsh, windy environment. Also because of their design the ends can open almost fully, allowing completed houses and bulky materials to be moved in an out at will.

The poly-fabric is extremely durable, performing very well in extreme cold and extreme heat. While steel conducts heat and cold and wood requires dense insulation, pvc fabric structures help to keep the temperature regulated. At the same time, the open design allows for free air flow, significantly lowering heating costs.

Polymer fabric buildings also require less lighting, with good translucence. If insulation is desired, insulated interior tarps or suspended insulation is an easy option.

One of the great advantages of fabric buildings in the northern setting is the lower costs of transportation. Less material and less weight of the pieces reduces weight by up to 80%. In some cases, many of the parts can be flown in economically. Once on site, assembly of poly-fabric buildings occurs in a fraction of the time required for conventional buildings. Even anchoring is easy, either by anchoring trusses and plates into rock or designing a floating footing system.

Fisher First Nations, in Manitoba’s Interlake, builds up to four homes at a time in their warehouse building. This idea would work just as well in any remote community, allowing homes to be built throughout the entire year, at lower costs per unit than currently occurs and at a higher standard of workmanship (because supervisors would be on site at all times). A corollary to building RTM homes inside a fabric building is that local workers could be employed year round, while residents benefit from improved housing.

Weight, cost, quality, ease or flexibility each is a great reason to look more closely at using fabric structures in remote communities to benefit residents. Tension-fabric buildings offer First Nations people a great chance to help themselves to lower cost, better quality facilities while creating new employment and income opportunities in regions where jobs are scarce, costs are high and quality suffers.

 

Uses for Fabric Buildings

When the photocopier emerged on the office scene decades ago to replace Gestetner and carbon copies, most people were skeptical of its value or the likelihood that offices would find a need for multiple copies. Instead of failing miserably as predicted, it opened up other industries and technologies, including fax, print advertising and others. This, in turn, enabled the growth of other businesses. Think of the ideas and inventions that the computer has spawned. 

Similarly, the emergence of fabric buildings (often called “tarpaulin buildings”) has enabled the refinement and development of many more business and personal applications that were not feasible a decade or two ago.

In rural communities, retention of the population base has become the primary focus, with a steady outflow of residents moving to bigger centres where there are better facilities of all sorts. Combined with a lack of money to stimulate infrastructure development or business support, this lack of services has become critical to community survival or failure. Fabric buildings may offer an answer to cost effective development of local resources. One of the major costs, for example, involved in swimming pool construction is the enclosure. With the very short outdoor season in Western Canada, a three-month season to repay the cost of a swimming pool is far from sufficient. However, a fabric canopy could extend the season by three more months, making capital costs more affordable. Along Lake Winnipeg, a local community spent several years considering the viability of an amphitheater for its summer patrons, opting eventually for a simple stage. Had the choice of a fabric canopy been considered, cost would have been significantly reduced and the project proceeded more quickly. While many rural communities have developed golf courses, opting for a fabric pavilion would have expanded their reach and ability to serve larger groups than the small clubhouses that they build can do.

Whether urban or rural, open-air restaurants are popular eateries and the fabric building is the perfect answer to this venue design. They can be seasonal, extended season operations or even designed as year-round facilities. In like manner, rural and urban centres may want to look at the low cost versus the benefit of providing baseball diamond dugout canopies or umbrella sunshades for the spectators. In the country, rodeo stands and staging areas could use such low-cost coverings.

Many  cities now employ transit stop canopy shelters made of fabric. Apartment complexes and some hotels have maximized usable space by installing rooftop canopies while others have enclosed courtyards in fabric domes. Think of the many outdated seniors homes. Their tiny suites are far from inviting. Expanded leisure space can be quickly created by enclosing the unused greenspace that many have. Auto dealers know that shoppers prefer to examine their potential purchase in the comfort of an enclosed showroom. A simple shade saddle, inflatable dome or tension-fabric building costs a fraction of a traditional showroom, provides better lighting and easier access and egress for vehicles. This, in turn, increases sales potential.

While the evolution of fabric structures (or “tarp structures”) may not equal the impact of the computer or photocopier, it is a game-changer, and allows for creative communities, organizations, businesses and individuals to capitalize on the opportunities created.

 

Fabric Materials for Tarpaulin Buildings

When the photocopier emerged on the office scene decades ago to replace Gestetner and carbon copies, most people were skeptical of its value or the likelihood that offices would find a need for multiple copies. Instead of failing miserably as predicted, it opened up other industries and technologies, including fax, print advertising and others. This, in turn, enabled the growth of other businesses. Think of the ideas and inventions that the computer has spawned. 

Similarly, the emergence of fabric buildings (often called “tarpaulin buildings”) has enabled the refinement and development of many more business and personal applications that were not feasible a decade or two ago.

In rural communities, retention of the population base has become the primary focus, with a steady outflow of residents moving to bigger centres where there are better facilities of all sorts. Combined with a lack of money to stimulate infrastructure development or business support, this lack of services has become critical to community survival or failure. Fabric buildings may offer an answer to cost effective development of local resources. One of the major costs, for example, involved in swimming pool construction is the enclosure. With the very short outdoor season in Western Canada, a three-month season to repay the cost of a swimming pool is far from sufficient. However, a fabric canopy could extend the season by three more months, making capital costs more affordable. Along Lake Winnipeg, a local community spent several years considering the viability of an amphitheater for its summer patrons, opting eventually for a simple stage. Had the choice of a fabric canopy been considered, cost would have been significantly reduced and the project proceeded more quickly. While many rural communities have developed golf courses, opting for a fabric pavilion would have expanded their reach and ability to serve larger groups than the small clubhouses that they build can do.

Whether urban or rural, open-air restaurants are popular eateries and the fabric building is the perfect answer to this venue design. They can be seasonal, extended season operations or even designed as year-round facilities. In like manner, rural and urban centres may want to look at the low cost versus the benefit of providing baseball diamond dugout canopies or umbrella sunshades for the spectators. In the country, rodeo stands and staging areas could use such low-cost coverings.

Many  cities now employ transit stop canopy shelters made of fabric. Apartment complexes and some hotels have maximized usable space by installing rooftop canopies while others have enclosed courtyards in fabric domes. Think of the many outdated seniors homes. Their tiny suites are far from inviting. Expanded leisure space can be quickly created by enclosing the unused greenspace that many have. Auto dealers know that shoppers prefer to examine their potential purchase in the comfort of an enclosed showroom. A simple shade saddle, inflatable dome or tension-fabric building costs a fraction of a traditional showroom, provides better lighting and easier access and egress for vehicles. This, in turn, increases sales potential.

While the evolution of fabric structures (or “tarp structures”) may not equal the impact of the computer or photocopier, it is a game-changer, and allows for creative communities, organizations, businesses and individuals to capitalize on the opportunities created.

 

Genghis Kan Would Have Been Proud

A quick look at today’s polymerfabric buildings – from air-reinforced inflated recreation centres to monstrous stretched canopies covering stadiums – tells us that this is new, innovative technology that only is possible because of recent inventions in specialty fabrics. “Space-age,” we think. Wrong. Tension-fabric buildings actually pre-date the iron age. It is only the substantial engineering advances that are modern. The idea is ancient, proven and reliable. Oddly, it is reliability that most often comes into question when we look at and consider buying our own fabric-covered structures.

Think of the yurt, or ger, that has found a huge following in North American parks and campgrounds over the past three decades. Many of us see it in connection with the Mongols of Genghis Khan, from 1162. Yet, gers were common around the Black Sea around 600 BC and earlier, withstanding extremes of cold and wind without failing. These were the original, true stretched-skin tension buildings, with furs or felt wrapped tightly around a frame of branches. Their design called for a minimum of material while offering great strength and durability. The North American First Nations teepees are excellent examples of tension-fabric structures, and could withstand extreme environmental conditions while being sufficiently versatile to allow for frequent dismantling and re-erection over numerous years.

The doors that opened for modern tension-fabric buildings came during World War II, with the introduction of quanset steel or aluminum buildings used as utility, storage or housing buildings. Shortly afterward, advances in use of natural gas, or off-products from the petroleum industry, along with development of plastisizers, enabled the use of PVC in such applications.

Even the common, inobtrusive tent is a form of tension-fabric building with limited applications.

Because of the supposed novelty of polymer-fabric buildings, many jurisdictions only reluctantly embraced the qualities and advantages of these creations. They have proven to be popular farm buildings, primarily because the building codes for farm building is more relaxed than for urban housing and commercial buildings. Yet, these fabric structures have received exceptional scrutiny by engineers, and have been proven in some of the most advanced and unique architecture around the world.

East Street Project at Westfield Shopping Centre (London, UK),  Grand Pavilion (Melbourne, Au) and the Santa Fe Opera House (USA) are just a few examples. The Qatar inflatable fabric dome is a great example of a habitable tension-fabric structure, as is the Vectorfields Frank Kim residence. These are more artworks than traditional building, however.

It is in the huge gap between these true works of art and the basic Quonset in which the most efficient and practical applications of polymer-fabric buildings occur. Airport hangars, storage buildings for large equipment and supplies, temporary bulk housing and even machine or workshops all become more cost-efficient when  fabric buildings are involved.

In a strange way, tensioned fabric buildings have evolved in a circular manner, originating with available raw materials such as skins and poles, through free-standing polymer structures relying entirely on internal tension to allow for artistic expression, to minimalist designs that offer greater strength, durability, weather and chemical resistance and lower cost than conventional wood, steel or concrete buildings. These new, simple yet solid designs reflect and integrate more of the basic principles of their ancestors –yurts and teepees – than the modernistic creations that immediately preceded them. Low cost now becomes one of their key advantages, while also allowing for installation in almost any extreme of environment on earth, and in harsh conditions where chemicals, weathering and structural stress weaken other buildings much more rapidly than the polymer-fabric designs.

However, unlike their Mongol ancestors, these new buildings are virtually unlimited in size, and fit almost any need. With proper engineering oversight, fewer and fewer jurisdictions impose onerous restrictions on their installation, since, unlike temporary garages, party tents or other budget- and low-quality products, a decent polymer-fabric tension structure often exceeds standards of any comparable house or commercial building. They are a far cry from the old canvas over pole army camp building, and now can be found on even the most sophisticated and technologically advanced armed forces base – thus proving that they are recognized as a high-quality, high-reliability structure. Much like the old Genghis Khan yurt.

Advantages of Tension Fabric Buildings

In the 1970s, rural North America began seeing a proliferation of sway-back barns – the old hip roof barns that had reached their 30-50-year lifespan and the trusses had given way, sagging in the middle like a saddle. In the 1990s, we saw the invasion of sagging Quonsets, with the same swayback saddle appearance, as the steel and aluminum corroded and the rivets began to pop. In the 1990s, a new design emerged to replace these antiquated utility buildings: the tension-fabric or polymer-fabric structure.

Fabric buildings offer a number of advantages over steel or wood construction, not the least of which are cost and versatility.

In Canada, weather presents a huge challenge. In summer, extreme heat and abundant sunlight curl asphalt shingles, dry and crack timber, warp steel. The metals transmit both the heat and the cold, making for significant problems in controlling internal temperature and humidity. Wood rots in high moisture environment and is often scarce in remote areas, including the north and arid areas of southwest USA. Wind wreaks havoc with the blunt-wall, solid steel or vertical wood wall and pitched-roof designs. Winter means extreme cold, and, again, steel and asphalt suffer, while concrete cracks and heaves. Poly-fabric and pvc fabric, on the other hand, withstand great extremes of temperature, moisture and other environmental conditions.

Each of the other cited materials used in construction suffer from either corrosion or deterioration in the presence of chemicals, while polymers withstand corrosive materials much better, making the building perfect for applications where salts and other harsh chemicals (including fuels) are present.

The open, curved design of many of the fabric buildings make them easier to heat, easier to insulate and less costly to light. Their design, lacking the beams and posts commonly required in large-span metal or wood buildings, is so open that equipment and storage space is maximized.

Lightweight materials allow for less costly transportation to remote sites, reducing far-north or even rural remote construction expenses. These lightweight materials also reduce need for support infrastructure, which further reduces cost.

One of the inherent advantages of a simple design is simple construction and minimal labour. Fabric buildings rise in a fraction of the time it takes to build metal or wood buildings. This further reduces construction costs.

Maintenance costs of fabric buildings fall when factoring in the need for fewer windows, less ventilation requirements, no painting, no replacement of roofing materials, less vulnerability to leaking, and lifespans that exceed wood and asphalt construction, approaches, equals and often exceeds that of even the best quality and thickest gauge of steel.

One of the occasional “knocks” against poly-fabric buildings is that they are made from petroleum products and therefore are less environmentally friendly than wood or metal. That claim is false, however. Polymers used are made from natural gas and waste gas emanating from oil wells, and use, by weight, many times less raw material than any other conventional construction form. While wood may be more “natural” (an odd claim), it deteriorates much more quickly than polymers and therefore multiplies the amount of material consumed versus fabric buildings. Almost always, wood buildings use metal or asphalt roofing. Asphalt, of course, is made directly from crude oil and is far less eco-friendly than the pvc products. Steel and aluminum, both mined metals, are far more malignant in environmental issues than pvc, and are far less eco-friendly. After factoring in the huge savings in actual materials of any sort used in poly-fabric buildings, these structures easily become the environmental choice over metal, and generally are more benign than wood buildings, per square foot.

Cost, versatility, durability and even environmental friendliness all weigh in favour of the very lightweight fabric structure, and make it the ideal choice for a multitude of commercial, industrial, agricultural and other applications.

The Basics of Tension-Fabric Buildings

Each building design and structural concept offers unique advantages and obstacles that consumers should consider prior to purchase. Poly-fabric and tension-fabric buildings are no exception. These buildings provide versatility and considerable advantages over conventional construction, yet it is important that you look at the basics of these buildings and design concepts so that you can more clearly see those advantages.

Fabric structures are as varied as wood frame or post and frame conventional buildings. Yet, tension-fabric buildings involve common “building blocks,” and the terminology used in describing these components requires clarification so that consumers may more easily decide upon their specific application preferences.

There are three primary sections to a standard fabric structure: the base or foundation, the skeleton and the coverings.  The base or foundation anchors the building to the ground and provides a solid base for the unit. The skeleton can consist of timber, steel, plastic or aluminum, or, in some instances, fiberglass or graphite (in smaller, more portable units and mobius-ball type units). The fabric may be actual fabric, mesh or films, usually with a poly, vinyl, teflon or pvc coating. The uniqueness of these structures comes primarily from the lightweight yet durable fabric, stretched and providing tension to the entire building. Wood structures, on the other hand, are compression-type construction units.

The footing need not anchor the building to the ground, some of these buildings are truly portable, consisting of a steel or aluminum platform frame on wheels, allowing them to be moved about. Commonly, the skeleton is anchored into concrete footings or pads, enabling installation of a complete flooring system. Less common is the use of pressure-treated timber foundations and even metal screw piles, particularly in soils that shift due to moisture or that are prone to frost heaving.

Today’s fabric buildings usually rely on an aluminum structure that acts like ribbing to hold the fabric tightly. In corrosive environments, the aluminum is often treated with a plastic or vinyl coating to further resist rusting and deterioration. These ribs, trusses and base plates form the skeleton of tension-fabric (also known as poly-fabric) buildings, and require rigid adherence to high engineering standards.

Often, the skin or fabric is made so that the ribs and trusses are pocketing into the design, making them stronger, longer-lived and aesthetically satisfying.

This canopy generally sees the greatest variation in quality. To be able to choose the best material for your application, it is imperative to understand the basics of the most common materials used.

Many of the pvc or polymer skins consist of a woven fabric treated with various topcoats. Canvas structures commonly are used for event venues, equipment shelters and so on. They generally can be deconstructed and reassembled more easily than the poly-fabrics, yet are waterproof and fire-retardant. PVC-laminated polyesters involve a weave of fabric coated and strengthened with vinyl films. Their strength comes from the denier, or size of filament used in the weave, as well as the number of these filaments. Much like a twisted cable versus single cable system used in suspended bridges, the weave provides strength and support for the fabric, while the layer or topcoating provides additional strength, UV protection and protection against moisture, mildew and chemicals. The quality of the poly-fabric can vary as readily as the gauge of steel or aluminum used in construction of other buildings or asphalt in roofing applications.  Nonetheless this tension-fabric design, with the proper skeleton and fabric combination, can span several hundred feet, where conventional construction would require substantially more materials and structural design.

Intuitively, fabric structures might seem more prone to destruction by storms, high wind and harsh weather than conventional buildings, but, due to their design, this is untrue. The tension imparts immense  internal strength, while the flowing design like that of an eggshell, provides consistent integrity that sheds wind, snow and rain. Consider the original tension-fabric building – the Mongolian yurt – which withstands the most violent winds of the Himalayas, because of its curved design. Most fabric structures provide that same advantage.

The three components of the tension-fabric building – foundation, skeleton and fabric – all combine to provide a uniquely cost efficient and utilitarian building, readily adaptable to a multitude of uses.