Today’s Architect has a tough decision to make when it comes to choosing materials. There is steel and glass and concrete and wood. What about fabric! Architectural Fabric Structures are fast becoming a very common and visible part of the built environment. No longer used for garden parties and traveling circuses, these structures come in many new forms and uses.

Fabric structures are being designed for as few as one person as in a boutique resort hotel in the outback of Australia, to covering 50,000 plus at the Super Bowl in Houston, Texas. Fabric Structures are now also being designed to cover animals as well like at Seaworld, Orlando where these structures cover dolphins to prevent them from sun burn (they get sun burn too?). And let’s not forget Man’s newest best friend, the automobile. More and more, the automobile has taken center stage where valet parking attendants, airport parking owners and car dealers are discovering the advantages of covering automobiles.

Fabric Structures are beings used as roofs, sails, walls, lights, shades and even signs. With all these different uses and forms, there are a variety of materials to choose from depending on one’s needs, budget and design.

The best way to determine which material to use is to see what has already been used for the building type you are considering.

If you are interested in structures such as tents or umbrellas where the main objective is to provide temporary, nomadic shelter, you are probably looking at vinyl laminated or coated polyester.

If you are researching awnings and canopies, the options are endless. You are most likely to hear words like acrylic canvas and backlit fabrics and materials which you can apply graphics to.

If shade is your primary concern, the buzz word is structural mesh, high density polyethylene (HDPE), perforations and percentage of light transmission.

For warehousing, industrial applications and temporary buildings, a common term may be clear spans or pre-engineered fabric building with materials that are mold and mildew resistant like polyolefin.

The interior and lighting industry have their own variety of fabrics where flame resistance, UL ratings and percentage of reflectance are the most important issues.

Air and Tension Fabric Structures rely heavily on the fabric’s structural characteristics so tensile strength, sound absorption and solar transmission play a major role in their selection.

So, What material do you use?

Is your project near the water? Is it meant to last 20 years? Do you want to see it from afar or do you want it to be dark inside at noon? These are all important questions one should answer before you even start. Fabric Structures have very few components. In most cases, it is just steel, fabric, cables and hardware. The choice for each component will most certainly affect the others. Other issues include: span, size, availability, cost, codes, etc.

In most States, permanent, totally enclosed structures require a “non combustible” or Class A/B rating according to Building Codes. The most recognized and accepted material used for Architectural Applications is Teflon Coated Fiberglass or PTFE.

Recognized manufacturers include Saint Gobain, Verseidag, FiberTech and Taconic. Teflon comes to the site brown like a pair of khakis but bleaches to a milky white over time (usually 4-8 weeks). The biggest problem with Teflon is that it is stiff and brittle and must be handled very carefully to avoid breaking the fibers. The best part is its life span (25+ years) and its “self cleaning” attributes.

Other “non combustible” materials include Silicon Coated Fiberglass, Gore Brand Tenara Architectural Fabrics and Ethylene tetra ethylene or ETFE.

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