A
tensile structure is a
constructionIn the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
of elements carrying only tension and no compression or
bendingIn engineering mechanics, bending characterizes the behavior of a slender structural element subjected to an external load applied perpendicularly to a longitudinal axis of the element. The structural element is assumed to be such that at least one of its dimensions is a small fraction, typically...
. The term tensile should not be confused with
tensegrityTensegrity, tensional integrity or floating compression, is a structural principle based on the use of isolated components in compression inside a net of continuous tension, in such a way that the compressed members do not touch each other and the prestressed tensioned members delineate the...
, which is a structural form with both tension and compression elements.
Most tensile structures are supported by some form of compression or bending elements, such as masts (as in
The O2The O2, visually typeset in branding as The O2, is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, piazzas, bars and restaurants...
, formerly the
Millennium DomeThe Millennium Dome, colloquially referred to simply as The Dome or even The O2 Arena, is the original name of a large dome-shaped building, originally used to house the Millennium Experience, a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millennium...
), compression rings or beams.
Tensile membrane structures are most often used as roofs as they can economically and attractively span large distances.
History
This form of construction has only become more rigorously analyzed and widespread in large structures in the latter part of the twentieth century. Tensile structures have long been used in
tentA tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or attached to a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using guy ropes tied to stakes or tent pegs...
s, where the guy ropes provide pre-tension to the fabric and allow it to withstand loads.
Russian engineer
Vladimir ShukhovVladimir Grigoryevich Shukhov , was a Russian engineer-polymath, scientist and architect renowned for his pioneering works on new methods of analysis for structural engineering that led to breakthroughs in industrial design of world's first hyperboloid structures, lattice shell structures, tensile...
was one of the first to develop practical calculations of stresses and deformations of tensile structures, shells and membranes. Shukhov designed eight tensile structures and
thin-shell structureThin-shell structures are light weight constructions using shell elements. These elements are typically curved and are assembled to large structures...
s exhibition pavilions for the Nizhny Novgorod Fair of 1896, covering the area of 27,000 square meters. A more recent large-scale use of a membrane-covered tensile structure is the
Sidney Myer Music BowlThe Sidney Myer Music Bowl is an outdoor performance venue in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is located in the lawns and gardens of Kings Domain, close to the Arts Centre and the Southbank entertainment precinct...
, constructed in 1958.
Antonio Gaudi used the concept in reverse to create a compression-only structure for the Colonia Guell Church. He created a hanging tensile model of the church to calculate the compression forces and to experimentally determine the column and vault geometries.
The concept was later championed by
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
architect and engineer
Frei OttoFrei Paul Otto is a German architect and structural engineer.- Life :Otto was born in Siegmar . He studied architecture in Berlin before being drafted into the Luftwaffe as a fighter pilot in the last years of World War II...
, whose first use of the idea was in the construction of the German pavilion at
Expo 67The 1967 International and Universal Exposition or Expo 67, as it was commonly known, was the general exhibition, Category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It is considered to be the most successful World's Fair of the 20th century, with the...
in Montreal. Otto next used the idea for the roof of the Olympic Stadium for the
1972 Summer OlympicsThe 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
in
MunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
.
Since the 1960s,
tensileIn physics, tension is the magnitude of the pulling force exerted by a string, cable, chain, or similar object on another object. It is the opposite of compression. As tension is the magnitude of a force, it is measured in newtons and is always measured parallel to the string on which it applies...
structures have been promoted by
designDesign as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
ers and
engineerAn engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
s such as
Ove ArupSir Ove Nyquist Arup, CBE, MICE, MIStructE known as Ove Arup, was a leading Anglo-Danish engineer and generally considered to be one of the foremost architectural structural engineers of his time...
,
Buro HappoldBuro Happold is a professional services firm providing engineering consultancy, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of buildings, infrastructure and the environment, with its head office in Bath, Somerset...
, Walter Bird of Birdair, Inc.,
Frei OttoFrei Paul Otto is a German architect and structural engineer.- Life :Otto was born in Siegmar . He studied architecture in Berlin before being drafted into the Luftwaffe as a fighter pilot in the last years of World War II...
,
Eero SaarinenEero Saarinen was a Finnish American architect and industrial designer of the 20th century famous for varying his style according to the demands of the project: simple, sweeping, arching structural curves or machine-like rationalism.-Biography:Eero Saarinen shared the same birthday as his father,...
,
Horst BergerHorst Berger is a structural engineer and designer known for his work with lightweight tensile architecture. After receiving a degree in Civil Engineering in 1954 from Stuttgart University in Stuttgart, Germany, he began working in 1955 at the Bridge and Special Structures Department of Wayss and...
, Matthew Nowicki,
Jorg SchlaichProf. Dr.-Ing. Drs. h.c. Jörg Schlaich is a German structural engineer. He later founded his own firm Schlaich Bergermann & Partner.-Early career:...
, the duo of Nicholas Goldsmith & Todd Dalland at FTL Design & Engineering Studio and David Geiger.
Steady technological progress has increased the popularity of fabric-roofed structures. The low weight of the materials makes construction easier and cheaper than standard designs, especially when vast open spaces have to be covered.
Linear structures
- Suspension bridges
- Draped cables
- Cable-stayed beams
A beam is a horizontal structural element that is capable of withstanding load primarily by resisting bending. The bending force induced into the material of the beam as a result of the external loads, own weight, span and external reactions to these loads is called a bending moment.- Overview...
or trussIn architecture and structural engineering, a truss is a structure comprising one or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes. External forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and result in...
es
- Cable trusses
- Straight tensioned cables
Three-dimensional structures
- Bicycle wheel
A bicycle wheel is a wheel, most commonly a wire wheel, designed for bicycle. A pair is often called a wheelset, especially in the context of ready built "off the shelf" performance-oriented wheels....
(can be used as a roof in a horizontal orientation)
- 3D cable trusses
- Tensegrity
Tensegrity, tensional integrity or floating compression, is a structural principle based on the use of isolated components in compression inside a net of continuous tension, in such a way that the compressed members do not touch each other and the prestressed tensioned members delineate the...
structures
- Tensairity
Tensairity is a registered mark. Circle R. Tensairity is a foundational structure using inflated airbeams and attached stiffeners or cables that gains mechanical advantages for low mass. Pneumatic structures using tensairty are solving problems....
structures
Cable and membrane structures
Membrane materials
Common materials for doubly curved fabric structures are PTFE-coated fibreglass and
PVCPolyvinyl chloride, commonly abbreviated PVC, is a thermoplastic polymer. It is a vinyl polymer constructed of repeating vinyl groups having one hydrogen replaced by chloride. Polyvinyl chloride is the third most widely produced plastic, after polyethylene and polypropylene. PVC is widely used in...
-coated
polyesterPolyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate...
. These are woven materials with different strengths in different directions. The
warpIn weaving cloth, the warp is the set of lengthwise yarns that are held in tension on a frame or loom. The yarn that is inserted over-and-under the warp threads is called the weft, woof, or filler. Each individual warp thread in a fabric is called a warp end or end. Warp means "that which is thrown...
fibres (those fibres which are originally straight—equivalent to the starting fibres on a loom) can carry greater load than the
weftIn weaving, weft or woof is the yarn which is drawn through the warp yarns to create cloth. In North America, it is sometimes referred to as the "fill" or the "filling yarn"....
or fill fibres, which are woven between the warp fibres.
Other structures make use of
ETFEEthylene tetrafluoroethylene, ETFE, a fluorine based plastic, was designed to have high corrosion resistance and strength over a wide temperature range. ETFE is a polymer, and its systematic name is poly. ETFE has a very high melting temperature, excellent chemical, electrical and high energy...
film, either as single layer or in cushion form (which can be inflated, to provide good insulation properties or for aesthetic effect—as on the
Allianz ArenaThe Allianz Arena is a football stadium in the north of Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The two professional Munich football clubs FC Bayern Munich and TSV 1860 München have played their home games at Allianz Arena since the start of the 2005–06 season...
in
MunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
). ETFE cushions can also be etched with patterns in order to let different levels of light through when inflated to different levels. They are most often supported by a structural frame as they cannot derive their strength from double curvature.
Cables
Cables can be of mild steel, high strength steel (drawn carbon steel),
stainless steelIn metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
,
polyesterPolyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate...
or
aramid fibresAramid fibers are a class of heat-resistant and strong synthetic fibers. They are used in aerospace and military applications, for ballistic rated body armor fabric and ballistic composites, in bicycle tires, and as an asbestos substitute. The name is a portmanteau of "aromatic polyamide"...
. Structural cables are made of a series of small strands twisted or bound together to form a much larger cable.
Steel cables are either spiral strand, where circular rods are twisted together and "glued" using a polymer, or locked coil strand, where individual interlocking steel strands form the cable (often with a spiral strand core).
Spiral strand is slightly weaker than locked coil strand. Steel spiral strand cables have a
Young's modulusYoung's modulus is a measure of the stiffness of an elastic material and is a quantity used to characterize materials. It is defined as the ratio of the uniaxial stress over the uniaxial strain in the range of stress in which Hooke's Law holds. In solid mechanics, the slope of the stress-strain...
,
E of 150±10 kN/mm² (or 150±10 GPa) and come in sizes from 3 to 90 mm diameter. Spiral strand suffers from construction stretch, where the strands compact when the cable is loaded. This is normally removed by pre-stretching the cable and cycling the load up and down to 45% of the ultimate tensile load.
Locked coil strand typically has a Young's Modulus of 160±10 kN/mm² and comes in sizes from 20 mm to 160 mm diameter.
The properties of the individuals strands of different materials are shown in the table below, where UTS is ultimate tensile strength, or the breaking load:
|
E (GPa) |
UTS (MPa) |
StrainIn continuum mechanics, the infinitesimal strain theory, sometimes called small deformation theory, small displacement theory, or small displacement-gradient theory, deals with infinitesimal deformations of a continuum body...
at 50% of UTS |
| Solid steel bar |
210 |
400–800 |
0.24% |
| Steel strand |
170 |
1550–1770 |
1% |
| Wire rope |
112 |
1550–1770 |
1.5% |
| Polyester fibre |
7.5 |
910 |
6% |
| Aramid fibre |
112 |
2800 |
2.5% |
Structural forms
Air-supported structureAn air-supported structure is any building that derives its structural integrity from the use of internal pressurized air to inflate a pliable material envelope, so that air is the main support of the structure, and where access is via airlocks.The concept was popularized on a large scale by...
s are a form of tensile structures where the fabric envelope is supported by pressurised air only.
The majority of fabric structures derive their strength from their doubly curved shape. By forcing the fabric to take on double-curvature
http://www-ec.njit.edu/civil/fabric/tension.html the fabric gains sufficient
stiffnessStiffness is the resistance of an elastic body to deformation by an applied force along a given degree of freedom when a set of loading points and boundary conditions are prescribed on the elastic body.-Calculations:...
to withstand the loads it is subjected to (for example
windWind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...
and
snowSnow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...
loads). In order to induce an adequately doubly curved form it is most often necessary to pretension or prestress the fabric or its supporting structure.
Form-finding
The behaviour of structures which depend upon prestress to attain their strength is non-linear, so anything other than a very simple cable has, until the 1990s, been very difficult to design. The most common way to design doubly curved fabric structures was to construct scale models of the final buildings in order to understand their behaviour and to conduct form-finding exercises. Such scale models often employed stocking material or tights, or soap film, as they behave in a very similar way to structural fabrics (they cannot carry shear).
Soap films have uniform stress in every direction and require a closed boundary to form. They naturally form a minimal surface—the form with minimal area and embodying minimal energy. They are however very difficult to measure. For large films the self-weight of the film can seriously and adversely affect the form.
For a membrane with curvature in two directions, the basic equation of equilibrium is:
where:
- R1 and R2 are the principal radii of curvature for soap films or the directions of the warp and weft for fabrics
- t1 and t2 are the tensions in the relevant directions
- w is the load per square metre
Lines of
principal curvatureIn differential geometry, the two principal curvatures at a given point of a surface are the eigenvalues of the shape operator at the point. They measure how the surface bends by different amounts in different directions at that point.-Discussion:...
have no twist and intersect other lines of principal curvature at right angles.
A
geodesicIn mathematics, a geodesic is a generalization of the notion of a "straight line" to "curved spaces". In the presence of a Riemannian metric, geodesics are defined to be the shortest path between points in the space...
or
geodeticGeodesy , also named geodetics, a branch of earth sciences, is the scientific discipline that deals with the measurement and representation of the Earth, including its gravitational field, in a three-dimensional time-varying space. Geodesists also study geodynamical phenomena such as crustal...
line is usually the shortest line between two points on the surface. These lines are typically used when defining the cutting pattern seam-lines. This is due to their relative straightness after the planar cloths have been generated, resulting in lower cloth wastage and closer alignment with the fabric weave.
In a pre-stressed but unloaded surface
w = 0, so
.
In a soap film surface tensions are uniform in both directions, so
R1 = −
R2.
It is now possible to use powerful non-linear
numerical analysisNumerical analysis is the study of algorithms that use numerical approximation for the problems of mathematical analysis ....
programs (or finite element analysis) to formfind and design fabric and cable structures. The programs must allow for large deflections.
The final shape, or form, of a fabric structure depends upon:
- shape, or pattern, of the fabric
- the geometry of the supporting structure (such as masts, cables, ringbeams etc.)
- the pretension applied to the fabric or its supporting structure
It is important that the final form will not allow
pondingPonding is a term that refers to the unwanted pooling of water, typically on a flat roof.-Cause:Most flat roof systems are designed with a slight pitch to shed water off the sides, usually into a scupper system or into an internal drainage system. When a scupper or drain is clogged or fails for...
of water, as this can deform the membrane and lead to local failure or progressive failure of the entire structure.
Snow loading can be a serious problem for membrane structure, as the snow often will not flow off the structure as water will. For example, this has in the past caused the (temporary) collapse of the
Hubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeThe Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, commonly called the Metrodome, is a domed sports stadium in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Opened in 1982, it replaced Metropolitan Stadium, which was on the current site of the Mall of America in Bloomington and Memorial Stadium on the University...
, an air-inflated structure in
Minneapolis, MinnesotaMinneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
. Some structures prone to
pondingPonding is a term that refers to the unwanted pooling of water, typically on a flat roof.-Cause:Most flat roof systems are designed with a slight pitch to shed water off the sides, usually into a scupper system or into an internal drainage system. When a scupper or drain is clogged or fails for...
use heating to melt snow which settles on them.
There are many different doubly curved forms, many of which have special mathematical properties. The most basic doubly curved from is the saddle shape, which can be a hyperbolic paraboloid (not all saddle shapes are hyperbolic paraboloids). This is a double
ruled surfaceIn geometry, a surface S is ruled if through every point of S there is a straight line that lies on S. The most familiar examples are the plane and the curved surface of a cylinder or cone...
and is often used in both in lightweight shell structures (see hyperboloid structures). True ruled surfaces are rarely found in tensile structures. Other forms are anticlastic saddles, various radial, conical tent forms and any combination of them.
Pretension
Pretension is tension artificially induced in the structural elements in addition to any self-weight or imposed loads they may carry. It is used to ensure that the normally very flexible structural elements remain stiff under all possible loads.
A day to day example of pretension is a shelving unit supported by wires running from floor to ceiling. The wires hold the shelves in place because they are tensioned - if the wires were slack the system would not work.
Pretension can be applied to a membrane by stretching it from its edges or by pretensioning cables which support it and hence changing its shape. The level of pretension applied determines the shape of a membrane structure.
Transversely and uniformly loaded cable
For a cable spanning between two supports the simplifying assumption can be made that it forms a circular arc (of radius
R).
By equilibriumA standard definition of static equilibrium is:This is a strict definition, and often the term "static equilibrium" is used in a more relaxed manner interchangeably with "mechanical equilibrium", as defined next....
:
The horizontal and vertical reactions :
By geometryGeometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....
:
The length of the cable:
The tension in the cable:
By substitution:
The tension is also equal to:
The extension of the cable upon being loaded is (from
Hooke's LawIn mechanics, and physics, Hooke's law of elasticity is an approximation that states that the extension of a spring is in direct proportion with the load applied to it. Many materials obey this law as long as the load does not exceed the material's elastic limit. Materials for which Hooke's law...
, where the axial stiffness,
k, is equal to
):
where
E is the
Young's modulusYoung's modulus is a measure of the stiffness of an elastic material and is a quantity used to characterize materials. It is defined as the ratio of the uniaxial stress over the uniaxial strain in the range of stress in which Hooke's Law holds. In solid mechanics, the slope of the stress-strain...
of the cable and
A is its cross-sectional
areaArea is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat...
.
If an initial pretension,
is added to the cable, the extension becomes:
Combining the above equations gives:
By plotting the left hand side of this equation against
T, and plotting the right hand side on the same axes, also against
T, the intersection will give the actual equilibrium tension in the cable for a given loading
w and a given pretension
.
Cable with central point load
A similar solution to that above can be derived where:
By equilibrium:
By geometry:
This gives the following relationship:
As before, plotting the left hand side and right hand side of the equation against the tension,
T, will give the equilibrium tension for a given pretension,
and load,
W.
Tensioned cable oscillations
The fundamental natural frequency,
f1 of tensioned cables is given by:
where:
T = tension in newtons,
m =
massMass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
in kilograms and
L = span length.
Notable structures
- Shukhov Rotunda
Shukhov Rotunda, round exhibition pavilion for the All-Russia Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod of 1896 with lattice hanging covering and the World First Membrane roof . Designed by Vladimir Shukhov in 1895...
, RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, 1896
- Canada Place
Canada Place is a building situated on the Burrard Inlet waterfront of Vancouver, British Columbia. It is the home of the Vancouver Convention Centre, the Pan Pacific Hotel, Vancouver's World Trade Centre, and the world's first permanent IMAX 3D theatre . The building's exterior is covered by...
, Vancouver, British Columbia for Expo '86
- Yoyogi National Gymnasium
is an arena in Yoyogi Park, Tokyo, Japan which is famous for its suspension roof design.It was designed by Kenzo Tange and built between 1961 and 1964 to house swimming and diving events in the 1964 Summer Olympics. A separate annex was used for the basketball competition at those same games...
by Kenzo Tangewas a Japanese architect, and winner of the 1987 Pritzker Prize for architecture. He was one of the most significant architects of the 20th century, combining traditional Japanese styles with modernism, and designed major buildings on five continents. Tange was also an influential protagonist of...
, Yoyogi Parkis one of the largest parks in Tokyo, Japan located adjacent to Harajuku Station and Meiji Shrine in Shibuya.What is now Yoyogi Park was the site of the first successful powered aircraft flight in Japan, on December 19, 1910, by Captain Yoshitoshi Tokugawa, after which it became an army parade ground...
, Tokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, JapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
- Ingalls Rink
David S. Ingalls Rink is a hockey rink in New Haven, CT designed by architect Eero Saarinen and built between 1953 and 1958 for Yale University. It is commonly referred to as The Whale, due to its appearance. The rink stands at the intersection of Prospect and Sachem Streets. The building was...
, Yale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
by Eero SaarinenEero Saarinen was a Finnish American architect and industrial designer of the 20th century famous for varying his style according to the demands of the project: simple, sweeping, arching structural curves or machine-like rationalism.-Biography:Eero Saarinen shared the same birthday as his father,...
- Khan Shatyry Entertainment Center
Khan Shatyr is a giant transparent tent in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan. The architectural project was unveiled by the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev on December 9, 2006....
, Astana, Kazakhstan
- Tropicana Field
Tropicana Field is a domed stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida, which has been the home of Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays since the team's inaugural season in 1998, when they were the Devil Rays. It has also served as the host stadium for the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl, an NCAA-sanctioned college...
, St. PetersburgSt. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
, FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
- Olympiapark
The Olympiapark in Munich, Germany, is an Olympic Park which was constructed for the 1972 Summer Olympics. Found in the area of Munich known as the "Oberwiesenfeld" , the Park continues to serve as a venue for cultural, social, and religious events such as events of worship...
, MunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
by Frei OttoFrei Paul Otto is a German architect and structural engineer.- Life :Otto was born in Siegmar . He studied architecture in Berlin before being drafted into the Luftwaffe as a fighter pilot in the last years of World War II...
- Sidney Myer Music Bowl
The Sidney Myer Music Bowl is an outdoor performance venue in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is located in the lawns and gardens of Kings Domain, close to the Arts Centre and the Southbank entertainment precinct...
, MelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
- The O2
The O2, visually typeset in branding as The O2, is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, piazzas, bars and restaurants...
(formerly the Millennium DomeThe Millennium Dome, colloquially referred to simply as The Dome or even The O2 Arena, is the original name of a large dome-shaped building, originally used to house the Millennium Experience, a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millennium...
), LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
by Buro HappoldBuro Happold is a professional services firm providing engineering consultancy, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of buildings, infrastructure and the environment, with its head office in Bath, Somerset...
and Richard Rogers PartnershipRichard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside CH Kt FRIBA FCSD is a British architect noted for his modernist and functionalist designs....
- Denver International Airport
Denver International Airport , often referred to as DIA, is an airport in Denver, Colorado. By land size, at , it is the largest international airport in the United States, and the third largest international airport in the world after King Fahd International Airport and Montréal-Mirabel...
, Denver
- Dorton Arena
The J.S. Dorton Arena is a 7,610-seat multi-purpose arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, on the grounds of the North Carolina State Fair...
, RaleighRaleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
- Georgia Dome
The Georgia Dome is a domed stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, between downtown to the east and Vine City to the west. It is primarily the home stadium for the NFL Atlanta Falcons and the NCAA Division I FCS Georgia State Panthers football team. It is owned and operated by the...
, Atlanta, GeorgiaGeorgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
by Heery and Weidlinger Associates
- Grantley Adams International Airport
Grantley Adams International Airport , is found in Seawell, Christ Church on the island of Barbados. The former name of the airport was Seawell Airport before being dedicated in honour of the first Premier of Barbados, Sir Grantley Herbert Adams in 1976. The airport's timezone is GMT –4, and is...
, Christ Church, BarbadosBarbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
- Pengrowth Saddledome
The Scotiabank Saddledome is the primary indoor arena of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It has a seating capacity of 19,289 people.Located on the Stampede Grounds, on the east end of downtown Calgary, the Saddledome was built in 1983 to replace the Stampede Corral as the home of the Calgary Flames of...
, Calgary by Graham McCourt Architects and Jan Bobrowski and Partners
- Scandinavium
Scandinavium is the primary indoor sports and event arena in Gothenburg, Sweden. Construction on Scandinavium began in 1969 after decades of setbacks, the arena was built in time for the 350th year anniversary celebration of the City of Gothenburg and was inaugurated on May 18, 1971.Scandinavium...
, GothenburgGothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
- Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence
The Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence is a museum in Hong Kong, located in a former coastal defence fort overlooking the Lei Yue Mun channel, near Shau Kei Wan on Hong Kong Island. The fort was built by the British in 1887, intended to defend the eastern approaches to Victoria Harbour.The total...
- Ashford Retail Village, Kent, UK, by Buro Happold
Buro Happold is a professional services firm providing engineering consultancy, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of buildings, infrastructure and the environment, with its head office in Bath, Somerset...
, Richard RogersRichard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside CH Kt FRIBA FCSD is a British architect noted for his modernist and functionalist designs....
and Architen Landrell
- Barclays Bank Headquarters, London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
- Beckham Academy, London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
by Buro HappoldBuro Happold is a professional services firm providing engineering consultancy, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of buildings, infrastructure and the environment, with its head office in Bath, Somerset...
- Butlins Skyline Pavilion, Minehead, UK
- Carlos Moseley Music Pavilion, New York, NY
- Modernization of the Central Railway Station
The Central Railway Station Sofia is the main passenger railway station of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, as well as the largest railway station of the country...
, SofiaSofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
, BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
- Columbus Center, Baltimore, Maryland
- Finnish Chancery, Washington, DC
- Imagination Headquarters, London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
- National Symphony Orchestra, Washington, DC
- Pier6 Music Pavilion, Baltimore, Maryland
- Plashet Bridge, London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
by Birds Portchmouth Russum Architects
- Redbird Arena
Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena is a 10,200 seat multi-purpose arena in Normal, Illinois. Built in 1989, the building is notable for its use of a Teflon-coated roof that gives off a "glow" during night events...
, Illinois State UniversityIllinois State University , founded in 1857, is the oldest public university in Illinois; it is located in the town of Normal. ISU is considered a "national university" that grants a variety of doctoral degrees and strongly emphasizes research; it is also recognized as one of the top ten largest...
, Normal, IllinoisNormal is an incorporated town in McLean County, Illinois, United States. It had a population of 52,497 as of the 2010 census. Normal is the smaller of two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area...
- Desert Night resort, Wahiba Sands,Sultanate of Oman
External links
Further reading
- "The Nijni-Novgorod exhibition: Water tower, room under construction, springing of 91 feet span", "The Engineer"
The Engineer is a London-based fortnightly magazine covering the latest developments and business news in engineering and technology in the UK and internationally...
, № 19.3.1897, P.292-294, London, 1897.
- Horst Berger
Horst Berger is a structural engineer and designer known for his work with lightweight tensile architecture. After receiving a degree in Civil Engineering in 1954 from Stuttgart University in Stuttgart, Germany, he began working in 1955 at the Bridge and Special Structures Department of Wayss and...
, Light structures, structures of light: The art and engineering of tensile architecture (Birkhäuser Verlag, 1996) ISBN 3-7643-5352-X
- Alan Holgate, The Art of Structural Engineering: The Work of Jorg Schlaich and his Team (Books Britain, 1996) ISBN 3-930698-67-6
- Elizabeth Cooper English: “Arkhitektura i mnimosti”: The origins of Soviet avant-garde rationalist architecture in the Russian mystical-philosophical and mathematical intellectual tradition”, a dissertation in architecture, 264 p., University of Pennsylvania, 2000.
- “Vladimir G. Suchov 1853–1939. Die Kunst der sparsamen Konstruktion.”, Rainer Graefe, Jos Tomlow und andere, 192 S., Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart, 1990, ISBN 3-421-02984-9.
- Conrad Roland
Conrad Roland is a German architect and pioneer of the construction of spacenets , which primarily are to be found as rope climbing frames on playgrounds...
: Frei OttoFrei Paul Otto is a German architect and structural engineer.- Life :Otto was born in Siegmar . He studied architecture in Berlin before being drafted into the Luftwaffe as a fighter pilot in the last years of World War II...
– Spannweiten. Ideen und Versuche zum Leichtbau. Ein Werkstattbericht von Conrad Roland. Ullstein, Berlin, Frankfurt/Main und Wien 1965.