Today's Architect features a tough decision to create with regards to choosing materials. There exists steel and glass and concrete and wood. How about fabric! Architectural Fabric Structures are quickly becoming a really common and visible area of the built environment. No more utilized for garden parties and traveling circuses, these structures are available in many new forms and uses.
Fabric structures are now being created for as few as you person as with a boutique resort hotel within the outback of Australia, to covering 50,000 plus in the Super Bowl in Houston, Texas. Fabric Structures are actually also being made to cover animals too like at Seaworld, Orlando where these structures cover dolphins to avoid them from sun burn (they get sun burn too?). And let's keep in mind Man's newest closest friend, the automobile. Increasingly more, the automobile is taking center stage where valet parking attendants, airport parking owners and car dealers are discovering the benefits of covering automobiles.
Fabric Structures are beings used as roofs, sails, walls, lights, shades as well as signs. With all of these different uses and forms, there are a number of materials to pick from based on one's needs, budget and design.
The simplest way to decide which material to make use of would be to see what was already utilized for the property type you are thinking about.
If you are considering structures like tents or umbrellas in which the main objective would be to provide temporary, nomadic shelter, you may be taking a look at vinyl laminated or coated polyester.
In case you are researching awnings and canopies, the choices are endless. You are likely to know words like acrylic canvas and backlit fabrics and materials that you can apply graphics to.
If shade is the main objective, the buzz word is structural mesh, high density polyethylene (HDPE), perforations and portion of light transmission.
For warehousing, industrial applications and temporary buildings, a typical term might be clear spans or pre-engineered fabric building with materials which are mold and mildew resistant like polyolefin.
The inside and lighting industry have their own own number of fabrics where flame resistance, UL ratings and portion of reflectance are the most crucial issues.
Air and Tension Fabric Structures rely heavily around the fabric's structural characteristics so tensile strength, sound absorption and solar transmission play a significant role within their selection.
So, What material would you use?
Is the project close to the water? Could it be designed to last two decades? Would you like to look at it from afar or would you like that it is dark inside at noon? They are very important questions you need to answer even before you start. Fabric Structures have not many components. Generally, it is merely steel, fabric, cables and hardware. The selection for every component will most definitely impact the others. Other issues include: span, size, availability, cost, codes, etc.
In many States, permanent, totally enclosed structures need a "non combustible" or Class A/B rating based on Building Codes. By far the most recognized and accepted materials used for Architectural Applications is Teflon Coated Fiberglass or PTFE.
Recognized manufacturers include Saint Gobain, Verseidag, FiberTech and Taconic. Teflon concerns the website brown like a set of khakis but bleaches to some milky white with time (usually 4-8 weeks). The greatest trouble with Teflon is it is stiff and brittle and should be handled meticulously to prevent breaking the fibers. The good thing is its lifespan (25 years) along with its "self cleaning" attributes.
Other "non combustible" materials include Silicon Coated Fiberglass, Gore Brand Tenara Architectural Fabrics and Ethylene tetra ethylene or ETFE.
Silicon continues to be out available on the market for quite a while. Unlike Teflon coated fiberglass which may be heat welded, Silicon should be glued having a special adhesive. The benefit of silicon over Teflon is its translucency, cost and accessibility to colors. Gore Brand Tenara can also be within the "non combustible category". Its advantages include its high translucency, longevity span which is more pliable than silicon or Teflon so you can use it for retractable structures.
ETFE is not actually a fabric but a film presently being promoted instead of structural glass. It really is "green" friendly and is also the brand new hot material to Architects worldwide today. It really is used in FIFA Stadiums in Germany, the Olympics in China, being specified for commercial buildings and retail as well as the option for creating artificial rainforests for zoos and Science Centers.
The vast majority of fabric structures being considered today are for uses which usually do not require complete enclosure. This means, they are likely "outside" or usually do not need a Class A rating. Class C is easily the most common rating and NFPA 701 is easily the most accepted certificate for the majority of Fire Marshals. Vinyl coated polyester (PVC) is easily the most common materials used currently available.
What's to not like. The fabric comes in a number of colors, strengths, weights, thickness, perforations, translucency and textures. The fabric is pliable and stretches quite nicely. You will find material with 10, 12 as well as 15 year warranties. You will find material which is 50 to 100" wide so that you can have few, fewer or even the fewest quantities of seams.
Manufacturers include Ferrari, Mehler, Naizil, Seaman and Verseidag, to mention a few. These are the basic names most seen on Specifications, meaning these businesses are directly marketing and assisting the Architect during the early stages from the design.
PVC comes in a number of top finishes: acrylic, PVDF and PVF film. There exists much debate about top finishes but all manufacturers agree they are required to protect the base fabric from UV degradation, water and wind. Frankly, it's everything about the coatings. PVF is really a film placed on the primary fabric while acrylic and PVDF are coatings. Both PVF and PVDF boast of being "self cleaning" or supply the base material having a much cleaner and easy to maintain surface but both require additional operate in the store which can be unknown towards the Architect. Both top quality PVF and PVDF require the top coat or film where two panels will be to meet be grinded off to ensure that these to be RF welded. This really is time-consuming and needs great care to keep the seams free from dirt, model and mildew. You will find "weldable" PVDF however their warranties usually are not so long as the top tech top coats.PVC Structures love graphics and supply an excellent backdrop for projected images.
Today, increasingly more fabric structures are now being created for shade only. Structural mesh and perforated fabrics are now being specified due to the requirement for shade, the necessity to enable the elements to undergo the fabric and the necessity for an area to "see through and become seen". The fabric usually used is high density polyethylene (HDPE). Manufacturers include Multiknit, Coolaroo and Shadetex. This product is really a higher grade mesh compared to what one could see in a home remodeling warehouse or in an garden furniture store. HDPE is utilized for playgrounds, areas requiring hail protection, schools, child care centers in addition to theme parks and spaces of public assembly. Mesh is hot so that you can stay cool. Mesh is available in colors, fire rated along with different perforations. It features a lifespan of 8-ten years and usually lowers the dimensions and loads around the structural system and foundations since it takes less wind.
If you wish to keep it simplistic, then work together with materials which usually do not depend on their structural characteristics because of its stability. These materials are generally clad on the frame. The types of materials are generally vinyl laminated polyester, acrylic coated canvas, and materials having a light topcoat. Sunbrella is a very common brand. The fabric has less technical information readily available for applying these to fully engineered lightweight structures however when used being a cladding on the frame, they provide many chances to the Architect. You can apply graphics towards the material, bring texture towards the surface or make something truly unique.
If you wish to take a look at materials for interior application, take a look at the industrial fabric industry and Theatrical Drapery. You will find lightweight PTFE materials utilized for ceilings in dome stadiums, PVC fabrics can be used for interior tensioned fabric sculptures while theatrical drapery materials from businesses like Rosebrand and Dazian can be used for a softer look. Spandex/Lycra is yet another common materials used for transforming temporary and permanent spaces but need the material be fire treated before fabrication.
Lastly, it doesn't hurt to dream of the way forward for architectural fabrics. The wish list would come with "Smart" fabrics, fabrics that change color based on weather, light or mood. Fabrics made out of optic and photovoltaic fibers, materials with longer life spans, higher tensile strength, improved self cleaning, higher translucency and eco-friendly.
The way forward for Architectural Fabric Structures depends upon the continuing effort of manufacturers to enhance its existing products and also to introduce new materials.
For more information about Fiberglass Fabric, simply visit our website.
|