Tensile Membrane Structures
A tensile structure is a construction of elements carrying only tension and no compression or bending. The term tensile should not be confused with tensegrity, which is a structural form with both tension and compression elements. Tensile structures are the most common type of thin-shell structures.
Most tensile structures are supported by some form of compression or bending elements, such as masts (as in The O2, formerly the Millennium Dome), compression rings or beams.
A tensile membrane structure is most often used as a roof, as they can economically and attractively span large distances.
Read more about Tensile Membrane Structures: History, Tensioned Cable Oscillations, Notable Structures, Gallery of Well Known Tensile Structures
Famous quotes containing the word structures:
“The philosopher believes that the value of his philosophy lies in its totality, in its structure: posterity discovers it in the stones with which he built and with which other structures are subsequently built that are frequently better—and so, in the fact that that structure can be demolished and yet still possess value as material.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)