Article Research

Holly Padgett

 -learned that tensile structures have 3 elements: membranes, rigid structures (pole and masts), and cables.

-I also learned that glass fiber membranes and other tensile structures have a high durability and resistance.

-In tensile systems, there are 2 types of support: direct and indirect. The direct supports are attached directly to the rest of the building. 

-Tensile structures are predominantly used in coverings of sports centers and arenas, for example, an Olympic stadium. The system is based off old systems used during the Roman Empire.

I found the Munich Olympic Stadium particularly interesting because the Olympics are a worldwide sporting event and for a tensile structure to be engineered for this very important event shows that they are stable and reliable. The stadium was created as a vast canopy, as an extended space under a suspended roof made of steel cables between steel pylons. The use of plexiglass also made the stadium unique because they were different than any materials previously used by Otto, the designer.

Sources- https://www.archdaily.com/109136/ad-classics-munich-olympic-stadium-frei-otto-gunther-behnisch, https://www.archdaily.com/887462/tensile-structures-how-do-they-work-and-what-are-the-different-types