Construction in fabric, contrary to what you might expect, goes far further than tents and emergency first responders. With applications in a range of service and manufacturing industries, there is a broad and ever-growing range of situations where fabric construction is the logical option. Fabric constructed buildings are durable structures, with a tension-membrane structure formed by a steel frame supporting a durable textile cover. Unlike traditional industrial buildings in steel, concrete, or brick, fabric buildings are engineered for rapid assembly and cost efficiency. Durable covers mean they are capable of providing protection from the elements while adaptable designs offer flexible, open spaces suitable for a wide range of uses. They can be temporary, relocatable or designed for long-term industrial use, and offer great variety in function and permanence depending on their materials and engineering.
When fabric buildings are the right choice
Fabric buildings are particularly effective where speed, adaptability and lower initial investment outweigh the need for permanent construction. These attributes mean they’re often the pragmatic choice in the following scenarios: immediate requirements, interim spaces, and low-cost solutions. What’s more, fabric buildings provide the large, open interiors that are required for modern manufacturing and assembly lines, which can be divided or altered to suit the changing needs of the operator.
When a business has to create usable space quickly, fabric buildings are usually the most efficient solution. Construction is measured days or weeks rather than months: while standard steel and concrete structures require long lead times for design, groundworks and construction crews, fabric warehouses or other industrial buildings are relatively simple. What’s more, planning approval considerations are often tighter for permanent developments, which provides a significant advantage to fabric buildings in restrictive planning regimes.
The other major advantage, and like construction speed a side effect of the simplicity of their design, is flexibility. For businesses undergoing expansion or relocation, fabric buildings can act as interim facilities. Rather than halting production or disrupting workflows, a fabric structure provides a temporary warehouse or production area until permanent facilities are ready. Their relocatability also means they can be dismantled and reused elsewhere as business requirements change.
Cost and materials
Basic building materials are often quite expensive; the brick warehouses that dominated the industrial zones of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries would be prohibitively expensive to recreate today. With bricks mostly relegated to facing material, most industrial buildings use steel frames or concrete blocks with waterproof cladding. Even compared to breeze blocks, fabric covers over steel supports are far cheaper. They also use more easily available commodities, reducing lead times, and fabric buildings generally see lower upfront costs once construction begins. These savings are due to lighter materials and faster installation, which reduce labour and site preparation costs. Fabric buildings need simpler foundations and involve less heavy equipment on site, which translates to lower capital outlay when compared with conventional builds.
Fabric buildings and the contemporary factory
Fabric industrial buildings are characterised by extensive open space with large, unobstructed interiors . The structures are engineered to provide clear-span interiors with no internal columns. This makes them well suited to storage of bulky goods or machinery, and are particularly suited to agricultural equipment or warehouses requiring constant movement.
Will fabric buildings work for my business?
Construction of any sort is a major capital outlay and requires serious thought. The benefit of fabric construction is to tip the balance of these practical considerations, reducing cost and lead times whilst preserving or even improving the effectiveness of the final space. Far from being a quick and cheap alternative to traditional construction, fabric membranes play a role in prestige developments: the largest fabric constructions in the world include the O2 Arena (formerly Millennium Dome) in London and the 2010 Expo Axis in Shanghai. Both of these landmark buildings are vast pavilions used as cultural and events centres, and the former ranks alongside the world’s largest buildings in terms of useable floor space.
To return to more practical examples, not every industry is ideally suited to fabric construction. Where a stable order flow and heavy machinery is required on multiple levels, traditional construction methods still dominate. But even heavy industry can benefit from fabric construction when it comes to refurbishment or temporary expansions in times of peak demand. In general, fabric buildings suit situations where flexibility and rapid deployment are the top priorities. They are a familiar sight in emergency situations such as disaster relief or humanitarian interventions, but their growing relevance to the manufacturing and logistics industries is broadening the public’s understanding of this important subset of functional building design.
Conclusion
Fabric buildings are a pragmatic solution when businesses need space that’s quick to deploy, adaptable and cost-effective. Whether used for interim facilities during construction, seasonal storage, logistics operations or in emergency response situations, durable fabric construction plays a major role and is a growth area across a broad part of the real economy. Business owners and decision-makers are increasingly aware of the versatility and potential of these methods, which range from temporary boosts to manufacturing capacity to some of the largest buildings in the world.
