Engineer working on a structural frame model across two monitors and a laptop

Design and Engineering for Tensioned Fabric Structures

From initial design through engineering and certification, Lightweight Structures provides the technical support needed to bring tensioned fabric structures to life. Services include design reviews, form finding, patterning, shop drawings, load analysis, and Professional Engineer-sealed documentation for applicable project and jurisdiction requirements.

Code-Compliant Engineering for Fabric Structures

Lightweight Structures provides design and engineering services for tensioned fabric structures, including form finding, membrane patterning, load cases, anchoring reactions, shop drawings, and engineering documentation for certification and permit submissions. We also fabricate the membrane panels used in these structures.

Because engineering and panel fabrication are coordinated by the same team, the drawings and panel details are developed with fabrication requirements in mind. This helps align the engineered design with the panels that will actually be manufactured.

Our work often supports projects where engineering documentation and certification are essential, including rental tents and permanent fabric structures subject to building department review. When PE-sealed documentation is required, a Professional Engineer licensed in the project’s jurisdiction must review and seal the applicable documents.

fabric-clad frame-supported building in service

Certified Engineering for New and Existing Rental Tents

Yes. Lightweight Structures supports certification of existing rental tents as well as engineering for new tent designs. For rental companies, having the right engineering documentation available can be critical when preparing equipment for a specific job or meeting a deadline.

Depending on the project requirements, an existing tent may be evaluated for use at a particular site or as a tent model intended for repeated use. The applicable loads, available documentation, tent configuration, and jurisdictional requirements help determine the appropriate engineering approach.

For new clearspan, frame-supported, and tensile designs, engineering can address the demands of repeated installation and takedown, with shop drawings developed to support fabrication and field assembly. The required documentation and scope of certification are determined by the project.

Tensile fabric canopies mounted around the legs of a water tower

Early Engineering Leads to Better Project Outcomes

As early as possible—while the structure’s geometry is still being developed.

Shape influences nearly every subsequent decision in a tensioned fabric structure. Curvature affects membrane prestress; prestress influences the forces transferred to the supporting frame and anchors; and the resulting geometry informs panel patterning, fabrication, and field assembly.

Resolving these relationships early can help avoid costly changes later in the design and fabrication process. Adjustments are generally easier to make during preliminary design than after shop drawings and fabrication details have been finalized.

For architects and engineers, we can support form finding, patterning, load analysis, and preparation of applicable engineering documentation for submission. For installers and rental companies, we coordinate engineering and panel fabrication to help deliver a buildable system with drawings that support assembly.

Lightweight Structures does not install. Your project is completed by our network of certified installation partners. We are not a fabric distributor. We engineer and fabricate with coated fabrics and films, including those made by our parent company, Seaman Corporation. Since 1949, Seaman Corporation has manufactured high-performance coated fabrics, with capabilities spanning fabric production and coating through finished membrane materials

Fabric and Keder for Engineered Structures

Product

Keder

Keder is the rope edge that connects a fabric panel to its frame. It slides into a channel in an aluminum rail, and the rails fit almost any existing frame.

Product

Fabrics

Compare PVC-coated polyester, PTFE-glass, ePTFE, fluoropolymer film, polyethylene, solution-dyed woven, and PVC mesh. Selection guidance and free samples.