Re: spectacular and serene

[Ted Ledbetter <tedled at earthlink dot net>]

...thanks for the pointers, Chuck, some of them are truly beautiful
but that airport in Saudia Arabis = UGLY!

...althought i have not digested all about tensioned-structures,
my initial thoughts are 1) they seem too susceptible to the tornados we 
have here in south-central Texas and 2) they do not appear to be good
for do-it-yourselfers like me...my plan is to build several small
(less than 20" dia.) single-story domes both because they separate
and optimize different functional needs AND because i can build small
dome myself from commonly-available materials...

...again, thanks, i'm learning a lot about structures now...
ted

>> >and load bearing capacities, but the translucent nature of the 
>> tension
>> >structure makes it better suited to above ground use.  You don't 
>
>> ...can you point me to a webpage or two that will show me examples 
>> of the flexible translucent  tension structures that your're
>mentioning?
>
>Let me see if I can find a few for you...keep in mind, they're not
>"flexible" per se, but they do experience more movement than
>reinforced concrete.
>
>     -- Chuck Knight
>
>http://www-ec.njit.edu/civil/fabric/ is the main NJIT site for this
>type of structure, and the main one for this structure.  LOTS of
>technical information and equations.
>
>http://xarch.tu-graz.ac.at/home/gernot/skin/membranesoftware.html
>is the site for some rather expensive patterning software
>
>http://www.archrecord.com/CONTEDUC/ARTICLES/9_00_1.asp
>is just an interesting site.
>
>http://www.geigerengineers.com/project.cfm?projcatID=2
>Sample projects using tensile membrane construction, including a
>"superdome" construct.
>
>http://www.freeway.cl/symphony/pag12.htm
>Someone's thesis on tensile architecture...quite a good site.
>
>http://architecture.mit.edu/house_n/web/resources/tutorials/House_N%20Tut
>orial%20Tensile%20Structures.htm
>Not sure what this site is -- it doesn't display right in my browser,
>but it's MIT, so it's probably pretty good.
>
>http://www-ec.njit.edu/civil/fabric/gallery1.html
>is a gallery of some "common" and some "spectacular" fabric
>structures.  The "tennessee pavillion" by Horst Berger is my 
>personal favorite, click on its image to view a full screen image.
>________________________________________________________________