Tension Products by Sperry Fabric Architecture

What is Tension?

Tensile designs are a unique aspect of fabric architecture. The use of turnbuckles, cables, and catenary curves allow us to cover large areas with little if any center support. Those three aspects of working with tension contribute to a uniformly taut finished product. Tensile structures can be free standing or incorporated into a building’s landscape. Our tensioned covers—whether large projects like that at Williams College, or small tensioned awnings for a home patio—often use varying levels at the corner anchors which create a slight twist in the fabric. This twist is multifunctional—it assists in shedding water and it adds interest and artistry to the appearance of the finished project. We have several ways to achieve varying anchor levels in order to add a twist to the fabric. Sometimes a logical point, like a building or tree, is already in place and we connect to it. Often we set anchors into the ground to provide low points and we create free standing points with struts that we fabricate ourselves.

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