January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 49

Building Into Shape
I-beam engineering has become a game changer
for fabric-cladded recreation centers
By Shannon Humbert
F
abric buildings have become a popular choice for the construction
of new recreation centers. They offer large open spaces, aesthetic
appeal, fast delivery times and relatively modest prices. It's
easy to see why communities and clubs have recognized fabric
facilities as an ideal project fit.
Structural Engineering
Upgrade
Years ago, tension fabric structures
relied upon hollow-tube web-truss
framing
systems and only were
supplied in predetermined sizes.
So much has changed. Leading
manufacturers turned to structural
I-beam frames, a universally accepted
engineering approach that gave
architects and end users the full confidence
to choose a fabric building.
The use of a structural
steel
frame also allows for complete design
flexibility. Since every project
begins with a clean sheet design,
facilities are always customized to
the optimal dimensions for specific
activities. Sports like tennis and
volleyball have guidelines for building
peak height and space around
the court boundaries. Field sports
necessitate longer clear spans.
Cost-Effective, DesignFlexible
Fabric
Brick-and-mortar
buildings
price differential is amplified.
Furthermore, a rigid-frame fabric
facility potentially offers the best of
both worlds: If desired, brick or masonry
materials can be incorporated
into a façade along the exterior fabric
walls, giving the building a more
traditional look. The engineering
flexibility of modern fabric structures
easily allows for these types of
hybrid designs to be implemented.
have
their place from an engineering
standpoint. Where fabric becomes
advantageous by comparison, however,
is that the cost to clad a building
with polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
fabric is much less than using conventional
materials. The larger a
building design becomes, the more
Perfect Recreational
Atmosphere
PVC has been the primary cladding
option for recreation facilities because
it's more durable than polyethylene
alternatives. Suppliers have upped
their game even more, creating new
PVC products with added primer
and lacquer layers to coat the highstrength
woven fabric, helping to deliver
longer life expectancy.
The same PVC can be used as an
interior building liner, with insulation
materials applied between the interior
and exterior cladding to meet building
energy code requirements. I-beam
fabric buildings are built airtight for
maximum energy efficiency.
Fabric's reflective and soft nature
also improves lighting and acoustics.
People who step into a fabric recreation
structure for the first time are
very impressed with the overall atmoThe
use of structural I-beam engineering allows a
fabric-cladded facility to be customized to the optimal
dimensions needed for specific activities.
sphere. PVC comes in a variety of colors,
allowing the cladding to match a
given organization's branding.
Built Fast and Built to Last
The composition of rigid-frame
fabric buildings allows them to be
completed much faster than conventional
construction. The lead time is
shortest for suppliers that handle every
step of the project in-house, from
design to manufacturing to installation.
This one-stop-shop philosophy
helps ensure higher quality control
and avoid unexpected delays from
outside vendors.
I-beam fabric buildings utilize individual
fabric panels, rather than a
loose one-piece monocover like older
fabric structures. A patented attachment
system involves sliding each fabric
panel through a keder rail channel
to connect to each steel beam. This
process allows fabric panels to be
tightly pulled into place at the proper
horizontal and vertical tensions.
Through the innovation of the
materials used - and the processes
used to implement them - tension
fabric buildings have become
a beneficial solution for recreation
center design.
Shannon Humbert is a Building and Project Design
Consultant for Legacy Building Solutions (shumbert@
legacybuildingsolutions.com).
PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G | J ANUAR Y 2 0 2 5 | Parks & Recreation
49
PHOTO COURTESY OF LEGACY BUILDING
SOLUTIONS
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation

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