November 2010
Halcrow shared its experience in working with tensile and fabric structures at a technical meeting of the Lancashire and Cheshire branch of the Institution of Structural Engineers on Tuesday 9 November.
Neil Currie, a technical manager, explored some of the key challenges that designers and clients face when designing or procuring tensile fabric structures. The meeting was held in the Renold Building at the University of Manchester.
Starting with a brief history of tensile and fabric structures, Neil then considered common tensile forms, materials used, form finding, detailing and the fabrication of tensile structures. He also looked at some of the common misconceptions surrounding these structures.
“The talk was very well received and it also presented a valuable opportunity to showcase some of the specialist knowledge within Halcrow and raise our profile with our peers and consultants from other disciplines.” said Neil who is a part-time lecturer in advanced structural engineering design at the University of Salford.
During his career Neil has been responsible for the form finding, analysis and patterning of numerous tensile and fabric structures on a variety of high profile projects such as the Faith Zone in the Millennium Dome and the Skyline Pavilions for Butlins. In 2009 he won the ACE Engineering Ambassador Award for ‘making a significant contribution in raising the profile of consultancy and engineering’.