SMC Special Issue N.03 2019 | INTRODUCTION

The primary human need of sheltering had produced different solutions according to places, climate and habits.
In the deserts, Sahara, Saudi Arabia and Iran, the black tents were developed by the nomads using camel leather for matching the exigence of roaming in driving the transfers with the animals and to satisfy the need to easily assemble and dismantle homes and transport them for long journeys; the use of tents as a dwelling was also common for housing armies for long periods and in different environmental conditions.
In addition to housing, these structures have always been used as simple shelter from climatic agents.
For tensile structure we mean the construction of covering using a membrane supported by cables or rigid rods, their main characteristic is referred to ability of sustaining loads due the tensile state; other important properties are referred to the possibility of assembling and disassembling with ease, of moving through different places and of covering large spans. Due to the use of thin cables stretched, surfaces can be created able of overcoming the forces imposed upon them.
Until the mid-20th century, due to the low demand and lack of manufacturers of cables there were few technological advances, but, thanks to industrial growth a new developments arose. […]