Q:  What are the principal attractions of fabric engineering over traditional building materials?
A: Fabric is versatile, flexible, lightweight, translucent and offers limitless opportunities for shape and surface enclosure. Advances in computer modelling mean that more and more exciting projects are viable.

Q:  How early on in designing a new building/retrofit project should fabric engineers be consulted, if fabric is to form part of the building?
A: As early as possible because the placing and nature of the fabric's supporting structure and its loadbearing requirements etc generally affect the construction of other parts of the building's structure. Early consultation prevents the need for costly modifications at a later stage.

Q:  How long does a tensile fabric building last?
A: Thanks to many of the specialist modern fabrics, they can have a design life of 25 years plus, depending on fabric type.

Q:  What are the fabrics made of?
A: They are mainly either PVDF/ PVC-coated polyesters, PTFE-coated glass fibre or silicon-coated glass fibre. Teflon-coated fabrics are therefore non-stick as far as dirt is concerned and so self-cleaning.

Q:  Can the fabrics be cleaned?
A: Yes, by specialist cleaning materials although today many (self-cleaning) Teflon-coated fabrics are available.

Q:  How much would a tensile fabric roof cost, say, in comparison with a traditional one?
A: This is a difficult comparison to make as fabric is not simply a substitute for a conventional roof, it is part of a entire design engineering solution for the whole building. Whilst per square metre the fabric can be costly, this is offset by savings in terms of structural design, erection and maintenance over the life of the building.

Q:  How does Aura price a project?
A: This can be considerably complex, it depends on a great number of factors including site topography, microclimate - wind speed, snow loading etc, and with retrofit there are further structural factors relating to the existing building with which the fabric membranes will interface.

Q:  How long does a project take?
A: This, of course, varies according to the complexity and size of the project. But from the ideas and design stage through to hand over, the time required would be 'on average' 6-9 months but some Aura projects are completed within as few as 9 weeks.

Q:  What maintenance is involved?
A: Virtually zero as the membrane does not corrode or weather; nor is retensioning any longer required as it was in the industry's early days, due to more sophisticated engineering techniques.

Q:  Is it possible to heat or cool a tensile fabric building?
A: Yes, some fabrics are laminated and have in-built insulation, while double-skin options are also available where inflatable sections provide effective 'cushion' insulation. Design is modified according to thermal requirements.

Q:  What colour options are there?
A: A wide variety of coloured fabrics are available, however this depends on square metreage required and design life expectations.

Q:  How long does installation take?
A: 'Roofing', for example, takes just days rather than weeks or months.

Q:  How big and area can be spanned?
A:  Very large spaces up to hundreds of square metres, due to the lightweight nature of fabric and its great strength. The Millennium Dome is a prime example.

Q:  How translucent is the fabric?
A:  Up to around 60% of the ambient light can pass through the fabric, if so desired. Translucency will vary according to the components of the fabric. By night, stunning effects can be achieved through projection of light onto the surface, internally or externally.

Q:  Are there economies of scale? Is a larger structure more cost effective?
A:  Yes, generally the larger the expanse of fabric, the smaller the pro rata cost per square metre compared to other construction options.