TensiNet News

The new report is online! Within CEN/TC 250/WG 5, CEN/TC 248/WG 4, the TensiNet Association and COST Action TU1303, an international team of researchers, engineers, architects, material producers and manufacturers has been working on this report. The final aim is to develop a Eurocode for the Structural Design of Tensile Membrane Structures, which will help to design and implement these lightweight structures. The report consists of three major parts: 1) general explanations giving scientific and technical background for the design of membrane structures, 2) state-of-the-art overview on existing national and European rules and recommendations on the design of membrane structures, and 3) proposals for European harmonized design rules, which could be part of the future Eurocode for Tensile Membrane Structures.

We are pleased to announce that registration for the TENSINANTES 2023 symposium is open!  Don’t miss the early bird discount until 01.03.2023.

Confirmed Keynote speakers include Bruce Danziger- Danziger Engineering Collaborative, Inc. | Carol Monticelli - Polytechnic of Milan | Karsten Moritz – IMS Bauhaus^® Archineer^® Institutes e.V. | Louis Ratajczak - DVVD| Ramon Sastre - Universitat Politècnica Catalunya | Jean-Christophe Thomas – Université Nantes | Grégoire Zündel - Atelier Zündel Cristea

TENSINANTES 2023 will take place at Nantes Université from 7th till 9th June 2023.

Our best wishes for a healthy and inspiring 2023 and of course 2023 is the year of TENSINANTES 2023! The TensiNet Symposium 2023 "Membrane architecture: the seventh established building material. Designing reliable and sustainable structures for the urban environment" will be held at Nantes Université (France) from 7th till 9th June 2023. Mark this event already in your agenda!

Complementary duos of keynote speakers: The diversity and complementarity within the TensiNet community: suppliers, manufacturers, installers, engineers, architects, researchers & academics, inspired and fed the idea of putting together duos who will give presentations around the 3 main themes:

1/ STRUCTURAL MEMBRANE: contemporary, innovative, adaptive daring and impactful solutions

2/ TENSIONED MEMBRANE STRUCTURES: the seventh building material

3/ STRUCTURAL MEMBRANE: an answer to issues of the 21st century

The duos confirmed today are:

• Grégoire Zündel (Atelier Zündel Cristea) & Ramon Sastre (Universitat Politècnica Catalunya)
• Bruce Danziger (Danziger Engineering Collaborative INC.) & Carol Monticelli (Politecnico di Milano)
• Karsten Moritz (IMS Bauhaus® Archineer® Institutes e.V.) & Jean-Christophe Thomas (Nantes Université)

Conference dinner: The conference dinner on Thursday evening will take place at the amazing venue of the "Gallerie des Machines" at "Les Machines de l'île". You will find Jules Verne's "Invented Worlds", Leonardo da Vinci's mechanical universe and Nantes' industrial history, on this exceptional site of the city's former shipyards.

Sponsoring TENSINANTES 2023: Interested to sponsor the symposium TENSINANTES 2023? There are 4 categories with corresponding benefits: Platinum sponsorship (€4000,00); Gold sponsorship (€3000,00); Silver sponsorship (€2000,00) and Copper sponsorship (€1000,00). See link for more detailed information. We are happy to welcome already our Platinum sponsors ACS Production, Sattler and Serge Ferrari Group; Gold sponsors Mehler Texnologies and Sioen Industries; and Copper sponsor formTL.

Nantes, a city to be visited: Situated in the Loire region of France, Nantes could be regarded as a “tale of two cities” from many angles. Once a bustling node for European shipping, former vast, industrial warehouses have become a hotspot of cultural and artistic expression. Meanwhile, divided by the Loireriver flowing towards the Atlantic, a maze of Haussmann-style terraces, ornate cathedrals, and monumental museums sit in contrast to an island of outlandish mechanical contraptions, and young, modern, free-spirited innovation.The sheer variety of artistic and architectural wonders make Nantes a destination to be explored. Merged with culinary excellence, amazing hotels, and a determination by public and private officials to maintain and expand on the city’s vibrant, playful design scene, and Nantes becomes a must-see, undiscovered architectural gem.For more info on visiting Nantes see link. 

Power points presented by TensiNet members in the session Architectural Membranes for High-performance Building Skins,  Life Safety and Fire Prevention in Façades and  Building a Sustainable World at ABS 2022. See link

Also for this edition the TensiNet Association was well represented at Advanced Building Skins with the lightweight booth, the TensiNet & Friends Meeting, the session on Architectural Membranes for High-performance Building Skins and different presentations on membranes in the session Life Safety and Fire Prevention in Façades and in the session Building a Sustainable World.

LINK TensiNet & Friends presentation 

There is still time to join the AMA Awards! You have until November 8^th to submit your candidature for an AMA Award. Don’t miss the chance to be part of the awards were sustainability is the King.

For AMA Members:

Category 1 - Product

Category 2 - Projects

For non-AMA Members

Category 3 - Design

Category 4 - Idea

Amongst one of the most important changes for this year’s edition and to show AMA’s commitment to research in this area, AMA is granting an economical prize for the winner of the 4^thcategory: Idea of the year.

For more information on the awards go to the AMA Awards webpage and find all related information.

Enjoy the latest TensiNews 43

TensiNews - Newsletter Nr. 43 - OCTOBER 2022 - Price 15€ (port incl.)

For non TensiNet members - link

For TensiNet members (login) - link

The European Training Network ActaReBuild – Acoustic and Thermal Retrofit of Buildings, offers 10 funded doctoral positions with starting date during the academic year 2022/23.

ActaReBuild provides research and training in retrofit of office building stock in Europe by means a new generation of sustainable materials and building components. Doctoral candidates will learn how to improve and guarantee acoustic and thermal performance of buildings that undergo renovation processes while minimizing embodied carbon production.

The training offered to 10 Doctoral Candidates interconnected through the network will enforce their research and transferable skills necessary for thriving careers in this burgeoning area. This goal will be achieved by a unique, interdisciplinary combination of specialized “hands-on” research training supported by high-quality joint PhD degree supervision; by performing of secondments at industrial partners; participation at courses and workshops on scientific and complementary “soft” skills facilitated by the academic and non-academic partners of the consortium.

Thanks to network-wide interactions, DCs will get acquainted with a variety of novel building materials and solutions (bio-, nano-, meta-, recycled, 3D printed materials and multilayer structural skins), measurement techniques and assessment methods (such as life cycle analysis and sustainability assessment, psychoacoustic methods, specialized thermal behaviour experiments and a variety of simulation techniques in acoustics, energy, hygrothermal behaviour).

We are looking for researchers willing to combine research and professional training, and willing to travel. Candidates must have a master’s degree in a relevant field of study. ActaReBuild network language is English.

Are you interested?
please send an email to: info@actarebuild.eu and we will let you know once the vacancies are opened. The recruitment platform will soon be operational!

More information on Project Partners and PHD topics: see https://actarebuild.eu/  

Interested in giving a lecture at the TENSINANTES 2023 symposium?

Then submit your one-page abstract! The deadline for submission has been extended to Friday 15^th July.

See https://tensinantes2023.sciencesconf.org/

In the framework of the New European Bauhaus Festival the Textile Architecture Fest has been organised. This initiative aims to promote the experimental activities of PhD candidates, post-doc and researchers from the Lab Unit TAN - Textile Architecture Network at Politecnico di Milano, ABC Dept. together with the international network TensiNet’s design and engineering societies, SMEs, Research institutes.

Meeting point will be the TemporActive Pavilion developed for the TensiNet Symposium “Softening the Habitats” in 2019.

Different workshops are foreseen on 9^th & 10^th of June 2022 (18.00till 20.00):

• WORKSHOP Form Finding of Minimal Surfaces - MINIMAL NATURAL SOAP FILMS
• WORKSHOP Programmable textiles for 3D printing- BIOMIMETIC TEXTILE SHAPES
• WORKSHOP Dew and Fog harvesting textiles – CATCHING WATER FROM AIR

For more information on the event see link