If you have ever caught yourself looking up in awe at the greenery cascading down from Sydney’s Central Park building, Westfield’s Warringah Mall, or Melbourne Sky Park, you might wonder how on earth those plants are so securely fastened in their place.
But if you take a closer look, you’ll see a carefully thought-out framework of wires and rods, mixed with botanical know-how, keeping the whole thing up and thriving. Now who knows how to do that? Introducing Tensile Design & Construction.
Tensile is a design and construction company that specialises in an architectural method known as tensile architecture – lightweight yet durable structures that offer flexibility in form in ways other materials cannot. This enables opportunities to create curves and bends, offering a visual focus that can expand across large areas.
In addition, the company constructs with sustainability at the forefront, using robust, low-maintenance materials with longevity.
For example, the strength embodied in steel can result in lower material use, simplification of design, reduced use of equipment and greater durability, plus, steel is recyclable. Good for the planet and the wallet.
Beyond leafy green collaborations, Tensile brings its specialisation into a range of projects from malleable safety nets for kids playgrounds, to embedding resilience and longevity in bridge design, to bringing community art projects to life, and much more.
How does it work?
The tensile team offers a full suite of services from concept to installment, of which you can tailor to suit your individual needs.
Whether you are an architect, engineer, builder or building owner, Tensile is able to provide a scope that best fits to ensure the successful execution of your project. The Tensile team can work alongside your consultants or take on the whole scope of the project through to delivery. You chose.
Who are the engines behind it all?
In 2010, Peter Bottero founded Tensile Design & Construct to fulfil the growing need within the construction industry for a full service tensile solutions provider, one that combined the fields of design, engineering and construction. Peter is a specialist in green facades, safety barriers and catenary cable (curved wire) structures and has been involved in tension structures for over 15 years and over that time, has played a key role in the tensile architectural industry across Australia.
To achieve the best outcomes Peter works with a range of professionals who are each specialists in their respective fields. He likes to go for the best and he calls them the company’s “family” of experts – all with their own unique offerings that go to creating the ideal outcomes, whatever the intended outcomes happen to be and whatever the local conditions dictate. In addition, Tensile has a wide network of suppliers from across the globe to source the best products for the projects which you can browse through on their website.
The drive to design and build a creative solution for a project keeps the Tensile team motivated – seeking always to understand the influencing factors for every project so they may truly understand each client’s unique needs, and pave a well-aligned, creative, more sustainable way forward.
A snapshot of their work and what to expect
Tensile has been involved with some of Australia’s most high-profile green building projects, including in Sydney, Central Park, The Workshop, and Westfield’s Warringah Mall and in Melbourne Sky Park in the Melbourne Quarter near Docklands, the Stonnington City Council Offices and Platinum Tower in Melbourne.
Peter says that it’s really important to guide each client through a process to consider key success factors.
Questions the team will likely ask, he says, include: are the ingredients for success actually there? What are the surrounding conditions? The sun, the wind, shade, water, buildability? Can the builder and the team realise the vision and the long-term maintenance? Will it still be there 10 or 20 years from now?
This is because Tensile believes that good buildings are created by good communication and collaboration right from the get-go. According to Tensile, a successful building project is one that has:
- Concepts and goals of the design influencing all stages of decision making
- Integration of building systems to achieve efficiency
- A measurable positive impact for the client and building users
