Tension fabric allows building designers and users to take advantage of “daylight harvesting,” which creates an environment replete with beneficial natural light. We all love the look and feel of natural light. It’s easy on the eyes, and it’s uplifting in more ways than one.
The sun generates full-spectrum light, including the blue light vital for maintaining human health and wellbeing. Exposure to sunlight boosts vitamin D production, improves bone health, lowers blood pressure, helps prevent disease, and reduces stress. It helps maintain 24-hour circadian rhythms and sleep patterns, boosting mood and energy so we can stay sharp and be more productive. Natural light even reduces the risk of eye strain and headaches.
Artificial lighting cannot do that. This makes natural light the ideal choice for all types of working or recreational environments in any industry–private enterprise, public works, or military.
It’s important to keep in mind that, for all the same reasons, natural light is just as vital for horses and other livestock as it is for humans. That makes tension fabric buildings the ideal choice for maximizing natural light in riding arenas and other equestrian event facilities as well as barns, at the racetrack or on the farm.
Natural light benefits owners as well as users
Abundant natural light can:
- Reduce or even eliminate the need for artificial lighting. That saves money up front on installation and saves money long-term on maintenance.
- Reduce energy usage. That can save considerable money over time, and it also reduces your building’s carbon footprint.
- Reduce the risk of mold and mildew in certain locales and usage situations.
More pleasant working conditions improve job satisfaction and can help reduce absenteeism and turnover.
The right fabric for every daylighting job
Legacy’s proprietary ExxoTecTM tension fabric delivers maximum daylight and a whole lot more.
In white, our ExxoTecTM fabric is 12% translucent, which admits enough sunlight throughout your building to create comfortable working conditions on its own. The fabric has non-conductive thermal properties, so even without insulation the interior feels cooler in summer and warmer in winter. It doesn’t corrode, either, so it’s not only brighter but reliably durable for use around fertilizer, salt, mining chemicals, and other corrosive materials.
Translucent does not mean flimsy. Just like all aspects of Legacy buildings, our fabric cladding is one tough customer. You can expect your building to keep doing its job despite weather extremes.
Every Legacy tension fabric building is entirely custom-designed, engineered, and installed to provide long life with minimal to no maintenance. You can specify any dimensions, lengthy clear spans if needed, and whatever architectural features you desire. That includes any number and size of doors or windows. And administrative space as well as “industrial” space.
Fabric cladding can cover a roof-only structure but also create end walls and/or sidewalls to produce a building that is fully enclosed yet still allows natural light to pour in through every square inch.
What does that look like in real life? See for yourself. Notice how the whiteness of the fabric reflects light to further brighten indoor space.
- Pacific Football Club
- Aero Storage facility
- Ontario (CA) Airport cargo facilities
- Agriland FS Woodbine Fertilizer Storage facility
- Winnemucca Rodeo and Events Center
- Bay Club Tennis and Pickleball courts
Of course, daylight harvesting works best in an uninsulated building. However, some locations or purposes require an insulated structure. In an insulated building, we use an interior liner, which provides a seamless vapor barrier as well as a nice smooth finish on the interior of the building. This also provides for better lighting performance from other fabric building light sources such as LED lighting systems.
Natural light is good for everybody. And with Legacy Building Solutions, you can maximize light as well as overall building performance.
