Once you've moved past the smaller shade-and-cover category — canopies, gazebos, pergolas — into larger architectural spans, tensile structures branch into a few genuinely distinct structural forms. This guide compares them side by side so you know which deep-dive guide to read next, rather than repeating what each one already covers in full.
In This Guide
Forms Compared at a Glance
| Form | Typical Character | Common Setting | Full Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cone | Single-peak, landmark visual form | Entrances, plazas, event venues | Read guide |
| Dome | Rounded, institutional/architectural profile | Institutional campuses, auditoriums | Read guide |
| Large-span membrane roof | Wide clear-span coverage | Stadiums, food courts, large gatherings | Read guide |
| Skylight | Daylighting-focused, smaller scale | Atriums, walkways, indoor courts | Read guide |
| Retractable roof | Fixed form + open/close mechanism | Restaurants, pools, event spaces needing open-sky option | Read guide |
Cone Structures
A tensile cone typically uses a single central mast pulling the membrane up into a peaked, landmark form — a distinctive silhouette often chosen specifically for its visual impact at an entrance, plaza, or event venue. Full detail: our cone structures guide.
Dome Structures
A dome form creates a rounded, institutional profile, generally through a curved support ring or multiple coordinated support points rather than one central mast — a common choice for institutional campuses and auditorium-scale spaces where a rounded silhouette fits the surrounding architecture. Full detail: our dome engineering guide.
Large-Span Membrane Roofs
Where cone and dome forms are chosen partly for their visual character, large-span membrane roof structures are engineered primarily for coverage — spanning wide areas like stadium seating, food courts, or large gathering spaces without internal support columns breaking up the space underneath. Full detail: our membrane structures guide.
Skylight & Retractable Variants
Two further variants worth knowing about: a skylight structure is a smaller-scale, daylighting-focused form typically used over atriums or walkways, and a retractable roof takes a fixed form (often a roof or canopy shape) and adds a track-based open/close mechanism, for spaces that sometimes want an open-sky option.
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