Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 1
History and Development of Fabric Structures
1.1 Traditional Tent Forms
The tent has been the dwelling in one form or another for most nomadic peoples from
the Ice Age to the present. Vegetation permitting, the most common supports for
tents were tree branches or the trunks of saplings. The heavier of these were
sometimes left behind because of transportation problems. The skin or velum of
early tents used animal hides or, less frequently, birch bark pieces or latticed leaf
fronds. Later, these were replaced by woven materials such as wool or canvas.
Contemporary materials include aluminum, fiberglass, and steel for the supporting
elements and highly sophisticated synthetic fabrics for the velum.
Figure 1-1
Kibitka
(Sketch by the author)
Until quite recently most tents consisted of three basic forms: the conical or tepee
shape, the widespread kibitka or yurt that has cylindrical walls and a conical or
domical roof as shown in Figure 1-1, and the "black" tent that has the velum
tensioned into saddle shapes as shown in Figure 1-2. The black tent gets its name
from the goat hair used to weave the velum. (The gable-roofed, ridge-type tent saw
little use in ancient times but became a popular and durable military form beginning
in the 18th century. It could be considered as an adaptation of the kibitka form to a
rectangular plan.)
Of the three basic forms, the conical tepee form is the oldest and saw widespread use
across northern Europe, northern Asia, and North America. The conical kibitka
shape was prevalent as far back as 2000 B.C., and even now it is used more than any
other dwelling form in the world. The same shape executed in vines and straw is
found throughout Africa and South America. This tent form developed in a wide band
from the eastern Mediterranean region to Mongolia. Its shape has been the one most
copied or adapted for later tents. For example, a parasol roof shape derived from the
1
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