Dubai-based International House General Trading was involved with the installation of six tensile fibreglass structures at the Mazaya Centre project at a cost of about Dh3 million ($817,000).

The company, a division of Abdullah Al Ghurair Group, was established in September 1998 to cater to the needs of the architectural components/building materials market.

The company installed six tensile structures at the project - five on the roof and one entrance canopy.

The two most common types of membranes used for tensile structures are PTFE (Teflon)-coated fibregass membrane and PVC-coated polyester membrane. The PTFE membrane has a life-span of 25 to 50 years and PVC membrane between 10 to 15 years, according to a spokesman for the company

Describing these structures, he says: "The membrane structures are completely different from other roofing materials both aesthetically and functionally - it is the combination of special physical and geometric characteristics that makes the tensile membrane structures unique. For the architectural designer, the sum of these elements provides an aesthetic potential that is, for all intents and purposes, unlimited.

"In daylight, tensioned membrane structures provide a soft, diffused interior translucency, yet appear to be opaque when viewed from the exterior. During night-time, artificial interior lighting creates an exterior luminescence, which is a very distinctive feature of membrane structures. This translucency is not affected over time and because sunlight keeps the membrane bleached, discoloration has not been a problem.

''The product has a wide range of applications - in stadiums, shopping malls, car-parks and can also used to provide shade. It is durable and is unaffected by harsh climatic conditions. The Teflon coating used is chemically inert and can withstand temperatures ranging from -73 deg C to +232 deg C. The life cycle of the product is 25 to 50 years. The PTFE membrane is self-cleaning. Normal rain on the membrane takes out all the dust since the PTFE coating is inert.

''Construction is fast with the product. Since all the materials are prefabricated, installation of the tensile structures is very fast compared to other competing materials. The structure is also relocatable - as it can be dismantled.''

''As part of the Abdullah Al Ghurair group, the company has the experience, financial back-up and contacts. It is well equipped to handle any kind of project,'' the spokesman says.

The products handled by the company include: Tensile fabric structures; spaceframes; aluminium curtain walls; aluminium honeycomb sandwich panels; cast aluminium products; clay bricks and pavers; and stainless steel cladding. Some of the projects completed by the company include Blue Tower Mashreq Bank; cladding works for Al Ghurair Hotel and Shaikh Zayed Girls schools in Abu Dhabi (clay pavers).