In his 1963 article for the Architectural Review (pdf, and manuscript pdf), Boyd examines the powers of tensile construction, which he describes as having “untold potentialities” for architecture. He explains that much like reinforced concrete shells, such tensile systems offer architects a new vocabulary that is light, efficient and expressive. These structures achieve stability through tensioned cables and membranes, making structural forces visible rather than hidden in mass.

Boyd points to significant international and local examples of this type, including Eero Saarinen’s David S. Ingalls Hockey Rink at Yale University (1953-58) and Dulles International Airport Terminal (1958-62), as well as Melbourne’s Olympic Swimming Stadium (1952-56) and the Sidney Myer Music Bowl (1956-59). Boyd also draws attention to Frei Otto’s monumental text, Das Hängende Dach (The Hung Roof) (1954), which describes the evolution of the suspended roof and its lineage to the earliest forms of human shelter. For Boyd, it will only be through closer exchanges between architects and engineers that tensile structures, which he argues “still have uncharted areas”, might fulfil their promise.