We tackle future challenges

Sioen Tensile Architecture is part of the Sioen Group. Being a large international company, we are aware of our social, environmental and economic responsibilities in society. Therefore, Corporate Social Responsibility is an integral part of our company strategy.

On our dedicated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) website you can find the many actions Sioen is involved in. Those include sponsorships, sustainable products, the umbrella associations we are part of and the certificates we hold, among others.

More than half of the world’s population already lives in urban areas and the urban population is expected to double in the next 40 years. One of the big challenges of architecture is providing a high urban quality and a better life quality in general for all people living in big cities.

We must ensure that cities remain spaces for innovation, culture, and well-being. Large cities are the engines of sustainable economic growth, innovation and culture, whereas housing and basic services for all social classes play an important role in the performance of that engine. (Tensile) Architecture can make the difference both in public as well as private development.

Climate change is one of the most pressing and interesting challenges for society and, of course, for architecture. New European guidelines mandate energy saving measures in construction and also society itself shows increasing environmental awareness.

We go for less energy consumption, integrating water collection systems and water saving systems, alternative heating sources, increased insulation, etc. We believe that developing technical textiles which take elements such as sunlight and wind direction into account, contributes to a reduced carbon footprint of buildings.

At our R&D centre, our experts are in constant search of new materials that provide an answer to that environmental consciousness. We are pushing ourselves to a zero-waste production of durable membranes that benefits everyone.

Call it recycling buildings. The challenge is not to demolish a building but to repurpose it and/or to refurbish it. Technical textiles can play an important role in turning unused buildings into avant-garde structures and revive them into contemporary housing and offices.

Architects are challenged to preserve and transform buildings instead of destroying them. It is a double challenge because it implies conservation and renovation based on tradition on the one hand and adding new value to buildings by adapting them to contemporary standards and needs, on the other hand.

Our product engineers are constantly working on that problem, taking into account every element from aesthetics to cost.

The United Nations have gathered all world challenges in 17 SDGs, Sustainable Development Goals. They are a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and in the future.

As an important player in society, we completely endorse the goals set by the United Nations. They acknowledge that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand in hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.

We are implementing the SDGs in our daily operations, working towards co-realising them. The sooner it happens, the better.