History

Landrell Fabric Engineering, based in South Wales and Architen situated a few miles away in Bristol, were both formed in the early 1980s with a common vision – excellence in fabric engineering.

Landrell gained a worthy reputation as a leading manufacturer and installer of large tensile structures, with its production facility in Chepstow which is the largest and most capable in Europe. Architen’s attention to detail in design and engineering led to the production of some of the most aesthetically pleasing tensile structures built during the past twenty years.

In the last two decades of the 20th century both companies independently designed, manufactured and installed thousands of tensile fabric structures in Britain and around the world.

The year 2000 brought a change in the world’s view of tensile fabric structures. Not only did the construction of the Millennium Dome in Greenwich, London bring tensile architecture to the forefront of the building industry, but also many towns and cities planned landmark buildings to signify the beginning of the new millennium. Tensile fabric architecture moved more into the mainstream of the construction industry. The time was right for the merger of the two premier UK fabric engineering companies and in 2001 Architen Landrell was born, giving Europe a clear leader in this maturing industry.

Working with many of the world’s leading architects in fabric architecture our track record of achievement has provided the foundation of trust that is essential for the increasingly adventurous ambitions of our clients and their design teams.

Our original vision remains unchanged, which is why we invest in research and development - internally in our own testing laboratory and externally by sponsoring post-graduate academic research into tensile structures. We are proud to be members of Tensinet, the European consortium for the dissemination of knowledge about tensile architecture within and outside our industry.