Résumé
Membranes are very efficient structures, which have many qualities: (1) architectural: lightness, shape, resistance, ambiances..., (2) implementation: ease of installation and removal, time, space..., (3) adaptation, communication: advertising, commercial..., aesthetics etc. They are also a low polluting alternative to traditional materials used for construction. In spite of all the technical performances and the capacities of adaptation of these envelopes, they have difficulty in finding their place within the urban metabolism of our cities, and remain an under-used architectural solution compared to the other traditional building materials (such as concrete, steel, wood, glass...). The overall objective of our research is to (1) make evident the merits of the use of textile envelopes to the actors (from decision makers to users, through designers) by comparing it to other materials and to be able to integrate it into decision support tools (modeling / simulation software). (2) to identify the impact of these structures in the socio-economic construction of the urban morphology of cities, in an environmental approach in order to respond to the urban metabolism.