Reinforced concrete, because of its inherent strength in compression, is primarily used for long spans in funicular compression forms, including vaults, shells, and domes. Thin parabolic shell vaults stiffened with ribs have been built with spans up to about 90 meters (300 feet). More complex forms of concrete shells have been made, including hyperbolic paraboloids, or saddle shapes, and intersecting parabolic vaults. An example of the latter is the CNIT Exhibition Hall in Paris, which consists of six intersecting double-shell parabolic vaults built to span a triangular space 216 meters (708 feet) on a side with supports only at the apexes of the triangle. Reinforced concrete domes, which are usually also of parabolic section, are built either in ribbed form or as thin shells. The maximum span of these domes is about 200 meters (660 feet).

Another funicular form used in concrete, though it is really a composite structure, is the inverted dome, or dish. As in the steel bicycle wheel, a concrete compression ring resting on columns at the perimeter of the structure supports radial steel cables that run inward and downward to a small steel tension ring at the centre, forming the dish shape. The cable network is stiffened against wind forces by encasing it in a poured concrete dish; structures of this type have been built with spans of up to 126 meters (420 feet).

Acoustics

Long-span auditoriums involve considerations in acoustics: audiences wish to hear speakers clearly and to hear music with appropriate tonality. Unfortunately, acoustic requirements for speech quality often conflict with those for music, and it is difficult to design an auditorium that is satisfactory for both. The best single measure of acoustic performance for auditoriums is the reverberation time, which is directly proportional to the volume of the hall and inversely proportional to the amount of sound absorbency within it, including wall and ceiling surfaces and the audience itself. Measured in the sound range of 500–1,000 hertz, rooms with short reverberation times of one to 1.5 seconds are good for the intelligibility of speech, while longer reverberation times of 1.5 to 2.5 seconds add richness of tone to musical performances. Thus, adding sound-absorbent material to a hall improves it for speech but detracts from its musical qualities. People are excellent sound absorbers, and thus the audience has a distinct impact on auditorium acoustics; to keep this effect constant with varying audience size, auditorium seats are usually upholstered to serve as surrogate spectators of the same sound absorbency. Curved surfaces, which tend to focus sound, are either avoided in auditoriums or covered with sound-absorbent material. Electronic sound-amplification systems can be used to assist speakers in large halls but generally are not satisfactory for music. Other long-span buildings, such as covered stadiums and exhibition halls, receive only minor acoustical treatment.

Environmental control systems

Atmosphere systems in long-span buildings must handle the considerable heat and odor generation from population densities of less than one square meter (11 square feet) per person. Air must be moved fairly rapidly through the population zone to maintain an acceptable air-change rate.