Textiles, as an ingredient for creating space, have played an important role in human civilization, let alone in architecture and design. The use of textiles to create space is age old, and tents and shelters have housed gypsies, travelers, and families through the centuries. Often called textile-space today, examples include temporary spaces (such as tents, canopies, shelters, enclosures, awnings, booths, partitions) as well as permanent spaces (such as stadiums, museums, homes and schools). Textile-space is the result of forces in equilibrium, and in the case of a tent for example, the balance is achieved through the equilibrium of tensile (on the textile) and compressive forces (on the post). Spaces created by textiles are often used to economically and attractively cover large areas and to divide spaces.