Carbon has been used for decades in the automotive and aerospace sectors. The building industry has needed longer to discover the mechanical advantages of the material. Tension members made from carbon fibre are high strength, do not rust or weaken through fatigue and are up to five times lighter than steel. This allows comparatively slenderer cross sections and more elegant structures. Whether carbon is the material of the future also depends on its potential sustainability. Manufacturing the fibres is energy intensive and the final disposal of carbon components is problematic. Its low weight and high strength offer substantial material- and CO2-savings for structures. These qualities can also be exploited in new types of carbon cable net facades.