Structure and Language. The Enel building in Cagliari designed by Gigi Ghò

Abstract

 

The various topics of the Italian architectural debate of 1950s reveal themselves on the project of the Enel Palace of Cagliari, designed in 1957 by Gigi Ghò, Milanese engineer and architect. The reinforced concrete structure shows an interesting solution with base-hinged pillars in the shape of a “V”, and strongly influences the facades layout that, like GiòPonti, the architect considered not a design applied to a construction but an aspect of the very same structure [1]. The façade arrangement, the particular attention on the materials choice for finishes and the obsessive definition of the detail define Gigi Ghò personality.