Timber-framed structures exhibit a serial character, which over time has led to proper standardization and organization at an industrial level, encompassing both the production process and assembly. Historically, such buildings were not typical in Liguria. However, after the Universal Expositions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, their popularity surged significantly alongside the growth of tourism. Indeed, between the end of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, numerous villas and country houses were constructed using timber-frame technology. As this technique became increasingly standardized, it was applied not only to the supporting structure but also to the infill. At this stage, Eternit panels were introduced, and various construction types were detailed in manuals produced by the Eternit company. These manuals also provided information on the most appropriate panels for each application. Research on these artifacts forms part of a broader university research program aimed at enhancing our understanding and techniques for the conservation of contemporary architecture.
Tag: 20th century
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Surfaces of 20th-century façades: reflections on their archaeological awareness
The archaeological approach to the study of elevations is applied here to 20th-century architecture. In particular, post-World War II façades are examined through several case studies. This research uses the method of the archaeology of architecture: the meticulous attention to materials, workmanship, and technological devices, the examination of the socio-economic context, and the analysis of the motivations behind specific choices. These elements contribute to discovering the history of an artefact in a given period of time as completely as possible. The archaeology of architecture has been widely experimented on historical buildings since the 1970s; very rare has been the application to the study of contemporary buildings. The authors, on the basis of the research already started in 2018, at this stage of the study seek to further develop the topic under investigation, also with comparisons on a broader national and international scale. The architectural surfaces of the second half of the 20th century are analyzed here by studying individual components on the façades: the colour and texture of the plaster, any tile, wood, or stone coverings, or the exposed concrete work. The final aim is to develop an overall method of investigation that considers the specificity of the period examined and the possible adaptation of analysis tools that can help in the archaeological study of these contemporary architectures.
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Digital georeferenced archives: analysis and mapping of residential construction in Bologna in the second half of the twentieth century
Abstract
The study is aimed to provide a detailed knowledge database of the housing sector in the period of real estate significant expansion in Bologna in the second half of the 20th century. The final objective is the definition of a digital archive that is accessible and searchable and also a tool for analyses before interventions. The first phase of this research has focused on consulting cartographies and archival documents. On the one hand, analyzing maps and aerial photos of Bologna has identified the urban sprawl in the reference period 1940-1970. On the other hand, the cataloguing from new building permits provides some relevant data about architectural and construction features of the housing sector in the same period. The data resulting from archival research are implemented with a municipal georeferenced database using GIS software. In this way, a direct link is created between building specificities, urban fabric, and localization, so that the shifting from the urban scale to the building one is always possible. Then, another purpose is the definition of an algorithm to identify a sample of residential lots suitable for replacement within the urban perimeter of the city up to 1970. An evaluation method is currently ongoing to assess the convenience of this intervention category, rather than restoration, and to define a protocol to support the decision-making process together with a management system in three areas (technical, social, and economic) respecting circularity.
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Italian temporary prefabricated constructions (1933-1949). Projects, Patents and Prototypes
Abstract
The study considers solutions and systems for temporary and prefabricated constructions developed in Italy in the 1930s and 1940s. Companies such as L’Invulnerabile, Curtisa, Legnami Pasotti, Giuseppe Palini e Figli, Fratelli Ravelli proposed easy to assemble, changeable, and in many cases, dismountable buildings destined to the 1930s Italian and colonial markets. The survey aims to reconstruct different cases, highlighting both the premises that determined the vanguard of the post-war debate on building industrialization and the factors that constrained further developments of the pioneering phase analysed. The study starts with the V Triennale of Milan (1933) and develops in the colonial season in East Africa, enriched with applications in the Alpine areas, before finally considering some proposals that were presented at the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche exhibition on prefabricated houses in 1945 and the development of some patents by manufacturers specialised in this building sector. The buildings were intended for houses and offices of the Istituto Nazionale delle Assicurazioni and the Azienda Mineraria Africa Orientale in the colonial areas, for bivouacs of the Club Alpino Italiano, and for prefabricated houses advanced in the Second post-World War period by Società Anonima Legnami Pasotti and by L’Invulnerabile. The study, based on the clients’ archives (Istituto Nazionale delle Assicurazioni, Azienda Mineraria Africa Orientale, Club Alpino Italiano), technical documentation, and patents of the manufacturing companies, favours the examination of the production and assembly process.
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“The design of a system”. Industrialized schools in Italy (1960-1975)
Abstract
The historical reconstruction shows how the industrialization of the schools building sector, was developed in Italy far from the corresponding European experiences. In fact, although the school building sector represented in Italy the most actual tender to stage a general process of industrialization of the construction process (for temporal extension and scale of production), the fragmentation of the planning horizon forces the outcomes on a small-scale production. The industrialization of building systems was, thus, deeply related to the single realization (or a small group of buildings). Today, this fact underlines the need to deal “case by case” (through the knowledge of facts and buildings) the actions due to preserve the buildings heritage.