REBUILDING IN THE WORKSHOP: REINFORCED CONCRETE AS THE ALTERNATIVE
introduction
Angelo Bertolazzi, Ilaria Giannetti
In Italy, between 1945 and 1949, the urgency of reconstruction and the example of European and North American experiences brought the industrialization of the construction sector to the center of the political and sectorial debate. The American way of drymounted construction with timber and metallic systems is counterpointed by the transalpine way, based on the industrialization of mixed masonry-reinforced concrete construction, which naturally adapts to the economic and productive context of the national building sector. This second way leads to fervent experimentation, which focuses on industrialized building solutions for the reconstruction of essential buildings, in a short time and with limited cost. On the 17th October 1945, the Commissioner of Triennale di Milano, Piero Bottoni, announced the realization of the experimental district QT8, a “living exhibition of modern architecture (and technique)”. This plan involved a pilot lot of industrialized houses. In continuity with foreign experiences, the pilot lot was aimed at testing and comparing the most innovative systems patented in Italy.
