Pier Luigi Nervi vaulted architecture. Towards new structures

This essay delves into the themes connected with a structural type that runs throughout the career of Pier Luigi Nervi (1891-1979): vaulted architecture. Domes, vaults and geodesic roofs constitute the optimal system with which Nervi pursued his personal investigation, with the goal of covering larger spans with thinner materials. For Nervi, these roofing systems represent the highest architectural expression, since they are the perfect synthesis between static functions and economic requirements. The key words to indicate this field of study can be laid out as follows: experimentation/ variation on the theme/achievement of large spans/new structures. The research investigates the attempts at renewal which starting in the 1960s prompt Pier Luigi Nervi to experiment with the application of new materials like aluminium, to totally or partially replace the construction system in ferrocemento found in most of his works, which led to their success. The approach to materials extraneous to the constructive tradition of the Nervi studio brings out unprecedented aspects that shed light on critical nodes that converge towards true anomalies, with respect to the intellectual rigor with which Nervi usually came to grips with every project theme. The three parts of the book analyze the contexts, relationships and experiments applied by Nervi in the construction of his professional career.