In 1956, the Italian engineer Pier Luigi Nervi, with the architect Annibale Vitellozzi, built the Small Sports Palace in Rome. The Olympic Games, planned for 1960, required the construction of sports facilities to host the competitions. Nervi's solution, especially for the dome, was considered a low-cost, simple-to-build design, to be replicated as a prototype in other Italian cities. Things happened differently. The engineer was busy with other buildings for the Olympic Games and the Small Sports Palace was never replicated. The project became instead the prototype of a different experience for the Italian engineer. In America 10 years later, he was able to export his construction method. He was invited as a senior lecturer to prestigious universities, his books were translated and he designed famous architectures. During his American experience, Nervi was involved with developments in Norfolk, a city in the state of Virginia with an ambitious urban renewal program that included a new Cultural and Convention Center. From the very first drawings published in local newspapers, it was apparent that the design of the dome reproduced the same geometry as the Small Sports Palace in Rome. In the Norfolk Scope Arena, the dimensions of the dome are twice the size of the dome in Rome, which raises the question of how Nervi dealt with the project. The aim of this paper is to compare the two solutions that start from the same concept but are designed for different places and scales. The paper deals with the comparison between the two projects through architectural issues including the copy, model, and repetition. Through the theoretical issues and visual and geometric comparison between the two design projects, this research aims to improve the history of the two buildings through a new point of view about relationships between buildings with the same designer.
Design in Different Scales: Two Projects by Pier Luigi Nervi
Smeragliuolo Perrotta, Luisa
2021-01-01
Abstract
In 1956, the Italian engineer Pier Luigi Nervi, with the architect Annibale Vitellozzi, built the Small Sports Palace in Rome. The Olympic Games, planned for 1960, required the construction of sports facilities to host the competitions. Nervi's solution, especially for the dome, was considered a low-cost, simple-to-build design, to be replicated as a prototype in other Italian cities. Things happened differently. The engineer was busy with other buildings for the Olympic Games and the Small Sports Palace was never replicated. The project became instead the prototype of a different experience for the Italian engineer. In America 10 years later, he was able to export his construction method. He was invited as a senior lecturer to prestigious universities, his books were translated and he designed famous architectures. During his American experience, Nervi was involved with developments in Norfolk, a city in the state of Virginia with an ambitious urban renewal program that included a new Cultural and Convention Center. From the very first drawings published in local newspapers, it was apparent that the design of the dome reproduced the same geometry as the Small Sports Palace in Rome. In the Norfolk Scope Arena, the dimensions of the dome are twice the size of the dome in Rome, which raises the question of how Nervi dealt with the project. The aim of this paper is to compare the two solutions that start from the same concept but are designed for different places and scales. The paper deals with the comparison between the two projects through architectural issues including the copy, model, and repetition. Through the theoretical issues and visual and geometric comparison between the two design projects, this research aims to improve the history of the two buildings through a new point of view about relationships between buildings with the same designer.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
