• Flaminio Stadium, Rome, 1956-59 by Pier Luigi Nervi
  • Pier Luigi Nervi. Aircraft hangar, Orvieto, Italy, 1935.
  • CATEDRAL DE SANTA MARIA by Pier Luigi Nervi

Pier Luigi Nervi (1891 – 1979) was an Italian architect born in Sondrio, Lombardy. He studied engineering at the University of Bologna, to 1913. Nervi’s taut reinforced concrete buildings were among the most spectacular structures of the twentieth century. He became well-known for his beautiful concrete roof creations. Some are cantilevered, while others are precast concrete trusses or vaults of diagonally intersecting concrete beams. He was well known for his concrete spiral stairs.

Education

Pier Nervi Luigi was the sole child of Sondrio’s postmaster. As a youth, he was fascinated by mechanical devices, and at the University of Bologna, his interests broadened to include the mechanics of large-scale engineering projects. He received a degree in civil engineering in 1913 and formed an engineering and construction firm in Rome in 1923.

Early Career

After experience with a concrete contractor, he set up his firm in Bologna in 1923. His first structure was a 1927 cinema in Naples: His first important work was the 1930-32 Communal Stadium in Florence, widely published as an early example of Modern architecture. As he frequently argued in his writings, he believed that the creation of form was an activity equivalent to that of the artist or technician. 

Strength through form

He became known as the artist of reinforced concrete. His ‘strength through form’ experiments were expressed in his 1948-49 Turin exhibition building, considered his masterpiece, in which biomorphic units were used in a peripherally supported ceiling of enormous span. He later designed buildings that were simpler and quicker to construct.

While inspired by Italian rationalism, in particular by Terragni, he remained stylistically independent of fashion. His Florence Stadium(1930–2), with its massive cantilevered roof framework and spiral stairs, was the first of several of his buildings to achieve international acclaim.

Between 1946-61, he was a professor of structural engineering in the architecture department of the University of Rome. 

Summary of Works

His other buildings included aeroplane hangars in Orvieto of 1935-38 and in Orbetello and Torre del Lago of 1940-43, 1950 Casino at the Lido in Rome. Then in the Great Hall B, Exhibition Hall, Turin(1947–9), he developed a system of superimposed steel mesh encased in concrete that enabled him to create prefabricated corrugated elements with high tensile strength. The result was a building of almost poetic grace.

Between 1953-57 conference hall of the UNESCO building (with Marcel · Breuer and Bernard Zehrfuss) in Paris, 1955-58 Pirelli building (with Gia Ponti and others) in Milan, 1955 Centre National des Industries (with Jean Prouve) in Paris, 1956 circular exhibition building in Caracas (Venezuela), 1956-57 Palazzetto dello Sport Lavoro in Turin, and 1971 Papal audience chamber in the Vatican in Rome. 

Additional Reading

Source

Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.

Curl, J. S., & Wilson, S. (2015). The Oxford dictionary of architecture. Oxford University Press.

Dizik, A. A. (1988). Concise encyclopedia of interior design. Van Nostrand Reinhold.

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    Vittorio Gregotti (1927- 2020) was an important Italian architect, designer, design historian, theorist and critic, Gregotti was the editor of several leading Italian design journals. He graduated in architecture from Milan Polytechnic in 1952. He spent his lifetime working in the field as a practitioner, academic, and writer.Read More →

  • Bruno Gecchelin (b.1939) Italian Architect-Designer

    Bruno Gecchelin (b.1939) Italian Architect-Designer

    Beginning his professional career in 1962, he worked for many major firms; designed lighting for O-Luce, furniture for Busnelli and Frau, refrigerators and gas stoves for Indesit, glassware for Venini, items for Skipper and Fratelli Guzzini, 1989 Atelier 75 range of four kitchen utensils, and 1987—88 Shuttle range of track lighting. Read More →

  • Ignazio Gardella (1905 – 1999) Italian Architect-Designer

    Ignazio Gardella (1905 – 1999) Italian Architect-Designer

    Ignazio Gardella began working on architectural projects in Alessandria in 1929, including the Dispensario Antitubercolare (1929-1930), which is regarded as an example of Italian Rationalism, and the Laboratorio Provinciale di Igiene. He was laying the groundwork for his future career as an architect.Read More →

  • Aldo Rossi (1931 – 1997) Italian designer and architect

    Aldo Rossi (1931 – 1997) Italian designer and architect

    Aldo Rossi (1931 – 1997) was an Italian architect. He was born and professionally active in Milan. He is considered by many to be the greatest Italian architect of the second half of the 20th century. His life as an architect began with Gardella and Zanuso. Read More →

  • Mezzadro Chair – a nod to Italian Agriculture

    Mezzadro Chair – a nod to Italian Agriculture

    Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni were not the first twentieth-century designers to consider the tractor seat in relation to sophisticated furniture production: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe used it for the Conchoidal chairs he conceived during the early 1940s. Read More →

  • Lino Sabattani (1925 – 2016) Italian Metal Smith

    Lino Sabattani (1925 – 2016) Italian Metal Smith

    Sabbatini worked as a silversmith from a very early age.  He learned metalworking techniques and became interested in shapes derived from natural materials.  The Boule teapot and example of his early work was designed for T. Wolff in Germany.Read More →

  • Patrizia Ranzo Italian architect and designer

    Patrizia Ranzo Italian architect and designer

    Patrizia Ranzo is an Italian architect and designer. She was born and active in Naples. She studied architecture in Naples to 1981. Read More →

  • Cini Boeri Italian Furniture & Industrial Designer

    Cini Boeri Italian Furniture & Industrial Designer

    She worked as an interior and furniture designer in the studio of Marco Zanuso, Milan, 1952—63. In 1963, she set up her studio, specializing in civil and interior architecture and industrial design. She was associated with ADI (Associazione per il Disegno Industriale). In 1979, she formed Cini Boeri Associati, Milan. Read More →

  • Paolo Venini (1895 – 1959) Italian Glassware Designer

    Paolo Venini (1895 – 1959) Italian Glassware Designer

    Murano glassware was historically decorated with opulent rubies and gold and fanciful forms in vibrant colours. He hired freelance designers like Martinuzzi and Fulvio Bianconi regularly. Gio Ponti from 1927, Carlo Scarpa from 1932, Eugene Berman from 1951, Ken Scott from 1951, Franco Albini from 1954, and Massimo Vignelli from 1956 were the designers he…

  • Massimo Vignelli designer of subway maps to corporate logos

    Massimo Vignelli designer of subway maps to corporate logos

    Massimo Vignelli and his wife Leila, an architect, were considered a husband and wife team credited with introducing restrained, European fashion and taste in America in the 1970s.Read More →

  • Adalberto Dal Lago (b.1937) – Italian Architect and designer

    Adalberto Dal Lago (b.1937) – Italian Architect and designer

    Adalberto Dal Lago is an Italian architect and designer: born and active Milan. He was an assistant, Facolta di Architettura, Politecnico di Milano from 1964-70 and subsequently chair of interior design and then of the elements of composition. He published books on design and Modern architecture. The European Council commissioned him and architect Marco Zanus…

  • Patricia Urquiola is a Spanish architect and designer

    Patricia Urquiola is a Spanish architect and designer

    Patricia Urquiola is a Spanish architect based in Milan. She distinguishes herself by her original designs of items and furniture for the finest and most significant international companies. She created the Maia series, one of her most typical works for Kettal, the designer of some of the most emblematic pieces of today’s selection. AD Design…

  • Piero Polato (b.1936) Italian Industrial Designer

    Piero Polato (b.1936) Italian Industrial Designer

    At ISIA, Urbano, Polato taught metallurgy. He wrote books about design education. Saiet, Avancart, Pellizzari, RAI, Televisione Svizzera Italiana, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Franco Rosso International, Fratelli Coppola, Furla, Mursia Editore, Robots, Zucchi, Il Bustese, and Muncherner Ruck were among his clientele. He was an ADI member (Associazione per il Disegno Industriale).Read More →

  • Carlo Mollino (1905 – 1973) Italian architect and designer

    Carlo Mollino (1905 – 1973) Italian architect and designer

    Today, Carlo Mollino seems just as important as when he was alive. The designer left his mark on the world of industrial design of the 20th century through one of a kind objects, incorporating new techniques and materials produced rather than batch productions in the form of collector’s items.Read More →

  • Alfredo Simonit (b.1937) – Italian furniture designer

    Alfredo Simonit (b.1937) – Italian furniture designer

    Alfredo Simonit is an Italian designer. He was born in Romans d ‘Isonzo. Professionally active S. Giovanni al Natisone. Read More →

  • Gaetano Pesce (b.1939 ) Italian architect, designer and sculptor

    Gaetano Pesce (b.1939 ) Italian architect, designer and sculptor

    He established an office in Padua, where he became a founding member of Gruppo N in 1959. He experimented with programmed art and collaborated with Gruppo Zero in Germany, Groupe de Recherche d’Art Visuel in Paris (then known as Motus), and Gruppo T in Milan. Read More →

  • Emilio Pucci (1914 – 1992) Italian fashion designer

    Emilio Pucci (1914 – 1992) Italian fashion designer

    A leading figure in Italian fashion in the 1950s and 1960s, Pucci studied for a year at the University of Milan. In 1935 he travelled to the United States where he also studied, returning to the University of FlorenceRead More →

  • Marcello Minale (1938 – 2000) Italian designer

    Marcello Minale (1938 – 2000) Italian designer

    He worked as a designer at the Finnish advertising agency Taucker and as an art director at Mackkinointi Uiherjuuri. He was the design director at the Young and Rubicam advertising agency in London until 1964. He founded a design firm with Brian Tattersfield in 1964. Read More →

  • Giancarlo Pozzi (1924 – ) Italian Industrial Designer

    Giancarlo Pozzi (1924 – ) Italian Industrial Designer

    Pozzi’s professional career began in 1950. He worked with architect Alberto Rosselli from 1963 to 1967. From 1970 to 1974, he collaborated with Achile Castiglioni and the Ponti/Fornaroli/Rosselli Studio.Read More →

  • The Wit and Humour of the Gibigiana Table Lamp

    The Wit and Humour of the Gibigiana Table Lamp

    Castiglioni’s approach to design is characterised by wit and humour, which is portrayed here by a shape that resembles an animal or bird. The Gibigiana is a table light that may be adjusted. It includes a dimmer and produces reflected light. Read More →

  • ‘The New Domestic Landscape’ – MoMA’s ambitious design show 1972

    ‘The New Domestic Landscape’ – MoMA’s ambitious design show 1972

    THE NEW DOMESTIC LANDSCAPE was one of The Museum of Modern Art’s most ambitious design shows.  The exhibition, directed and built by Emilio Ambasz, Curator of Design in the Museum’s Department of Architecture and Design, focused on current design trends in Italy with 180 items for everyday use and 11 environments commissioned by the Museum.Read More…

  • Flavio Conti Italian architect and designer

    Flavio Conti Italian architect and designer

    Flavio Conti is an Italian architect and designer; born Legnago, Verona; active Milan.  He studied architecture, Politecnico di Milano toRead More →

  • Michele Provinciali (1921 – 2009) Italian Industrial Designer

    Michele Provinciali (1921 – 2009) Italian Industrial Designer

    He received the ADI’s Compasso d’Oro Award for his career in 2008. Michele Provinciali provides an alternative trend to the late rationalist approach typical of the postwar period in every art form. He is expressive, poetic, experimental, abnormal, and refined in every art form.Read More →

  • Luigi Massoni (b.1930) Italian Industrial Designer

    Luigi Massoni (b.1930) Italian Industrial Designer

    After a period of training at the Collettivo di Architettura in Milan and his first professional experiences between 1953 and 1955, he began his design career by making the cocktail shaker (1957, with Carlo Mazzeri) and the Serie 5 containers, which are still in production, for AlessiRead More →

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