Challenges in the Reuse and Upgrade of Pier Luigi Nervi‘s Structures

The paper presents the overall objectives of a funded research program for the development of a Conservation Plan (CP) for the two halls by Pier Luigi Nervi of the Turin Exhibition Center. The Turin Exhibition Center was conceived immediately after the Second World War to host primarily the annual Automobile Show, in connection with the presence in Turin of the FIAT motor company. The two main pavilions of the Center (Halls B and C) are outstanding examples of a pioneering use, of new advanced methods in reinforced concrete construction, combining innovative prefabrication procedures and the re-invention by Nervi of ferrocement, used to form extremely thin elements. The CP is expected to push and contribute to the preservation of the halls designed and built by Nervi, with special emphasis on structural and seismic vulnerability aspects, also due to concerns raised on the durability of concrete materials and technologies. Re-using these buildings entails the challenge to guarantee new extended service life to concrete structures built many decades ago and faces the need for a seismic assessment of these structures, in compliance to recent Italian standards.