Shaping a new building culture in Soviet Union: Soviet engineers in Italy

This article explores the process of technological transfer regarding structural engineering and building systems from Europe to the Soviet Union between 1954 and 1963. Travel reports held in Russian archives allow to reconstruct the strategies and the trajectories chosen by Soviet engineers to catch up with their western colleagues and enhance a building revolution in the USSR. The specialists needed to acquire knowledge in the field of concrete technology, and in particular in prestressed and precast concrete structures, fundamental for the development of industrialized construction in the USSR. Besides this, it was necessary to reform the research and administrative system: new calculation methods, research facilities, design offices and the definition of standard and regulations. An important role was played by Italian engineers, who had numerous exchanges with the Soviets and facilitated their inclusion in the international scientific community, after years of isolation during Stalinism.