Teoria e pratica del calcestruzzo armato nell’architettura del Novecento / Theory and practice of reinforced concrete in twentieth-century architecture

Abstract

The early twentieth century marked the development of reinforced concrete, which, from its pioneering phase in the nineteenth century to the 1960s, generated theories and techniques that still form the scientific and technical foundation of structural design today. This transformation involved both engineers and architects, in an interplay exemplified by figures such as Nervi and Danusso. Theoretical ambitions and bold realizations were not always supported by a consistent control of theory over practice. Many scientists have emphasized how the audacity and the theoretical and experimental challenges posed by this “new material” required a clear distinction between the work of the practitioner and that of the scholar. This circumstance led to the widespread adoption of tabular dimensioning methods, involving significant simplifications in both calculations and design manuals—an approach that is not considered in current safety assessments.