Original name
Stabilimento Fiat Lingotto, FIAT Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Turin
Original use
Industry/industry
Current use
Commercial/shopping centre, cultural centre and hotel
Engineers
Giacomo Matté Trucco, Vittorio Bonadé Bottino, Baldi, Fornaca
Concrete by reinforcement
Concrete is a relatively brittle material that is strong in compression but less so in tension.
To increase its overall strength, steel rods, wires, mesh or cables may be embedded in concrete before it sets. This reinforcement, often known as rebar, resists tensile forces. By forming a strong bond, the two materials are able to resist a variety of applied forces, effectively acting as a single structural element .
Construction method
In this case, the concrete can be made by mixing the components directly on site, or it may be transported from a production plant in concrete-mixer trucks.
This method has the disadvantage of leaving the concrete exposed to the elements while it is setting. Whereas, with other methods, the environmental conditions can be controlled during setting, providing greater control over the outcome, with cast-in-place concrete a series of tests and protocols are necessary to verify its final strength.
In its design, the element should account for aspects such as modulation, finishes, transportation, anchoring, installation on site, junctions between panels, the creation of openings and the relationship between the panels and joinery. The element may also be given characteristics that can improve the thermal insulation of the façade, for example. In that sense, they are often part of an industrialized system that offers a variety of responses to different construction situations and maximum versatility in terms of architectural solutions.
The aesthetic possibilities of concrete in prefabricated façade panel systems are endless in terms of size, shape, color, texture, hardness and a wide range of features.
Architectural concrete
- textured walls
- wooden formwork finish
- stamped concrete
- exposed aggregate concrete, colored concrete, etc.
Structural types
Beams are the horizontal load-bearing elements of the frame. Columns are the vertical elements of the frame and act as the building’s primary load-bearing element. They transmit the beam loads down to the foundations.
State of Conservation
Description
This famous building is one of the symbols of the city of Turin and of northern Italy’s powerful automobile industry. Many aspects of the building make it extraordinarily unique: first of all, its enormous scale of more than 2 km in length. It was also built entirely in concrete in the early 1910s and 1920s; a single building, five stories high, contained the entire automobile manufacturing process; the circulation between the floors took place via helical ramps in the interior, designed for vehicles; finally, the roof housed a full track for test races with banked curves at the ends.
The repetitive façade, while maintaining some decorative academic touches, was a clear herald of modernity: on the lower floors the concrete pillars and beams that make up the structure are completely bare, creating a linear two-story porch along the entire length of the building. On the upper floors, the concrete grid is also evident, given that the space between beams and pillars is filled with large glazed surfaces.
The interior is notable for its functionality and for the sincere expression of its concrete structure, with drop beams, which is fully exposed; this structure is spatially expressive in the areas occupied by the ramps that connect the floors, with a beautiful play of criss-crossing ribs on the underside.
The building was renovated by the architect Renzo Piano in a complex process that continued for over two decades, ending in 2003. It currently hosts a wide-ranging program that includes concert halls, cinemas, exhibition centres, shops and a hotel.
Italy
Via Nizza 262
Piamonte 10126 Torino
Commission
1916
Completion
1930