Pier Luigi Nervi (21 June 1891 – 9 January 1979) was an Italian engineer and architect. He studied at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna (, abbreviated Unibo) is a Public university, public research university in Bologna, Italy. Teaching began around 1088, with the university becoming organised as guilds of students () by the late 12th century. It is the ...

graduating in 1913. Nervi taught as a professor of engineering at Rome University from 1946 to 1961 and was known worldwide as a

structural engineer Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research List of structural elements, structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants. Their work takes account mainly of ...

and

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and for his innovative use of reinforced concrete, especially with numerous notable thin shell structures worldwide.

Biography

Nervi was born in

Sondrio Sondrio (; ; ; archaic or ; ) is an Italian city, ''comune'' and administrative centre for the province of Sondrio, located in the heart of the Valtellina. , Sondrio counted approximately 21,876 inhabitants. In 2007, Sondrio was named the Alpine ...

and attended the Civil Engineering School of

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

from which he graduated in 1913; his formal education was quite similar to that experienced today by Italian civil engineering students. After graduating he joined the Society for Concrete Construction and, during World War I from 1915 to 1918, he served in the Corps of Engineering of the Italian Army. From 1961 to 1962 he was the Norton professor at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Civil engineering works

Nervi began practicing civil engineering after 1923. His projects in the 1930s included several airplane hangars that were important for his development as an engineer. A set of hangars in

Orvieto Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are compl ...

(1935) were built entirely out of reinforced concrete, and a second set in Orbetello and Torre del Lago (1939) improved the design by using a lighter roof, precast ribs, and a modular construction method. During the 1940s he developed ideas for

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...

which helped in the rebuilding of many buildings and factories throughout Western Europe, and even designed and created a boat hull that was made of reinforced concrete as a promotion for the Italian government. Nervi also stressed that intuition should be used as much as mathematics in design, especially with thin shell structures. He borrowed from both Roman and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

architecture while applying ribbing and vaulting to improve strength and eliminate columns. He combined simple geometry and

prefabrication Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located. Some research ...

to innovate design solutions.

Engineer and architect

Nervi was educated and practised as an ''ingegnere edile'' (translated as "building engineer") – in Italy. At the time (and to a lesser degree also today), a building engineer might also be considered an architect. After 1932, his aesthetically pleasing designs were used for major projects. This was due to the booming number of construction projects at the time which used concrete and steel in Europe and the architecture aspect took a step back to the potential of engineering. Nervi successfully made reinforced concrete the main structural material of the day. Nervi expounded his ideas on building in four books (see below) and many learned papers. Archeological excavations suggested that he may have some responsibilities for the Flaminio stadium foundations passing through ancient Roman tombs. His work was also part of the architecture event in the art competition at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

International projects

Most of his built structures are in his native Italy, but he also worked on projects abroad. Nervi's first project in the United States was the George Washington Bridge Bus Station, for which he designed the roof, which consists of triangular pieces that were cast in place. This building is still used today by over 700 buses and their passengers.

Noted works

* Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence (1931) * Ugolino Golf House, Impruneta, Italy (1934) (collaborating with Gherardo Bosio) * Torino Esposizioni, Turin, Italy (1949). * UNESCO headquarters, Paris (1950) (collaborating with Marcel Breuer and Bernard Zehrfuss) * The Pirelli Tower, Milan (1950) (collaborating with Gio Ponti) * Palazzo dello sport EUR (now PalaLottomatica), Rome (1956) * Palazzetto dello sport, Rome (1958) * Stadio Flaminio, Rome (1957) * , Turin (1961) * Palazzetto dello sport, Turin (1961) * Australia Square tower building, Sydney (1961 - 1967) * Sacro Cuore (Bell Tower), Firenze (1962) * Paper Mill,

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

, Italy (1962) * George Washington Bridge Bus Station, New York City (1963) * Australia Square tower, Sydney (1964) Architect: Harry Seidler & Associates * Tour de la Bourse,

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

(1964) (collaborating with Luigi Moretti) * Leverone Field House at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

* Sede Centrale della Banca del Monte di Parma, Parma (1968, collaboration with Gio Ponti, Antonio Fornaroli, and ) * Edmund Barton Building (also published as Trade Group Offices), Canberra (1970), Australia. Architect Harry Seidler & Associates * MLC Centre, Sydney (1973) Architect: Harry Seidler & Associates * Thompson Arena at Dartmouth College (1973 - 1974) * Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption,

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

(1967) (collaborating with Pietro Belluschi) * Paul VI Audience Hall,

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

(1971) * Chrysler Hall, & Norfolk Scope Arena in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

(1971) * Australian Embassy, Paris (1973) Consulting engineer. Architect. Harry Seidler & Associates. * Good Hope Centre, Cape Town (1976) by Studio Nervi, an exhibition hall and conference centre, with the exhibition hall comprising an arch with tie-beam on each of the four vertical facades and two diagonal arches supporting two intersecting barrel-like roofs which in turn were constructed from pre-cast concrete triangular coffers with in-situ concrete beams on the edges. Image:Pirellone rinnovato.jpg, Pirelli Tower Image:St Mary's Cathedral - San Francisco.jpg, Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption Image:Norfolk Scope2.JPG, Norfolk Scope File:MANHATTAN ENTRANCE TO THE GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE BRIDGE CROSSES HUDSON RIVER TO NEW JERSEY - NARA - 548358.jpg, George Washington Bridge Bus Station

Awards

Pier Luigi Nervi was awarded Gold Medals by the

Institution of Structural Engineers The Institution of Structural Engineers is a British professional body for structural engineers. In 2021, it had 29,900 members operating in 112 countries. It provides professional accreditation and publishes a magazine, '' The Structural Eng ...

in the UK, the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

( AIA Gold Medal 1964) and the

RIBA ''Riba'' (, or , ) is an Arabic word used in Islamic law and roughly translated as " usury": unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or business. ''Riba'' is mentioned and condemned in several different verses in the Qur'an3:130

. In 1957, received the Frank P. Brown Medal of The Franklin Institute and the

Wilhelm Exner Medal The Wilhelm Exner Medal has been awarded by the Austrian Industry Association, (ÖGV), for excellence in research and science since 1921. The medal is dedicated to Wilhelm Exner (1840–1931), former president of the Association, who initialize ...

Publications

* ''Scienza o arte del costruire?'' Bussola, Rome, 1945. * ''Costruire correttamente'', Hoepli, Milan, 1954. * ''Structures'', Dodge, New York, 1958. * ''Aesthetics and Technology in Building'' (The Charles Eliot Norton Lectures, 1961-62). Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1965. Republished with critical and historical essays as:

References

External links

* *
Ing. Nervi Pier Luigi
Fascismo - Architettura - Arte / Arte fascista web site

Fausto Giovannardi, Borgo San Lorenzo (Florence) Italy 2008
NerViLab at Sapienza University, Rome

Pier Luigi Nervi Project
* http://www.silvanaeditoriale.it/catalogo/prodotto.asp?id=3015, catalogue to the international travelling exhibition "Pier Luigi Nervi Architecture as Challenge, edited by Cristiana Chiorino and Carlo Olmo, Milan, 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Nervi, Pier Luigi 1891 births 1979 deaths People from Sondrio IStructE Gold Medal winners Chartered designers 20th-century Italian architects Italian civil engineers Structural engineers Modernist architects from Italy Concrete shell structures University of Bologna alumni Harvard University faculty Recipients of the Royal Gold Medal Honorary members of the Royal Academy 20th-century Italian engineers Art competitors at the 1936 Summer Olympics Italian military personnel of World War I Recipients of the AIA Gold Medal Honorary Fellows of the American Institute of Architects