The Bay in Architecture: Structural and Technological Invention in Glauco Gresleri's Gandolfi-OM Complex

Abstract

The relationship between architectural expressiveness and structural design is a fundamental topic of the Postwar Italian debate. As part of this topic, the bay is the conceptual device that regulates the relationship between constructive elements. In this sense, the paper investigates Glauco Gresleri’s design for the OM complex in San Lazzaro di Savena (1962–65). In the concept this hangar Gresleri deals with the typological-structural issue, concerning the construction of the “hall”. The architectural challenge is to cover a structural span of 60 metres through the structural type of the reinforced concrete portal frame with a prestressed rafter. This paper investigates this architectural work focusing on two aspects. Firstly, it tackles the innovation used by Gresleri’s design through a comparison with the theory behind the so-called “concezione strutturale”, with particular reference to the authors who deal with the issue of the construction of a “hall” type applied to industrial architectures. Secondly,  it focuses on the tendency to transform the constructive mechanism of the bay to an integrated device that tackles the issue of the skylight, water drainage and ventilation system. This double reading has the goal to understand Gresleri’s important innovation, to prove the significant progress embodied by the architect’s work to the technological and architectural culture of Postwar Italy.