"Nervi in Nervi"

The Pier Luigi Nervi exhibit, curated by Carlo Olmo, has arrived in Turin; it will be hosted in the C Wing of the 1948 Turin Exhibition Hall designed by the engineer/architect, protagonist of the show.
After Brussels, Venice, Rome and before an international tour in China and the United States, the show opens to the public in Turin with greater in- depth exploration than the previous editions; a journey through Nervi's relationships with large industrial clients during the postwar years. Original drawings, photographs and historic videos show the large industrial plants, but also small and medium-sized facilities, that the "master of reinforced concrete" designed for such companies as Fiat, Burgo, Italcementi, Pirelli, Lancia and L'Oréal.

With curiosity, the show explores the relationship between Nervi and some of the Italian architects with whom he worked during his many years of activity. The vast archival material in this section sheds light on his work with Gio Ponti for the Pirelli skyscraper in Milan and the Lerici Foundation in Stockholm (published in Domus 316, March 1956), with Luigi Moretti for the Montreal Stock Exchange, with Marcello Piacentini and Annibale Vitellozzi for the Rome sports arenas, with Ettore Sottsass for the Turin Exhibition Hall, and finally with Ernesto Nathan Rogers and Pietro Maria Bardi who helped create critical acclaim in such magazines as Quadrante and Casabella.

The exhibit goes on to illustrate Nervi's relationship with the polytechnic culture in Milan and Turin through images and structural models bearing testimony to the engineer's focus on experimental research and empirical testing of his work.

The show's heart and common thread, however, is the selection of the twelve most famous works by Nervi in Italy and around the world, from the Orvieto and Orbetello Hangars of the 1930s to St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco, passing through the Olympics in Rome and the Exhibition Hall and the Palazzo del Lavoro in Turin. The visitor can wander through the twelve projects, which are cleverly communicated through a precise play of videos, physical models produced by the rapid prototyping technique, original drawings and historic photographs, but also specially shot photographs of Nervi's existing work by Mario Carrieri. A sumptuous feast for the eyes and mind by no means restricted to architectural experts but also welcoming and open to the curious uninitiated.

To discover Nervi under the coffered vault that he designed enhances the communicative intent of the event which continues outside this space aboard a restored bus that was used at the time of the Italia 1961 celebrations, offering visitors a chance to discover other buildings in Turin by Nervi.

The knowledge and divulgation of the extraordinary wealth of works that have shaped the history of contemporary architecture compels us to confront the problematic issues of today's re-use of these icons.

April 29 to July 17, 2011
Pier Luigi Nervi - Architecture as a challenge
Turin, industrial clientele, Italian architectural and polytechnic culture
Curated by Carlo Olmo
Turin Exhibition Hall C
Via Petrarca 39/B, Turin