THE “PALAZZO DELLA CIVILTA’ ITALIANA” IN ROME EUR: AN HISTORIC PERSPECTIVE OF ITS STRUCUTURES

The “Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana” is a monumental building characterized by structural system made of reinforced concrete frames (cast in situ) and composite floors (reinforced concrete and hollow bricks), following a construction technology quite common in Italy. The floors are characterized by relatively large spans of about 10.0 meters. The construction took place between 1939 and 1940, presumably according to the construction code of the time published in 1939. The historical analysis of the peculiar structural solution adopted for the “Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana” allows to understand the appearance of the structure as it is (it’s easily recognizable and distinctive), so that the historic perspective of form/structure interaction is clearly highlighted. Lucky circumstances have allowed the authors to have at hand the original technical drawings of the structural designer. This has proved crucial in order to develop grounded reliability analysis for the building structure in its present state, which still sees the building in its “original” configuration (no substantial intervention of structural retrofit or rehabilitation have indeed been implemented so far). The two major reliability issues identified through the analysis are related to: (a) the load bearing capacities of the floors (the live load of the original design are inferior to those required nowadays to guarantee a sufficiently “flexible” use of the spaces), and (b) the seismic vulnerability of the building original structure. The authors have developed simple (non invasive) structural solutions in order to bring the building to the level of structural safety required by current standards. The strengthening and retrofit design encompasses the use of seismic dampers to be inserted in a central “light well” (already present in the building) and of “preloaded” steel beams to be placed underneath the floors.