INAIL Headquarters, Venice, Italy, 1956-59
Original project by Giuseppe Samonรก & Egle Trincanato Isabella Etna | Melbourne School of Design ABPL90085 Construction History | Dr Giorgio Marfella Semester 2, 2020
Giuseppe Samoná described the vision for the INAIL Headquarters, offices for the government organisation that deals with work related injuries, as a “series of continuously vibrating icons which repudiates any basic difference between solid and void... a continuinity which tries to avoid the temptation of any allusions to the icogongraphical tradition of the city, while structurally retaining the city’s relatively small proportions in its single parts.” 1 Having examined Samoná’s projects when I undertook the Venice Travelling Studio in 2018, and then later re-examining Samoná’s philosophies and the School of Venice in my M.Arch Thesis, I was eager to continue my examination of his built works. Under his Directorship, Samoná is credited with transforming the School of Venice into a progressive school that contributed to a reevaluation of the Modern moverment by key intellectuals including Manfredo Tafuri, Bruno Zevi, Carlo Aymonino, Carlo Scarpa
and Aldo Rossi. Samoná’s and Trincanato’s interpretation of modernity is made evident through INAIL that draws visual similarities to Frank Lloyd Wright’s unbuilt proposal for the Masieri Memorial (Figure 2). Unlike Wright’s proposal, which was condemed by the Venice City council, their proposal, a structure that is hidden away from plain sight flanked off the Grand canal, was built. Distinctly Venetian not only in proportion, scale and materiality, but in construction methodology; echoing Venetian traditions, especially the Gothic structural assembly 3 through the use of a post and lintel skeleton frame infilled with non load bearing panels. The Engineer Welby from the technical office of INAIL collaborated with Trincanato to solve the technical details of the design2 however many of these details are only briefly documented in drawings and photographs, leaving many of them to interpretation.
Figure 1 Perspective view of INAIL by Egle Trincanato, undated (Archivio Progetto IUAV)
Figure 2 Elevation of Maseri Memorial by Frank Lloyd Wright , 1952 (Archivio Progetto IUAV)
1. Ennio Concina, A History of Venetian Architecture, trans. Judith Landry (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998): 327. 2. Vittorio Gregotti, “La nuova sede dell’INAIL a Venezia di Giuseppe Samonà collaboratrice: Egle Renata Trincanato.” Casabella 244 (1960): 10. 3. Clemens F. Kusch & Anabel Gelhaar, Guida all’architettura Venezia: Realizzazioni e progetti dal 1950, (Venice: DOM, 2018): 49.
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Figure 3 Wright pictured with Giuseppe and Alberto Samoná. Wright visits Venice in 1956 and is awarded an honorary degree at the IUAV by Samoná (Archivio Progetto IUAV)
Figure 4. Egle Trincanato in her office at the IUAV (Archivio Progetto IUAV)
f.
Palazzo Adoldo
(significant renovations by Ferdinando Forlati in 1953)
a. Entry: South East entry covered forecourt, with access to the INAIL offices through slender steel gate coated in white paint b. Injury consultation room (‘ambulatorio’) c Stairs down to basement d. Entry: South entry (‘ingresso’) e. Stairs up to INAIL offices f. Lift g. Consulting room (‘ambulatorio’) h. Consulting room (‘ambulatorio’) i. Entry: South west entry (‘ingresso’) j. Adjacent courtyard
b. a.
c.
e. d.
g.
h. i.
j.
Calle nuova S. Simeone
Isabella Etna | ABPL90085 Construction History | Semester 2, 2020
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South elevation: The facade facing the calle is a smooth, and even design that references the basic principles of Venetian architecture, including the adjacent Palazzo Aldoldo
South Elevation and typical South-North Section 1:50, A2
18
altana RL 19.33
4500mm
17 16
15 attico residence ‘soggiorno’
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12 2030mm
2680mm
13
balcony
residence ‘soggiorno’
11 RL 12.00
10 ‘officio’
3000mm
3930mm
RL 8.70
3000mm
3930mm
3600mm
930mm
3600mm
930mm
2630mm
730mm
RL 14.68
‘officio’
9
1870mm
4140mm
930mm
RL 4.14
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8 ‘ambulatorio’
1530mm
4 RL 0.56 RL 0.00
1. Compacted layer of artificial deposit including previous structure’s rubble 2. ‘Caranto’ layer, compact clay with with calcareous concretions 3. Larch timber piles embedded in the ‘caranto’ transfer loads into the ground, following the Venetian building tradition 4. 500mm reinforced insitu concrete foundation slab (‘solaio gettato,’ ‘calcestruzzo di cemento leggerement armato’) The building lies on a(‘travi foundation of larch piles,cells theyunder werethe made the events; Venetian 5. Slab downturn rovesce’) formstimber trafficable slabfollowing for aqua alta where carefully crafted tradition, over the large piles they poured cement concrete (calcestruzzo di cemento leggerement channels in the courtyard stone slab allowawater to flow inofand out,of avoiding inundating the ground armato) slightly reinforced cement, forming slab (platea) 50cm thickness, is destined to holdfloor. the weight of the building. 6. Concealed water discharge behind,fine, sand partially fill cells to slow down the water flow in an acqua alta event 7. Typical non structural envelope clad in local hammered stone, (‘botticino fioretto martellinato’) This part rises on a common skeleton frame (orditura) made of reinforced concrete, whose pillars ceiling inbeams certain(travi areas rovesce), using a variety non timbers stick 8. outSuspended of the foundation whichoflie onstuctural the slab.regional The upturn of the foundation Samona and Trincanato’s custom timber andslab steel(solaio chairs gettato) / table foratINAIL beams9. form a group of cells under the cast floor ground floor, so the water flows10. in an out; in order to prevent the damaging pressure the cells were connected withceiling suitable Samona and Trincanato’s custom bookcase of the same regional timbers used in the passages where a man could walk extracted from the same foundation beams and partially filled with tile the floorwater (‘solaio sono in latercemento’) with insitu reinforced concrete, finished with rubber and local sand 11. thatStructural slows down flow. marbles including Chiampo Porfirico and Chiampo Rosato The non structural wall is made of bricks and is coated outside with botticino marble (fiorito 13. Balcony marellinato) with various grains. 14, Painted balastrade in white 15.see Pitched timber roof, following Venetian building We can the functional pillars and the beams; the eaves aretradition. formed by copper sheets. The iron bars windows normal profile varnished galvanized.. With openings… Inside they used a variety of wood to 16. Unidentified blown blue glass in metal frame art piece. divide the atmosphere and internal walls. For the floors they used rubber and marble from the quarry 17. Terracotta firedofclay, cambered roof tiles. Shingled. of Veneto in a variety different colours. 18. Venetian roof terrace (‘altana’)
The Engineer Welby from the technical office of INAIL collaborated with the designer (progettista) to solve all the technical problems with the design
Isabella Etna | ABPL90085 Construction History | Semester 2, 2020
6 1
5 RL -2.42
mean sea level
2
3
South Elevation exploded axonometric 1:35, A2
Figure 4 Bottocino Marble stone facing Calle and plaque (Jacqueline Poggi, Flickr)
Figure 5 Photograph of south elevation with vertical pivoted windows (Gregotti, Casabella)
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Figure 6. Samona’s description of INAIL for the Sao Paolo Biennale in 1961 (Archivio Progetto, IUAV)
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Figure 7. INAIL under construction (Archivio Progetto, IUAV)
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Figure 8. INAIL prior to the installation of the courtyard fence (Archivio Progetto, IUAV)
Isabella Etna | ABPL90085 Construction History | Semester 2, 2020
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19. The non structural brick wall is clad on the exterior with with precast concrete panels, and hammered bottocino marble (fiorito marellinato) in various grains 20. Shaped marble window sill rests on a grey plastered masonry wall. 21. Smooth bottocino marble frame the ‘chiaro scuro’ varying painted black and white vertical windows. 22. White plastered masonry posts frame the vertical windows. 23. Expressed strip formed reinforced concrete columns
ypical South Façade Section facade details, ale 1:50 @ A2 1:10, A2 Detail 1 (below): Concrete and hammered stone base following the Venetian tradition of rusticated, rougly finished materials used at the base of buildings Detail 2 (above): The steel window frames on the top floors are alternative flush with the inside (painted black) and with the outside wall (painted white) in order to stress the heavy contrast on the front Detail 3 (right): Structural tile floor system (‘solaio sono in laterocemento’), with exposed primary beam (‘travi varese’), and two other possible construction variations typical of Italian architecture following the second world war (Figure 9). The system using hollow terracotta blocks is lighter than a solid reinforced concrete post and lintel system, and is favoured in the Venetian context given the reduction it yields on a structure’s dead load given the uncertainty of the foundation conditions. There is also an international nature to this modern technology, used extensively in America and Australia tracing back to the late 1800s.
II.
I.
Material Schedule I. Marble - Hammered Bottocino Fioretto II. Marble - Chiampo Porfirico III. Exposed concrete with coarse aggregates IV. Copper V. Marble - Chiampo Rosato
III. 34
35
36
530mm
940mm
210mm
38
39
32
31
28
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24. Roughly cut Chiampo Porfirico marble paving 25. Self load boaring masonry wall assembly with double brick veneer and waterproofing material, finished internally with plaster. 26. Precast concrete panel with coarse aggregates in regular modules of 1.5m centres, with cast interlocking fixing brackets to fixing bracket connected to column with outrigger, for rigid connection 27. Timber partition 28. Stone window sill with drip rebate channel 29. Adjustable frame Venetian blind 30. Hammered botticino fiorito marble in various grains clad to column and faux columns at 1.5m centres. 31. Spandrel with rebate in expressed coarse aggregate concrete and strip form concrete 32. Varnished laocal timber on stud frame with mitred joint 33. Expressed steel extrusion on slab rebate edge 34. Masonry wall finished with grey plaster on exterior 35. Timber fixed to a stud frame embedded in mortar joints of masonry wall, with mitred joint for a finish with no visible fixings 36. Marble tiles on 10mm mortar bed, marble from the quarry of Veneto in a variety of different colours including Chiampo Rosato. 37. ‘Solaio in laterocemento’ with 50mm screed reinforcement mesh and bar chairs 38. Pre stressed reverse T beam rests on concrete column 39. Hollow terracotta structural blocks rest on knotch of T beam, a poured concrete connection binds the slab connection
Figure 9. ‘Solai in laterocemento con i primi travetti armati’ (Brevettato, https://www.latercompound.it/origini-nella-tradizione/)
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1200mm
1425mm
27
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View of INAIL from the Grand Canal
Figure 10. INAIL south facade photograph (Archivio Progetto, IUAV)
Figure 11. INAIL typical interior photograph (Archivio Progetto, IUAV)
Bibliography
290mm
Berlucchi, Nicola and Cecilia Catacchio. Restauro di un’architettura moderna a Venezia: la sede dell’INAIL di Giuseppe Samonà, spunti di riflessione in Architettura e materiali del Novecento, Convegno di studi Bressanone (July 2004).
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Concina, Ennio. A History of Venetian Architecture. Translated by Judith Landry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1998. Foraboschi, Paolo. “Specific structuralmechanics that underpinned the construction of Venice and dictated Venetian architecture.” Engineering Failure Analysis 78 (2017): 169–195. Gregotti, Vittorio. “La nuova sede dell’INAIL a Venezia di Giuseppe Samonà collaboratrice: Egle Renata Trincanato.” Casabella 244 (1960): 5-13 Kusch. Clemens F. and Anabel Gelhaar. Guida all’architettura Venezia: Realizzazioni e progetti dal 1950. Venice: DOM, 2018.
Isabella Etna | ABPL90085 Construction History
IV.
37
33
30
V.
Samonà, Giuseppe. “Documentazione relativa all’esposizione del progetto alla Mostra di Architettura della VI Biennale di Sao Paulo, Brasile, nel 1961.” Archivio Progetti IUAV.
Interior
Isabella Etna | ABPL90085 Construction History
6. 6. Marble - Chiampo Rosato
View from Calle of Samoná and Trincanato’s INAIL
View to Calle from South East entry covered forecourt
South elevation view from the Calle
View from L4 ‘attico’ to unidentified artwork