A Poet in Concrete

Structure, Fabrication and Aesthetics in the Work of Pier Luigi Nervi

As part of Concrete Week 2022, Thomas Leslie, FAIA, Morrill Professor at Iowa State University, will give a lecture on Friday, November 11 at 2pm in Pence 209.

Italian engineer and builder Pier Luigi Nervi (1891-1979) was often called a “poet in concrete,” but his light, often web-like long span structures were more than poetry.  Rooted within an early career that struggled with the material shortages brought about by Italy’s fascist government and the deprivations of its wartime economy, Nervi found ways to distill beautiful structures out of harsh circumstances.  This lecture shows how his inventive mind and fluency in structure, fabrication, and construction forged solutions that were innovative and evocative, suggesting that structural “poetics” can emerge from the most prosaic of solutions.

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Hosted by the UK School of Architecture, Concrete Week is an annual series of lectures, presentations and activities featuring a range of advanced techniques and perspectives focused on reinforced concrete applications.