Image courtesy of MAXXI

Pier Luigi Nervi: Architecture for sport at MAXXI

The exhibition project is the fruit of joint research by MAXXI and the University of Bologna initiated in 2014 with the collaboration of many other institutes. Showing the design and constructional philosophy of Pier Luigi Nervi in the works realised for the world of sport, this exhibition features a host of drawings, photographs, documents and models from over 60 projects for sports facilities, much of drawn from the Nervi Archive in the MAXXI Architettura collections.

Image courtesy of MAXXI

A unique opportunity to examine the development of the design and constructional methods of the engineer from the first works such as the Stadio Berta in Florence to the buildings for the 1960 Rome Olympics and through to the great international projects such as the Kuwait Sports Centre. Three-dimensional graphic presentations and constructional models realised by La-Mo and LaMoViDA of the University of Bolognas enrich as section devoted to the projects for stadia in Italy and abroad.

Image courtesy of MAXXI

Also on show is a special model in Plexiglas of the Palazzetto dello Sport made by two students from the ISIA, the Istituto Superiore per le Industrie Artistiche (Rome), Aureliano Capri and Elettra Renzi, revealing the system for distributing forces conceived by Nervi for the building. This model constitutes a central element in a series of guided visits devoted to Nervi’s work that also include a “tactile” route designed for blind and partially-sighted people. Realised in collaboration the Centro Regionale Sant’Alessio, the route involves a walk around the Palazzetto dello Sport introducing participants to the built structure and an exhibition visit facilitated by the model and tactile tables.

Image courtesy of MAXXI

On the occasion of the exhibition MAXXI Architettura presentes the publication of the inventory of the Pier Luigi Nervi Archive: the result of a decade of complex archival work and a working tool and point of departure for future research, the Pier Luigi Nervi Inventory is the first of the Centro Archive’s Inventories which form part of a specific section within the series of publications “Quaderni del Centro Archivi del MAXXI Architettura”.

MAXXI, Rome
Pier Luigi Nervi: Architecture for sport
Until October 2, 2016

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