Prefabrication “made in Italy”. Preservation versus transformation

The protection of the twentieth century’s built heritage is inevitably engaged by the problems affectingwhat manywould describe as “non-monumental” heritage that are not subject to specific restrictions for their protection, yet in various ways – social, economic, historical, cultural – constitute an asset in our territories. After the war down to the first mid-1970s, in Italy the architectural heritage built by techniques of prefabrication was characterized by a different procedure from that found in other European countries. The work of renowned industrial designers, including Marco Zanuso and Angelo Mangiarotti, blazed a trail of excellence that succeeded in finding expression in the sector of industrial architecture. Decay, structural problems, new uses, changes to the planning regulations, innovations in standards of comfort, social changes and the different perception of the architectural works inevitably entail a series of actions which, unless governed by an overall strategy, can lead to the loss of a heritage characterized by a serialized and standardized construction process.