Prefabbrichiamo la futura civiltà

During the Second World War years and despite the conflict, there were numerous attempts and experiments to industrialise the building sector, often linked to the idea of coordinated reconstruction planning. Among the main proponents of this goal were Gio Ponti, Gaetano Ciocca and Ortensio Gatti, who were the protagonists of a series of contacts with leading Italian companies; in one fortunate case, Ponti e Ciocca, together with Ubaldo Ferrari and other designers, succeeded in creating an experimental village for the employees of SAFFA (Società Anonima Fabbriche Fiammiferi ed Affini) at Ponte Nuovo in Magenta, a sort of catalogue of prefabricated house solutions. It would probably have been a first step towards the realisation of a pilot district at San Siro, a forerunner of QT8. But when the reconstruction really began, the traditional modern construction site was preferred, putting an end to numerous experiments and decreasing the indifference and, slowly, the destruction of the now unfortunately lost SAFFA village.