Prefabrication and participation by users: A challenge in Italy (1960–1976)

In post-war Italy, research on prefabrication went beyond the functional use of the elements. The theme of modularity, seriality and prefabrication was explored with many nuances: from the desire to combine the theme of prefabrication with the limits and compositional and architectural potential of the systems, to the theme of modular coordination of architecture, which allowed for a greater or lesser number of components, whose assembly could lead to almost endless variations. Unlike other European countries, Italy never opted decisively and in a widespread way for this type of approach. The paper investigates the use of prefabricated systems in real plans for the construction of residential buildings and schools in the north of Italy. The need for middle-class housing in the boom years and requests by the Ministry of Education transformed the theoretical studies and singular experiences into real programmes for construction of prefabricated buildings with the participation of users.