Domes of Air and Concrete. Aging and Durability

In the 1950s and 60s, structural, technological and constructional innovation was united with research in the typological and expressive fields into thin-shell concrete structures, making it possible to experiment with a radical redefinition of ways of living and working. Through the rationality of the construction process, this utopian approach with an extremely pragmatic character sought to attain fom,s of economy and optimisation in the use of materials to develop new architectural solutions. The results of these experiments were domes and light concrete, shells that were extremely efficient structurally, capable of covering large spans while using a minimum of material. The paper aims to analyze the initial phases of the research of Dante Bini, an Italian architect and entrepreneur, fully empirical in character, combining and synthesizing the available knowledge in the stn1ctural, technological and constructional fields of reinforced concrete shells and pneumatic membranes. Today these domes are demolished or derelict and risks demolition. Bringing them to the attention of the local community, and more generally to the scientific community, could be a first step towards developing strategies for preserving and reusing these prototypes.