Modularità e prefabbricazione in Italia nel Secondo Novecento. Sfide per la conservazione / Modularity and Prefabrication in Italy in the Second Half of 20th Century. Challenge for the Conservation.

In post-war Italy the research about prefabrication largely 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 the compositional and architectural potential of the systems, to the theme of modular coordination of architecture, in which they found space for a greater or lesser number of components, with their assembly leading to almost endless variations. Italy, unlike other European countries, never opted decisively and in a widespread way for this type of approach. However, it did develop its own response to this issue, on an occasional basis, in the period between the wars and in a broader and more highly articulated way in the 1950s and 60s. The paper intends to investigate the situation in Italy after the war regarding the prefabrication and its use in the construction process was highly articulated and manyfaceted. After an initial phase, which was characterized by a substantial time lag in this sector, in the Fifties a mature approach to the theme of industrialization in building was addressed at numerous national and international conferences, as well as in numerous projects.