Thomas Leslie

Thomas Leslie

Booth Family Rome Prize
September 9, 2013–March 10, 2014
Profession
Pickard Chilton Professor in Architecture, Department of Architecture, Iowa State University
Project title
“Building Correctly”: Pier Luigi Nervi and the Synthesis of the Constructeur
Project description

I will document and research the work of Pier Luigi Nervi, Italy’s best-known postwar engineer. Nervi’s work ranged from factories and warehouses to churches and exposition halls, but these diverse programs were all executed as thoughtfully expressed integrations of functional desires and limited means: one comes away from any Nervi building knowing how it works and how it was built. These structures are, therefore, important examples of the progressive postwar project to synthesize art and science, but many of them are in danger due to poor maintenance or even abandonment. My proposal involves documenting the status of Nervi’s extant work, researching their integrative design histories through archival study, working with local entities to prepare a preservation white paper and plan, and developing outreach materials including scholarly and popular articles on the history and current condition of key structures.