Insulating materials in Italian modern construction: techniques and experimentation in the colonies (1925-1940)

Abstract

Italian colonial settlements (1870-1940) have provided the territories in which to experiment modern materials and construction techniques, in particular ready-built and standardized solutions, in African difficult climatic and logistic settings. This work focuses on the experimental employment of insulating (Eraclit, Cel-Bes) materials on light metal-frames in Italian colonies. Its object is to trace back the development of such construction techniques through case studies published in contemporary technical reviews and handbooks, underlining the mutual relationship between experimentation and industrialization, between theory and construction practice.