User:Alberto Santomauro/sandbox

Palazzo del Lavoro, on the origin Palazzo delle Nazioni and today also known as Palazzo Nervi, is a building placed in the neighborhood of Nizza Millefonti (area Italia '61), in the southern part of Turin. It was designed by the engineer Pier Luigi Nervi, with the cooperation of architects Gio Ponti and Gino Covre, and finished in 1961.

When it was inaugurated, it was a remarkable example of exhibition structure for size and technological innovation. Nowadays it is in a state of serious neglect.

History
From 1959, Turin saw the construction of a series of buildings in the area of Nizza Millefonti, for the event of Italia '61: the celebrations for the Centenary of the Unification of Italy. Among them, this building stood out for its dimensional and design characteristics. Later, it was used to host trade fairs, art galleries, international exhibitions and, until the mid-eighties, some offices of the Centro Internazionale B.I.T. - Agenzia delle Nazioni Unite (International Centre B.I.T., Agency of United Nations), then moved in the same area.

Until 2008, it also hosted a detached section of the Faculty of Economics and Business of University of Turin, plus a part of teaching locations of a consortium post-diploma specializations. Since 2009, it has been occupied by sporadic commercial activities, including a nightclub and theme music parties, but gradually it was abandoned again because of the huge managing costs.

Since then, its condition has deteriorated to such an extent that it has been questioned about possible reuse in the future. After some hypotheses of requalification, from 2011 the external iron structure, now almost totally rusted, was covered with huge tricolour flags, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy.

In the same period, some negotiations started between local administrations and the Dutch group Foruminvest, in order to convert the building into a large shopping center. This project encouraged the raise of criticics from citizens and local sellers. However, the negotiations failed and the building continued to remain into a state of serious decay, between controversies and attempts to conversion and redevelopment. During the 2015 the building was damaged by some arsons, the most serious of them started on 20 August.

After years of indecisions about the future of the building, on 17 August 2020 the media announced the acquisition of ownership of the building by the State through the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. This operation gives hope for an acceleration of the desired process of recovery of the structure for a complete conversion into a commercial and recreation area.

Description
Praised by numerous architectural journals for the innovative construction technologies employed, the Palazzo del Lavoro is characterized by a large quadrangular pavilion of 22,500 m2 and 156 meters per side, consists of 16 modular elements with a square base cover. Each of the sixteen modules, 40 meters per side, is supported by a central pillar of 25 meters, ending with a peculiar radial, composed of reinforced concrete beams with a diameter of 38 meters.

Natural lighting is provided by skylights, which are obtained from the deviation of each module and the perimeter walls that have, even if in a state of decay, a complex system of frangiluce metal slats whose inclination originally varied depending on sun exposure.

Originally the configuration of the large indoor pavilion included cafeterias in each of the four corners and versatile solutions to host further future events. The basement hosted a large conference hall, two movie theaters, a small receptive structure and service rooms.