Although the difficulties that marked the Post- World War II economic condition of Italy, Enrico Mattei is able to transform a disorganized collective of public oil and gas industries into an international business giant, fueling the unforeseen dream of national energy self-sufficiency. Thanks to a huge building programme designed to meet both working and corporate identity requirements, Eni Group plays a key role for the post-war reconstruction. Metanopoli represents the peak of this parable. The Oil-City, the beating heart of operational and management choices, since the mid ‘50s is affected by the construction of the Office Buildings, modern architectures and workspaces that must show the prestige achieved by the company. In this context steel structure becomes a fundamental tool not only to reach new technological goals, but also to promote propaganda through media, enabling the comparison between Italian architectures and international models, mainly coming from the United States, where metal construction is associated since the early 20th century to the appearance of office buildings, icons of pragmatism, efficiency and power. Nevertheless the first three Office Buildings of Eni Group mix international topics with features of Italian architectural debate or designers’ personal expressiveness defining the significant heterogeneity of these architectures, modern “work machines” and brand image beacons, located in one of the most important urban settlement of the 20th century in Italy.
In un Paese uscito con grandi difficoltà dalla Seconda Guerra, Enrico Mattei riesce in pochi anni a trasformare un disorganizzato collettivo di imprese pubbliche che opera nel settore degli idrocarburi in un colosso internazionale, alimentando l’insperato sogno dell’autosufficienza energetica. Grazie ad un vasto programma edilizio rivolto a soddisfare sia esigenze lavorative che di corporate identity, l’ENI conquista un ruolo di primo piano nella ricostruzione post-bellica; l’episodio di Metanopoli rappresenta l’apice di questa parabola. La cittadella del gas, cuore pulsante delle scelte operative e manageriali, è interessata dalla metà degli anni Cinquanta dalla costruzione dei Palazzi Uffici, moderne architetture e spazi per il lavoro chiamate a rappresentare il prestigio acquisito dalla compagnia. All’interno di questo ambizioso programma edilizio l’acciaio diventa lo strumento per la sperimentazione di tecnologie alternative al calcestruzzo armato e l’attivazione di un brand aziendale ispirato a modelli internazionali - in primo luogo statunitensi - che fanno della costruzione metallica il simbolo del pragmatismo e dell’efficienza del potere economico. I primi tre Palazzi Uffici dell’ENI non rinunciano però ad integrare temi dell’International Style con quelli sviluppati all’interno del dibattito architettonico nazionale integrati in una prospettiva autoriale, contribuendo a determinare l’evidente eterogeneità di queste architetture, “macchine per il lavoro” ed icone dell’immagine aziendale per come declinata a Metanopoli.
L’ENI E L’ACCIAIO - I palazzi uffici di Metanopoli
Morganti R
;Tosone A
;Abita M
;Di Donato D
2018-01-01
Abstract
Although the difficulties that marked the Post- World War II economic condition of Italy, Enrico Mattei is able to transform a disorganized collective of public oil and gas industries into an international business giant, fueling the unforeseen dream of national energy self-sufficiency. Thanks to a huge building programme designed to meet both working and corporate identity requirements, Eni Group plays a key role for the post-war reconstruction. Metanopoli represents the peak of this parable. The Oil-City, the beating heart of operational and management choices, since the mid ‘50s is affected by the construction of the Office Buildings, modern architectures and workspaces that must show the prestige achieved by the company. In this context steel structure becomes a fundamental tool not only to reach new technological goals, but also to promote propaganda through media, enabling the comparison between Italian architectures and international models, mainly coming from the United States, where metal construction is associated since the early 20th century to the appearance of office buildings, icons of pragmatism, efficiency and power. Nevertheless the first three Office Buildings of Eni Group mix international topics with features of Italian architectural debate or designers’ personal expressiveness defining the significant heterogeneity of these architectures, modern “work machines” and brand image beacons, located in one of the most important urban settlement of the 20th century in Italy.Pubblicazioni consigliate
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