The research and patents of Dalmine Company: Seamless pipes for the design of building structures.

Dalmine was one of the leading companies of the Italian steel industry since the fi rst half of the twentieth century and its seamless pipes were used in several engineering fi elds. The expeditious restructuring of the production and the redevelopment of the sales network subsequent to the ravages of World War II facilitated a phase of expansion, enabling the company to invest in research and development, particularly in market sectors that were previously deemed less profi table. Following the lead of some international rivals, who conducted studies on the use of steel pipes for the structures of their new headquarters, Dalmine started new studies on the possible use of their products for the construction of large buildings, during a period of steady growth in the national building activity. The research conducted by the Metal Carpentry Center aimed at optimizing the use of steel pipes for building structures and attempted to overcome the difÏ culties o f their connection in order to gain the same fl exibility of traditional open section profi les. With bibliographical and archival s ources of the Dalmine Foundation Archive, this essay aims to retrace the development of studies, experimentations and patents linked to the use of seamless pipes in the building structure before the introduction of technologies that eased their structural use.