Corviale

"The new Corviale" was an urban project planned and builded in the 1970's.and situated in the S-W part of Rome, near Via Portuense and next to G.R.A. (the rome's circle highway); the building has 1 km wide and offers 1202 apartments for 8000 people; it develops for 9 floor (plus 2 underfloors) and it is served by 74 elevators; it's projected to the older suburb of "casetta mattei" just like a long hand that close the new and the old togheter.

The staff, composed by 23 designer and coordinated by the Arch. Mario Firoentino, planned also facilities and non-effective public services, which have never been completed on the inside of this "town". The building has provided of an open theater and a big seminar room. It's easy to see in that building the better solutions planned by Le Corbusier in the 1920s. But the revolutionary of Corviale was the facilities offered (should be): seminar room, library, art school, state school (for babies to teenager), pharmacy, covered market, restaurant with buffet room and self-service, other commercial shops, 5 big green area and more. The facilities offered was so higher than habitants because it should serve the old suburbs in the area and other future buildings too.

The first stone was posed the 12th May of 1975 but the first apartments were finished in the 1982; but Corviale was a good target for those poor people who needed a place where can finally live. In 1983 about 700 families taken with force the apartments and the same happened again in 1995 for about 200 peruvians but in that case they were convinced by the authorities to leave it.

The costs: in the beginning (1975) was estimated in about 25 miliard of lires (10,65 milion of dollars); at the end Corviale needed about 91 miliards of lires to be completed (38,70 milion of dollars - 1982).

What i can say of this "experiment"?
In the beginning it was considered straordinary. You could find it even in school books for the new italian architect generation. But something was wrong. Something like take togheter about 8000 people with low and moderate income and in need state; something like never completed facilities and public services (it's a must in Italy for buildings constructed with public founds).
At the end, the question: is just a case that you cannot find Corviale in the new technicians architect books?

(Manuele C.)

WOW!
A TUNNEL TROUGHT IT!
think! u can drive inside it! Under apartments... while people eat, watch tv, talk or just "faq" !!!

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COMAN (c) XI - 2000