Giuseppe Campo Antico
Architectural Engineering
Hybrid prefab system for fabric formwork for concrete shells: The renovation of the Hennebique silos building
The reshaping of the heritage-listed building starts from within towards the outside, no intervention is visible from a distance and the silos building remains still as a silent concrete giant in the port. Nevertheless the insertion of a surface built with the use of textile formwork, generates a compression shell that resembles a tensile structure and makes the building functional again.
The surface performs as a monumental roof for the market underneath, and as a public courtyard on top. It fulfils the need for natural lighting, rainwater harvesting and ventilation.
Every concrete element has a specific texture or joint type, as a direct manifestation of the construction technique employed, while other light steel elements resemble the industrial structures of the port cranes and the mainmasts. Heavy concrete elements and fine steel additions create a minimum intervention with no impact on the original soul of the building while radically transforming it.