As a follow-up to yesterday's post, let's look more at some of the twenty-eight large concrete panel systems/buildings developed and disseminated between 1931 and 1981 and recreated via the 3D printed models on display on one wall in the Chile Pavilion at the 14th Venice International Architecture Biennale (until tomorrow, 23rd November 2014).
Brecast was a system developed in the '60s by the British Research Station (now the Building Research Establishment, BRE) under the direction of Nares Craig to be exported to developing countries to improve living conditions and tackle the housing shortage problem.
Designed to allow flexibility in the building typology, Brecast was officially launched in 1972 attracting the attention of many different clients from numerous countries. In 1973 the Chilean Ministry of Housing applied for UK aid and for the supply of a Brecast package of equipment and expertise for the construction of 400 flats in Santiago. A demonstration model of Brecast was showcased in the same year in Santiago; Nares Craig also managed to meet Salvador Allende weeks before the Pinochet coup.
James Stirling's St Andrew's Dormitory is instead a perfect example of a bold structure built with prefabricated elements.
The building is characterised by a series of panels and sections intriguingly jointing in a corner and therefore giving the structure a sculptural shape.
Burov House is equally inspiring: built in 1939 by architects B. Blokhin and Andrei K. Burov, the house is situated at 27 Lenungradisky Prospekt, Moscow, and it is structured through prefabricated reinforced concrete blocks but it is ornamented in a Renaissance style.
Though the concept of the (prefabricated) panel belongs to architecture, it is easy to see it applied to other fields such as fashion. The Chilean pavilion curators carried out their research on panels over seven years, while it would be intriguing to develop something quicker in fashion, such as one fashion collection maybe based around a fabric panel. Anybody up for the challenge?
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