Precast thin shells for industrial buildings. The international journey of the Silberkuhl system (1950–1970)

Among the numerous construction solutions elaborated during the twentieth century, the development of shape-resistant elements represents a pivotal aspect in describing the evolution of industrial buildings. In particular, thanks to the formulation of the membrane theory, reinforced concrete thin shells were largely applied from the 1920s to the 1970s, reducing the time, cost, and materials needed for the construction process. In this framework, the so-called Silberkuhl system for precast shell roofing elements stood out for its numerous international applications to industrial buildings, in Europe and abroad, up to the late 1970s. The spreading of the system invented by the German engineer Wilhelm Johannes Silberkuhl (1912–1984) in the 1950s, was supported by a wide set of industrial patents filed throughout European countries, the US, and Japan, and the action of local dealers. In Italy, the system was first registered in 1958 and widely applied to industrial buildings in the 1960s, up to the late 1970s, by the joined action of national designers and construction firms. The present paper describes the evolution of the system following its local transfers, according to the industrial patents paths, and focuses on the national application of the Silberkuhl system in Italy, describing as a case study the Magazzini Merci Rinascente in Rome (1962).