ARCHITECTURAL EXPERIMENTATION IN THE INDUSTRIAL AGE: FOR A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE VALUES ON HYBRID STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS IN 19TH-CENTURY TEXTILE MILLS

The paper addresses a critical reading on multi-story masonry buildings belonging to the industrial and architectural wool mills production of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The 19th century represents a seminal period of significant technical, technological, and cultural experimentation. Even though framed structures introduced significant technological advancements with a gradual transition from cast iron to steel, this shift highlights the permanence of the masonry construction technique, which retains its technical and cultural importance within global architectural production. The study examines the specific wool mill’s architectural typology that combines hybrid construction systems, featuring a massive external masonry envelope alongside a frame structure composed of vertical cast iron elements and wooden slabs. The originality of the research lies in the decision to consider the industrial typologies concerning the dissemination of the architectural construction manuals. In addition to the theoretical approach, aimed at investigating the cultural framework, the research intends to compare a reasoned series of significant cases to systemize a set of material traces within a particular moment of architectural production that orients construction towards choices of a radically oppositional character concerning tradition. Starting from the Manchester Salford Twist Mill realized between 1799 and 1801, the paper relates the evolution of the typology with its adoption in Italy. The contribution represents an initial dissemination of the research activities conducted as part of developing a doctoral thesis in Heritage Science, which seeks to outline a multidisciplinary methodological approach as a practical tool for preventive assessment. Besides, preserving and conserving textile industrial sites requires a critical analysis to develop design strategies that acknowledge and integrate their tangible and intangible cultural values into modern society.