PSI - Issue 44

Marco Peroni et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 44 (2023) 1148–1155 M. Peroni et al./ Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2022) 000 – 000

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This new addition volume was built as mentioned outside the building, jointed by the structure, in place of an earlier terracotta staircase that had already been built in the 20th century for the purpose of providing direct access from the outside to the upper floors of the building. I ts realization was proposed, from an architectural point of view, by means of a volume with “clean lines” in respect of the pre-existing buildings with nods to the design of the façade referring to the subdivisions and scores properly to the rear front of the building with which it is in dialogue. From the constructive point of view, the element was made entirely with "dry" solutions, that is, with steel structure and fiber-reinforced gypsum sheet infill with polyurethane exterior finish overlay on which precisely the graphic partitions referring to the orders and alignments of the facade were identified.

Fig. 4. View of the external emergency stair volume and a porch particular as finished.

The undoubtedly most critical intervention that had to be tackled, however, was the consolidation of the columns of the two loggias at the rear side of the palace, which, as mentioned earlier, had been propped up with massive steel sections. These are the two porticos symmetrical with respect to the central hallway (which are now connected with the transept that has been obtained from the openings permitted by the large exposed hoops described earlier) and which support eliminated thrust arches in masonry on which the entire outer wall face of the palace rests for a height of about 15 m above them (main floor and mezzanine). Incidentally, the consistency and quality in the masonry apparatus of this portion of the facing even today after the work has been completed leaves something to be desired (consolidation will be carried out in a second phase when the necessary funds will be recovered), which is why the consolidation of the columns of the portico and especially the subsequent removal of the provisional props were undoubtedly the operations characterized by considerable (significant) critical issues, which were solved also and above all thanks to the implementation of some variants to the original project, as we will see below.