Nervi, Pier Luigi, << NEHR vee, pyehr loo EE jee >> (1891-1979), was an Italian architect and engineer. His designs reflect his belief that practical industrial structures should be beautiful and elegant through simplicity of design. Nervi was trained as an engineer, and he felt that architectural beauty could be derived from mathematical calculations rather than from aesthetic considerations. Nervi became especially noted for his free and graceful use of reinforced concrete. He developed a number of new structural techniques that utilized concrete.
Nervi was born in Sondrio on June 21, 1891. His first major work was a stadium completed in Florence in 1932. It has stairways that dramatically curve out over open space. Nervi designed two concrete exhibition halls (1948-1950) in Turin. Both were largely prefabricated. Nervi’s other buildings include two Sports Palaces designed for the 1960 Summer Olympic Games in Rome, and the Palace of Labor (1961) in Turin. He died on Jan. 9, 1979.
