Analysis of the form, construction, and structural conception of Silberkuhl shells through construction history and advanced HBIM

In the 20th century, the development of industrial buildings featured a strong relationship between form, conception, needs of production processes, and advanced structural solutions. The knowledge, safeguard, and valorization of the industrial heritage structures, of the 20th century, requires a multidisciplinary approach, including construction history, structural analysis, and advanced 3D modeling. In particular, the study of shape-resistant structures in reinforced concrete – such as thin shells – needs to consider the deeply intertwined aspects of form, construction, and structural conception. The main aim of the present paper is to set a methodological workflow based on the combination of archival research, Historic/Heritage Building Information Modeling (HBIM), and numerical structural analysis to support the knowledge, safeguard, and valorization of the thin shells in reinforced concrete. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology, scalable for the analysis of historical shell structures in reinforced concrete, is tested on the noteworthy case study of the so-called Silberkuhl shells. According to their convenience in terms of structural efficiency and economy of construction, this system stood out worldwide for industrial roofing in the second half of the 20th century, exploiting the possibility of both industrial production and on-site precast, adapting to different economic and technological backgrounds.