Corviale: Maintenance Cultures in a Ghost of Brutalism

Ruth  Baumeister

Corviale: Maintenance Cultures in a Ghost of Brutalism

Ruth Baumeister

Publications: Contribution to conference › Conference abstract for conference › Research › peer-review

Abstract

Corviale—built between 1975 and 1984 on the outskirts of Rome—is among the most iconic and contested Brutalist housing experiments in Italy. Like many of its fellow Brutalist housing projects, Corviale´s responded to the acute post-war housing crisis by monumental scale and by embracing modernist ideals of prefabrication and mass production. It stands as a hallmark of the modernist belief in economic growth and mass production on the one hand, and for the Welfare State Ideals, when government was committed to provide mass housing for the working-class population, on the other. This paper presents the current maintenance issues of the colossal building and how tenants deal with institutional neglect.

Original language	English
Publication date	12 Sept 2025
Number of pages	1
Publication status	Published - 12 Sept 2025
Event	The Crossroad City: Relations and exchanges, intersections and crossing points in urban realities - University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy Duration: 10 Sept 2025 → 13 Sept 2025 https://aisuinternational.org/en/palermo-2025-sessioni/

Conference

Conference	The Crossroad City
Location	University of Palermo
Country/Territory	Italy
City	Palermo
Period	10/09/2025 → 13/09/2025
Internet address	https://aisuinternational.org/en/palermo-2025-sessioni/

Keywords

maintenance culture
Corviale
Postwar Architecture
activism

Artistic research

Cite this

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title = "Corviale: Maintenance Cultures in a Ghost of Brutalism",

abstract = "Corviale—built between 1975 and 1984 on the outskirts of Rome—is among the most iconic and contested Brutalist housing experiments in Italy. Like many of its fellow Brutalist housing projects, Corviale´s responded to the acute post-war housing crisis by monumental scale and by embracing modernist ideals of prefabrication and mass production. It stands as a hallmark of the modernist belief in economic growth and mass production on the one hand, and for the Welfare State Ideals, when government was committed to provide mass housing for the working-class population, on the other. This paper presents the current maintenance issues of the colossal building and how tenants deal with institutional neglect.",

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AB - Corviale—built between 1975 and 1984 on the outskirts of Rome—is among the most iconic and contested Brutalist housing experiments in Italy. Like many of its fellow Brutalist housing projects, Corviale´s responded to the acute post-war housing crisis by monumental scale and by embracing modernist ideals of prefabrication and mass production. It stands as a hallmark of the modernist belief in economic growth and mass production on the one hand, and for the Welfare State Ideals, when government was committed to provide mass housing for the working-class population, on the other. This paper presents the current maintenance issues of the colossal building and how tenants deal with institutional neglect.

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KW - Postwar Architecture

KW - activism

M3 - Conference abstract for conference

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T2 - The Crossroad City

Y2 - 10 September 2025 through 13 September 2025

ER -