• Location: Venice
• Client: Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A.
• Designer: Arch. Gretchen Alexander

Description of Intervention

The structural rehabilitation work, financed by Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. and entrusted to Sacaim S.p.A., saw Edilsystem S.r.l. engaged in the consolidation and reinforcement of about 12,000 square meters of floors and more than 700 wooden beams. Under the design direction ofArch. Gretchen Alexander, operations focused on the functional recovery of beams that had been deteriorated by time and infiltration.

The restoration of the headboards was carried out with a point approach: in cases of surface degradation, volumetric reconstruction was carried out with epoxy concrete (mixture of resins and quartz sands) reinforced with fiberglass or stainless steel rods; where necessary, the technique of laminated wood made in situ was used instead, coupling C24 larch or fir boards by structural gluing.

At the same time, the increased load-bearing capacity of the decks was achieved through the creation of a new rigid deck, made of 3-cm OSB 4 or Plywood panels. These were glued to the old planks with epoxy resins and mechanically connected to the load-bearing beams by means of 14-cm screws with variable pitch, thus ensuring compliance with the design specifications and maximum stability of the historic structure.