La Colonia Olivetti a Brusson Ambiente, pedagogia e costruzione

The volume deals with the Olivetti colonia (summer camp building) at Brusson, in the Valle d’Aosta, built to a project by the architects Leonardo Fiori and Claudio Conte. An emblematic example of Adriano Olivetti's social policies, it is an outstanding case study for several reasons. The designers were selected by a competition, in 1956-1957, that attracted over thirty professionals, including Carlo Scarpa, Marcello D’Olivo and Vico Magistretti. Hence the analysis of the competing projects offers an insight into Italian architecture, called on to deal with complex and innovative themes. On the one hand, the Alpine context required profound reflection on the relation between architecture and the natural environment; on the other, the most advanced educational theories involved redefining a typology – the colonia – that fascism had stamped with its own character for propaganda purposes. For the colonia at Bruson, an original prefabrication system was also developed that was repeated and updated in numerous buildings in the following years.