The first CONCRETO Academy Masterpiece took place during August in the UNESCO City of Ivrea.
All 30 students of our 2024 CONCRETO Apprenticeship Programme successfully completed the studies, which started in April with Stepping Stone, then continued in June with Master your Skills and ended in Italy with Masterpiece. Students from Italy, Spain, and Türkiye gathered in Ivrea for an intensive programme, working directly on selected buildings and in a hands-on laboratory. Through this “learning by doing” approach, they put their technical skills into practice, understanding the importance of meticulous craftsmanship in preserving our concrete heritage.
The CONCRETO Academy students worked at the former Sertec building in Ivrea, an iconic example of brutalist architecture in Italy. The students were fully immersed in a collaborative environment, where they shared their skills and experiences, coming from diverse backgrounds and countries. They worked hard, played hard, and formed lasting connections that will endure beyond the programme. Their energy was inspiring!
We were hosted wonderfully within the famous Olivetti factory Officine ICO by ICO Impresa Sociale srl and the City of Ivrea. Our Technical partners and sponsors also contributed in a most valuable manner. COGEIS SpA assisted with the construction of the concrete mock-ups for our laboratory, and BUZZI provided the cement materials needed for the practical activities as well as providing individualised training to the student cohort. The CONCRETO Academy also benefitted from the profound knowledge and expertise of SIKA in reinforced concrete in terms of additives, protection, and refurbishment.
PROCEQ not only provided expertise but also equipment demos to conduct concrete assessment and diagnostics during the CONCRETO Masterpiece. Showing the installation of a cathodic protection system, BLUESPINE delivered specialized training on electrochemical repair methods for reinforced concrete. Finally, the technical partners and sponsors shared their experience and wisdom – educating the next generation of engineers and architects.
The interactions were filmed and will provide content for the MOOC being developed by Politecnico di Milano for the CONCRETO Academy.
The CONCRETO Masterpiece ended with a grand finale of CONCRETO ACADEMY MASTERPIECE with a captivating evening dedicated to one of the most visionary minds in architecture: Twilight Transformations: Pier Luigi Nervi’s Visionary Designs. Prof. Carlo Ostorero from the Politecnico di Torino took us through the architect’s creative journey, exploring how Nervi’s designs reflected and influenced the political, social, and cultural evolution of Adriano Olivetti’s Ivrea.
Interested in collaborating with us, reach out at: info@concreto-academy.org!
