Revisiting the form finding techniques of Sergio Musmeci: the Bridge over the Basento River

Sergio Musmeci (1926‐1981), once an apprentice to Pier Luigi Nervi (1892‐1979) and Riccardo Morandi (1902‐1989), is noteworthy for his ability to design and construct continuous shells with unprecedented shapes well ahead of his time. He had the design goal of minimizing area while maximizing structural function in shells. Musmeci’s Basento Viaduct in Potenza, Italy was built from 1972‐75, and is a historical example of this structural efficiency. What is most intriguing about Musmeci is his understanding and manipulation of physical, numerical and analytical methods of form finding prior to achieve his design intent. This work investigates Sergio Musmeci’s previous experience leading to the Basento Viaduct project, analyzes his modeling and testing techniques of the time, and revisits and discusses the shape generation of the three dimensional structural surface structure using contemporary numerical form finding techniques. The final shape is then validated with the support of a FE model