The development of prefabricated envelopes BY GO.DB. Architects Studio for the construction of high-rise residential buildings in Valencia in the 1960s

Abstract

[EN] In Spain, the construction of prefabricated modern architecture in the 1960s was not common and, in Valencia, was mostly associated with GO.DB. studio. Their work was published in national and International journals, such as Informes de la Construcción or Architecture d¿ Aujourd¿hui. They experimented in designing modular elements for prefabricated residential buildings, both for social housing and for high-rise buildings. We have concentrated on the prefabricated façade elements because their proposals were of great design interest and because, implicitly, they represent their first prefabricated modules. These modular enveloping parts arose from extrapolating the hollow concrete boxes created to provide structural solutions for social housing and by reinterpreting modular elements for the building of high-rise prefabricated envelopes. The three-dimensionality and geometry of these components increases the interest in the volumetric treatment that these skins demonstrate. Various industrially manufactured materials were used in their design: asbestos cement, precast concrete and even plastics. This article details the building process, focusing on several significant examples of each type depending on the materials used, which provided them with the special constructional solutions designed to overcome the complexity of high-rise building.