Top of the World
Casa Saldarini, also known as "The Whale" is a house designed by Vittorio Giorgini, an architect interested in the relationship between architecture and nature. Built in 1961, Casa Saldarini is considered the first building in the world to utilize an iso-elastic membrane made of concrete and wire netting, which was a pioneering construction technique.
The design of Casa Saldarini, with its organic curves and wavy floors, bears resemblance to the architectural style of Austrian architect Hundertwasser. Despite its unconventional design, the building is structurally stable. In fact, to address concerns about its stability, the test engineer used double the normal weight to check the building's structural soundness, and Casa Saldarini passed the test successfully.
Interestingly, Casa Saldarini is often regarded as an architectural precursor to Frank Gehry's renowned Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, which was completed approximately 25 years later. The innovative use of materials and the emphasis on organic forms in Casa Saldarini anticipated some of the design principles later embraced by Gehry.
Despite being ahead of his time, Vittorio Giorgini was largely overlooked by the architects of his era. His unique approach to architecture and his exploration of the relationship between built structures and the natural environment were not widely recognized or appreciated during his time. However, Casa Saldarini stands as a testament to his visionary ideas and design philosophy.
