Palazzo Gra

Site: Roma
Year: 2019
Client: Condominio Palazzo Gra
 

The residential building located at 42 Corso Trieste in Rome and designed by the architect Giulio Gra in the years 1928-1930, has typical characteristics of the construction period and is perfectly inserted in the context. It looks like an elegant building organized on 4 main levels plus a basement and an upper level, originally belonging exclusively to the below accommodation.

The building was in a non-optimal state of conservation, with degradation phenomena mainly attributable to exposure to atmospheric agents (crusts, erosion and disintegration of materials, biological patina, surface deposits of dust and debris), wear and poor maintenance. So, the project carried out specifically concerned various elements.

The plastered surfaces, after having undergone adequate mechanical cleaning, were treated with the cd. "tonachino", a system in which a mortar is recreated with the original composition to consolidate and fill the damaged parts.

The decorative apparatus made of cement mortar was subjected to mechanical cleaning with brooms and brushes and through the use of low and medium pressure water. The metal core of the decorative elements has been treated with special anticorrosive products. The shelf elements below the brick frame of the last level have been consolidated by inserting metal pins.

The string course of the last level has a brick roof tiles on which there was inconsistent material of various kinds and vegetation. The roofing layer was subjected to disassembly and reassembly after demolition and remaking of the screed with macroporous mortar and application of a protective waterproof layer.

The roof terrace had conservation problems in several points, which made it necessary to reconstruct a sloping screed, with the insertion of a waterproof layer, replacement of the outlets for the disposal of rainwater and reconstruction of the flooring.

The tuff ashlar surfaces presented various kinds of alterations: the base part was affected by the presence of biological patina caused by rising damp, while some blocks have been improperly painted and some see the presence of vandalic graffiti. The tuff blocks were subjected to brushing, washing with water and chemical cleaning using compresses with variable composition and concentration. To counteract the phenomenon of rising water, an aerated shaft was created along the perimeter of the building to facilitate the evaporation of the water contained in the masonry at a lower level than the external floor and prevent it from reaching the external facing. or plastered surfaces.

The travertine elements such as the columns, affected by surface deposit and the presence of crusts, were treated by mechanical cleaning, washing and any cellulose pulp and ammonium carbonate wraps.