Structure and architecture in dialogue: Design micronarratives of the n2 motorway (1961–86)

In 1969, the architect Rino Tami (1908–94) signed the essay Problemi estetici dell’autostrada and, in 1984, the more explicitly titled one: L’autostrada come opera d’arte. Both texts discussed how an infrastructural work, such as a motorway, could not only participate but innovate in the architectural narrative through its structural design. Tami’s essays bear witness to the unique design of the Canton of Ticino N2 motorway (1961–86) that clearly integrates structural and construction functions with ‘artistic directives’, representing a known case in architectural history. This paper focuses on the design and construction history of the N2, discussing how the motorway’s formal unity has been achieved through embedding the dialogue between structure and architecture in the adopted design processes and highlighting the operational context, the strategic design tools, and the ‘standard’ design solutions used. © fédération internationale du béton (fib).