Cuirasse Decauville
Object/Work Type
Theme Structures
Title Text
Cuirasse Decauville
Creation Date
1910-1911
Demolition Date
1911-1912
Descriptive Note Text
The Cuirasse Decauville, invented by engineer Paul Decauville, was a structure intended to protect river banks from erosion. For the 1911 Turin World's Fair, a Corazza Decauville was built on both sides of the River Po under the footbridge of the pavilion of the United States and on the opposite bank in front of the pavilions of Siam and England.
The Cuirasse Decauville consisted of an 85 millimeter thick flexible paving made of concrete tiles held together with galvanized steel wires and placed on a prepared embankment. The bricks were manufactured on site using a small steel briquette press that was transportable on wheels, and exerted a pressure of 20 tons on the two bricks of each molding. Each brick weighed about 5 kilograms. It was provided with two large holes with a diameter of 18 millimeters through which three millimeter thick galvanized steel wires were passed. The bricks were made with a mixture of Portland cement and silicate sand. The bricks could only be laid three weeks after they were made. Therefore, each construction site had to have covered space to allow the bricks to cure before use.
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