Rozzol Melara: The Rise and Afterlife of a Brutalist Housing Complex in Trieste

An article by Diogo Borges Ferreira, originally published in English and translated to Spanish, examines the Rozzol Melara housing complex in Trieste, Italy. The complex, nicknamed 'Alcatraz on the hill', features a courtyard measuring 200 meters per side, larger than any square in Trieste. Two L-shaped blocks of exposed concrete, one twice the height of the other, rise from seven to fifteen stories as the hillside descends toward the Gulf of Trieste, four kilometers away. Concrete pillars spaced every fifteen meters support the blocks on a slope they never touch, creating deep porticos. The facades feature loggias scaled to individual rooms. From the coastal road, the complex appears as a gray line on the hills. Inside, the Istituto Autonomo Case Popolari di Trieste built the rest of the city: 648 apartments occupy less space than the schools, post office, health center, parish hall, over twenty shops, and a two-level garage. Covered streets run longitudinally through the blocks and cross the courtyard via an elevated walkway, allowing residents to travel from home to shops or classrooms without going outside. A team of 29 architects, coordinated by Carlo Celli, worked on the project, based on sociological studies commissioned before the design. The article explores the rise and afterlife of this architectural landmark.