Silvia Balzan
Architect, researcher, and educator
Toxic Modernity: Asbestos Cement in Architecture, Media, Land and Bodies
The lecture traces the historical trajectory of asbestos, a mineral once hailed for its indestructible properties, widely used across the building construction industry worldwide. Beginning with its ancient origins, moving through the Industrial Revolution and 20th-century technological enthusiasm that fuelled global mining and production, the lecture will eventually point out its classification as a hazardous substance with severe health impacts, focusing on its persistent use in the building construction industry despite early warnings about the dangers of related diseases.
