An aeroplane made of architecture. Explore the extraordinary Fiat Tagliero station in Asmara, Eritrea — built in 1938, and still radically modern.
LOCATIONAsmara, Eritrea
ARCHITECTGiuseppe Pettazzi
CANOPY SPAN≈ 15 m each side
○ Historically informed artistic reconstruction, not a measured survey.
◎DRAG TO ORBIT·SCROLL TO ZOOM·RIGHT-DRAG TO PAN
15° 20′ N / 38° 56′ E
— FPSWEBGL2 / THREE.JS
THE HISTORICAL RECORD
01 / ERITREA · 1938
A city built between histories.
Asmara's striking modernist fabric developed during Italian colonial occupation. These buildings bear witness both to innovation in design and engineering and to an urban system shaped by segregation and colonial rule. Today their preservation also forms part of Eritrean cultural identity.
What is documented: Giuseppe Pettazzi designed the Fiat Tagliero service station, completed in 1938. Its aircraft-like profile features two approximately 15-metre cantilevered concrete canopies. Asmara's historic modernist city was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2017.
What is interpreted: dimensions other than approximate wing projection; interior, period pumps, cars, nearby street facades, reinforcement locations, joints, weathering, fixtures, and animated doors are original speculative visualizations. The engineering layer is qualitative only.
REFERENCE SOURCES
A38
ASMARA / 1938ASSEMBLING THE ARCHIVE
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