Superstudio - Hidden Architecture - Revision history

Tenementofnaught: /* From a 'people's architecture' to an 'architectural people' */

2025-09-13T22:36:48Z

From a 'people's architecture' to an 'architectural people'

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	"Hidden Architecture" played an important role in the collective's formulation of their position—"...the transcendence of architecture to a realm of absolute representation, one that embraced the critical value of the fantastic and the fictional",<ref>Fabbrini, "Hidden Architecture: Superstudio's Magic Box", 20-21.</ref> was a key strategy in the liberation of architecture from its constraints.		"Hidden Architecture" played an important role in the collective's formulation of their position—"...the transcendence of architecture to a realm of absolute representation, one that embraced the critical value of the fantastic and the fictional",<ref>Fabbrini, "Hidden Architecture: Superstudio's Magic Box", 20-21.</ref> was a key strategy in the liberation of architecture from its constraints.


	~~<pdf width="500" height="700">File:Hiddenarchitecture.pdf</pdf>~~

	==References==		==References==
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Tenementofnaught: /* From a 'people's architecture' to an 'architectural people' */

2025-09-13T22:34:11Z

From a 'people's architecture' to an 'architectural people'

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:34, 13 September 2025
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	<pdf width="500" height="700">File:Hiddenarchitecture.~~PDF~~</pdf>		<pdf width="500" height="700">File:Hiddenarchitecture.pdf</pdf>

	==References==		==References==
	{{Refs2}}		{{Refs2}}

Tenementofnaught: /* From a 'people's architecture' to an 'architectural people' */

2025-09-13T22:33:55Z

From a 'people's architecture' to an 'architectural people'

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:33, 13 September 2025
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	<pdf width="500" height="~~800~~">File:~~hiddenarchitecture~~.~~pdf~~</pdf>		<pdf width="500" height="700">File:Hiddenarchitecture.PDF</pdf>

	==References==		==References==
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Tenementofnaught at 22:33, 13 September 2025

2025-09-13T22:33:25Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:33, 13 September 2025
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	<pdf>File:~~Hiddenarchitecture~~.pdf</pdf>		<pdf width="500" height="800">File:hiddenarchitecture.pdf</pdf>

	==References==		==References==
	{{Refs2}}		{{Refs2}}

Tenementofnaught at 22:25, 13 September 2025

2025-09-13T22:25:35Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:25, 13 September 2025
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	<pdf>File:~~Superstudio-Hidden-Architecture~~.pdf</pdf>		<pdf>File:Hiddenarchitecture.pdf</pdf>

	==References==		==References==
	{{Refs2}}		{{Refs2}}

Tenementofnaught at 22:19, 13 September 2025

2025-09-13T22:19:10Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:19, 13 September 2025
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	<pdf ~~width="360" height="460"~~>File:Superstudio-Hidden-Architecture.pdf</pdf>		<pdf>File:Superstudio-Hidden-Architecture.pdf</pdf>

	==References==		==References==
	{{Refs2}}		{{Refs2}}

Tenementofnaught at 02:42, 31 March 2024

2024-03-31T02:42:10Z

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	<pdf width="360" height="460">File:Superstudio-Hidden-Architecture.pdf</pdf>		<pdf width="360" height="460">File:Superstudio-Hidden-Architecture.pdf</pdf>
	~~[[File:Superstudio-Hidden-Architecture.pdf\|page=1\|600px]]~~

	==References==		==References==
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Tenementofnaught at 02:38, 31 March 2024

2024-03-31T02:38:07Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:38, 30 March 2024
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	<pdf width="360" height="460">File:Superstudio-Hidden-Architecture.pdf</pdf>		<pdf width="360" height="460">File:Superstudio-Hidden-Architecture.pdf</pdf>
			[[File:Superstudio-Hidden-Architecture.pdf\|page=1\|600px]]

	==References==		==References==
	{{Refs2}}		{{Refs2}}

Tenementofnaught at 17:37, 29 June 2018

2018-06-29T17:37:56Z

Tenementofnaught at 20:35, 28 June 2018

2018-06-28T20:35:46Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:35, 28 June 2018
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	[[File:CgXcb8zWIAApzv5.jpg\|280px\|thumb\|right\|Superstudio, "Hidden Architecture", 1970. Photo by Giulio Boem]]"Hidden Architecture" is a 1970 project by Italian architectural collective Superstudio, first published in the US journal ''Design Quarterly''. The project consisted of the design of a new building by Superstudio, the plans for which were concealed inside a metal box, remaining inaccessible and "hidden in hermetically sealed covers for ever."<ref>Superstudio "Hidden Architecture", ''Design ~~Quarterl~~''y No. 78/79, 1970, 54-58</ref>		[[File:CgXcb8zWIAApzv5.jpg\|280px\|thumb\|right\|Superstudio, "Hidden Architecture", 1970. Photo by Giulio Boem]]"Hidden Architecture" is a 1970 project by Italian architectural collective Superstudio, first published in the US journal ''Design Quarterly''. The project consisted of the design of a new building by Superstudio, the plans for which were concealed inside a metal box, remaining inaccessible and "hidden in hermetically sealed covers for ever."<ref>Superstudio "Hidden Architecture", ''Design Quarterly'' No. 78/79, 1970, 54-58</ref>

	== The Published Project ==		== The Published Project ==
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	=== Superstudio's contemporaneous writings ===		=== Superstudio's contemporaneous writings ===

	[[File:Superstudio.jpeg\|~~200px~~\|thumb\|left\|The Superstudio collective in 1970, l to r: Piero Frassinelli, Cristiano Toraldo di Francia, Alessandro Magris, Roberto Magris, Aldolfo Natalini.]]"Hidden Architecture" can be related to a number of ideas being explored contemporaneously by Superstudio in some of their own published texts.		[[File:Superstudio.jpeg\|240px\|thumb\|left\|The Superstudio collective in 1970, l to r: Piero Frassinelli, Cristiano Toraldo di Francia, Alessandro Magris, Roberto Magris, Aldolfo Natalini.]]"Hidden Architecture" can be related to a number of ideas being explored contemporaneously by Superstudio in some of their own published texts.

	In "Invention Design and Evasion Design", published in ''Domus'' in June 1969, they had proposed the term 'evasion design' as a counter to 'invention design', where:		In "Invention Design and Evasion Design", published in ''Domus'' in June 1969, they had proposed the term 'evasion design' as a counter to 'invention design', where:

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	The thirteen black and white images document the stages of the action: the open zinc box with copies of the architectural drawings arrayed alongside; the burning of the original drawings; the sealing of copies of the plans inside protective coverings and their placement inside the box; its welding shut; and finally, the signing of a letter by the lawyer "Dott. Proc. Andrea Orsi Battaglini", whose besuited figure has been visible witnessing the proceedings throughout. Various members of the Superstudio collective can also be seen in the photographs and the events appear to take place in a workshop space. The sealed box was labeled with the date, July 25, 1970 and titled "HIDDEN ARCHITECTURE + SUPERSTUDIO". Its dimensions are given as 50 x 350 x 75 mm, 1.5 mm thick.		The thirteen black and white images document the stages of the action: the open zinc box with copies of the architectural drawings arrayed alongside; the burning of the original drawings; the sealing of copies of the plans inside protective coverings and their placement inside the box; its welding shut; and finally, the signing of a letter by the lawyer "Dott. Proc. Andrea Orsi Battaglini", whose besuited figure has been visible witnessing the proceedings throughout. Various members of the Superstudio collective can also be seen in the photographs and the events appear to take place in a workshop space. The sealed box was labeled with the date, July 25, 1970 and titled "HIDDEN ARCHITECTURE + SUPERSTUDIO". Its dimensions are given as 50 x 350 x 75 mm, 1.5 mm thick.

	Following the two pages of images is a full page reproduction of Dr Battaglini's signed letter attesting to his witnessing of the events; while the final page adds short bios of the Superstudio members.		Following the two pages of images is a full page reproduction of Dr Battaglini's signed letter attesting to his witnessing of the events, while the final page adds short bios of the Superstudio members.

	Of the architectural project contained in the drawings (which, of course, is not revealed in any of the imagery), Superstudio founding member Adolpho Natalini described it in a notebook at the time as‚ "a great project, an important project, a beautiful project‚ a project resolved in all its details and designed with even more care than usual."<ref>Quoted in: Sebastiano Fabbrini, "Hidden Architecture: Superstudio's Magic Box", ''Pidgin Magazine'', Issue 19, Princeton School of Architecture, Spring 2015, 10.</ref>		Of the architectural project contained in the drawings (which, of course, is not revealed in any of the imagery), Superstudio founding member Adolpho Natalini described it in a notebook at the time as‚ "a great project, an important project, a beautiful project‚ a project resolved in all its details and designed with even more care than usual."<ref>Quoted in: Sebastiano Fabbrini, "Hidden Architecture: Superstudio's Magic Box", ''Pidgin Magazine'', Issue 19, Princeton School of Architecture, Spring 2015, 10.</ref>
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	== Meaning ==		== Meaning ==

	In their introductory text to the published project, Superstudio invoke a "semantic redundancy" at the heart of architectural magazines by way of context for Hidden Architecture. If the publication of "theories, projects and buildings" in the architectural glossies tends toward becoming a goal in itself, divorced from any kind of end product in the built environment, "It is therefore an act of coherence to attempt a logical extrapolation of this process, and to propose a project which coincides with the act of its own transmission."		In their introductory text to the published project, Superstudio invoke a "semantic redundancy" at the heart of architectural magazines by way of context for "Hidden Architecture". If the publication of "theories, projects and buildings" in the architectural glossies tends toward becoming a goal in itself, divorced from any kind of end product in the built environment, "It is therefore an act of coherence to attempt a logical extrapolation of this process, and to propose a project which coincides with the act of its own transmission."

	Superstudio further state: "We propose a HIDDEN ARCHITECTURE as conceptual architecture: architecture which is only an image of itself and of our instrumentalizable muteness." This somewhat ambiguous phrase could be taken to refer to a muteness or powerlessness of architects bound up in the "great race" of novelty, fashion and design<ref>Adolfo Natalini had used the phrase, writing of Superstudio's white cube modular furniture, in "A House of Calm Serenity", a 1969 text published in ''Vogue'' magazine. Reprinted in Peter Lang, William Menking, eds., ''Superstudio - Life Without Objects'' (Milan: Skira Editore, 2003), 73-77</ref> in which architectural magazines play such a key role. Or it could invoke a tactic by which a conceptually based practice such as Superstudio might retain leverage within such a system: by withholding or deflecting the image of their architectural design in order to 'take back' some of its power and meaning. Writing about the project in 2015, Adolpho Natalini rejigs the phrase to emphasize the latter sense, referring to "Hidden Architecture" as "a project that is only the image of itself and of our non-exploitable muteness."<ref>Adolfo Natalini, "A History of Exhibitions", in: Andreas Angelidakis, Vittorio Pizzigoni, and Valter Scelsi, eds. ''Super Superstudio'' (Milan: Silvana editoriale, 2015), 47.</ref>		Superstudio further state: "We propose a HIDDEN ARCHITECTURE as conceptual architecture: architecture which is only an image of itself and of our instrumentalizable muteness." This somewhat ambiguous phrase could be taken to refer to a muteness or powerlessness of architects bound up in the "great race" of novelty, fashion and design<ref>Adolfo Natalini had used the phrase, writing of Superstudio's white cube modular furniture, in "A House of Calm Serenity", a 1969 text published in ''Vogue'' magazine. Reprinted in Peter Lang, William Menking, eds., ''Superstudio - Life Without Objects'' (Milan: Skira Editore, 2003), 73-77</ref> in which architectural magazines play such a key role. Or it could invoke a tactic by which a conceptually based practice such as Superstudio might retain leverage within such a system: by withholding or deflecting the image of their architectural design in order to 'take back' some of its power and meaning. Writing about the project in 2015, Adolpho Natalini rejigs the phrase to emphasize the latter sense, referring to "Hidden Architecture" as "a project that is only the image of itself and of our non-exploitable muteness."<ref>Adolfo Natalini, "A History of Exhibitions", in: Andreas Angelidakis, Vittorio Pizzigoni, and Valter Scelsi, eds. ''Super Superstudio'' (Milan: Silvana editoriale, 2015), 47.</ref>
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	The project can also be seen as part of an overall shift in the practice's work away from architectural and product design toward conceptual strategies. Whereas Superstudio had continued to produce highly covetable designs for lamps and chairs alongside their first conceptual work,<ref>[https://www.moma.org/collection/works/2522 Superstudio, Gherpe Lamp, 1967], Museum of Modern Art, New York. Retrieved June 22, 2018.</ref> the group had announced by the end of 1967 their decision to abandon traditional object design altogether.<ref>See: Peter Lang and William Menking, "Only Architecture Will be Our Lives", in Lang and Menking, eds, ''Superstudio - Life Without Objects'', 19. Superstudio's position is evident by implication in the "Evasion Design" essay, and the authors also refer to a 2002 interview with Toraldo di Francia, where he admits that the collective realized around 1967 time that their furniture was only initiating "a new level of consumerism, and consequently another level of poverty."</ref>		The project can also be seen as part of an overall shift in the practice's work away from architectural and product design toward conceptual strategies. Whereas Superstudio had continued to produce highly covetable designs for lamps and chairs alongside their first conceptual work,<ref>[https://www.moma.org/collection/works/2522 Superstudio, Gherpe Lamp, 1967], Museum of Modern Art, New York. Retrieved June 22, 2018.</ref> the group had announced by the end of 1967 their decision to abandon traditional object design altogether.<ref>See: Peter Lang and William Menking, "Only Architecture Will be Our Lives", in Lang and Menking, eds, ''Superstudio - Life Without Objects'', 19. Superstudio's position is evident by implication in the "Evasion Design" essay, and the authors also refer to a 2002 interview with Toraldo di Francia, where he admits that the collective realized around 1967 time that their furniture was only initiating "a new level of consumerism, and consequently another level of poverty."</ref>

	The strategy reflected a growing dissatisfaction with the role of architecture and design within the broader luxury goods market, one that tended to reinforce the glaring inequities of a rampant consumer market. A project such as Hidden Architecture can be understood as a conscious negation of the consumable object, its 'withholding' of its architectural contents from the design publication, as a "...destruction of the syntactical ties which bind the object to the system...".<ref>Superstudio, "Distruzione, metamorfosi e recostruzione degli oggetti (Destruction, Metamorphosis and Reconstruction of the Object)", ''IN'' 2-3, March-June 1971, reprinted in Angelidakis, Pizzigoni, and Scelsi, eds., ''Super Superstudio'', 98-99.</ref>		The strategy reflected a growing dissatisfaction with the role of architecture and design within the broader luxury goods market, one that tended to reinforce the glaring inequities of a rampant consumer market. A project such as "Hidden Architecture" can be understood as a conscious negation of the consumable object, its 'withholding' of its architectural contents from the design publication, as a "...destruction of the syntactical ties which bind the object to the system...".<ref>Superstudio, "Distruzione, metamorfosi e recostruzione degli oggetti (Destruction, Metamorphosis and Reconstruction of the Object)", ''IN'' 2-3, March-June 1971, reprinted in Angelidakis, Pizzigoni, and Scelsi, eds., ''Super Superstudio'', 98-99.</ref>

	Their position reflected a strong utopian impulse, a desire to reconstruct relations of ownership and use value from the ground up; Superstudio's 1971 text "Destruction, Metamorphosis and Reconstruction of the Object" maintains that what this negation of the designed object creates space for is its return to a system that is non-exploitative, allowing access again its transformative powers: "The metamorphoses which the object has to go through are those during which it is re-loaded with the values of myth, of sacredness, of magic through the reconstruction of relationships between production and use, beyond the abolition of the fictitious ties of production-consumption."<ref>Ibid. In their 1972 article "Supersuperficie", published in ''Casabella'', Superstudio elaborated on this need to break down traditional understandings of the design object in relation to the contexts of the city and work: "The destruction of objects, the elimination of the city and the disappearance of work are events closely connected. By the destruction of objects, we mean the destruction of their attributes of 'status' and the connotations imposed by those in power, so that we live 'with' objects (reduced to the condition of neutral and disposable elements) and not 'for' objects. By the elimination of the city, we mean the elimination of the accumulation of the formal structures of power, the elimination of the city hierarchy and social model. By the end of work, we mean the end of work seen as an alienating activity".</ref>		Their position reflected a strong utopian impulse, a desire to reconstruct relations of ownership and use value from the ground up; Superstudio's 1971 text "Destruction, Metamorphosis and Reconstruction of the Object" maintains that what this negation of the designed object creates space for is its return to a system that is non-exploitative, allowing access again its transformative powers: "The metamorphoses which the object has to go through are those during which it is re-loaded with the values of myth, of sacredness, of magic through the reconstruction of relationships between production and use, beyond the abolition of the fictitious ties of production-consumption."<ref>Ibid. In their 1972 article "Supersuperficie", published in ''Casabella'', Superstudio elaborated on this need to break down traditional understandings of the design object in relation to the contexts of the city and work: "The destruction of objects, the elimination of the city and the disappearance of work are events closely connected. By the destruction of objects, we mean the destruction of their attributes of 'status' and the connotations imposed by those in power, so that we live 'with' objects (reduced to the condition of neutral and disposable elements) and not 'for' objects. By the elimination of the city, we mean the elimination of the accumulation of the formal structures of power, the elimination of the city hierarchy and social model. By the end of work, we mean the end of work seen as an alienating activity".</ref>
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	Superstudio's contribution was one less of the 'invention of more architecture', and more the creation of a critical framework around the process of design itself. Their projects imagined a society in which architecture as an external discipline was no longer necessary; one where society itself was a perfectly designed unexploitative entity: "Not with a new form of people's architecture, but an architectural people ready to give their world a form."<ref>Lang, "Suicidal Desires", 49.</ref>		Superstudio's contribution was one less of the 'invention of more architecture', and more the creation of a critical framework around the process of design itself. Their projects imagined a society in which architecture as an external discipline was no longer necessary; one where society itself was a perfectly designed unexploitative entity: "Not with a new form of people's architecture, but an architectural people ready to give their world a form."<ref>Lang, "Suicidal Desires", 49.</ref>

	Hidden Architecture played an important role in the collective's formulation of their position—"...the transcendence of architecture to a realm of absolute representation, one that embraced the critical value of the fantastic and the fictional",<ref>Fabbrini, "Hidden Architecture: Superstudio's Magic Box", 20-21.</ref> was a key strategy in the liberation of architecture from its constraints.		"Hidden Architecture" played an important role in the collective's formulation of their position—"...the transcendence of architecture to a realm of absolute representation, one that embraced the critical value of the fantastic and the fictional",<ref>Fabbrini, "Hidden Architecture: Superstudio's Magic Box", 20-21.</ref> was a key strategy in the liberation of architecture from its constraints.