Small 710 Quaderna Table by Superstudio for Zanotta, 1970s

Radical design collective Superstudio was founded in Florence in 1966 by Italian architects Adolfo Natalini (born in Pistoia in 1941) and Cristiano Toraldo di Francia (born in Florence in 1941)—later joined by Gian Piero Frassinelli, Alessandro Magris, Roberto Magris, and Alessandro Poli. Disillusioned with modernism’s spurious optimism (and its attendant consumerism), Superstudio created photo collages, films, exhibitions, and more that advocated for a simpler lifestyle less reliant on technology and man-made objects. 

Superstudio first came to prominence when they participated in the anti-consumerist Superarchitettura exhibition in Pistoia in 1966, along with like-minded radical design group, Archizoom—co-founded by Andrea Branzi (b. 1938), Gilberto Corretti (b. 1941), Paolo Deganello (b. 1940), and Massimo Morozzi (1941-2014). The second Superarchitettura exhibition the following year in Modena sarcastically presented its manifesto as follows: “Superarchitecture is the architecture of superproduction, of superconsumption, of superinduction to superconsumption, of the supermarket, of superman and super petrol."

While Superstudio never built any architectural structures, their provocative ideas and visual vocabulary—disseminated through publications like Casabella and several international exhibitions—went on to influence generations of architects and designers, including Pritzker Prize winners Rem Koolhaas (b. 1944) and Zaha Hadid (1950-2016).

In 1972, Superstudio was invited by legendary architect-curator Emilio Ambasz (b. 1943) to participate in Italy: The New Domestic Landscape at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. For this era-defining exhibition, the collective installed their endlessly reflected Microevent/Microenvironment and accompanying short film Supersuperficie, alongside the work of other Italian visionaries like 9999, Archizoom, Gae Aulenti, Mario Bellini, Joe Colombo, Gruppo Strum, Ugo La Pietra, Gaetano Pesce, Alberto Rosselli, Ettore Sottsass, and Marco Zanuso with Richard Sapper. On the heels of the MoMA success, the exhibition Sottsass, Superstudio. Mindscapes toured America from 1973 to 1975. Superstudio also exhibited at the 1978 Venice Biennale.

Superstudio expanded the discourse of architecture through a number of now-iconic designs. The Continuous Monument (1969) is a dystopian vision of the earth covered in a grid-like superstructure; a warning against over-development and overreliance on technological advancements. Other projects advocating for more socially conscious design include Histograms (1968/69), A Catalogue of Villa (1968/70), The Twelve Ideal Cities (1971), Salvages of Italian Historic Centers (1972), and The Fundamentals Acts: Life, Education, Ceremony, Love, Death (1971/73).

Despite their anti-design stance, Superstudio designed a handful of design objects, most notably the starkly geometric, gridded-laminate-covered Quaderna Tables for Zanotta (1970), which won the Golden Medal at the M.I.A International Exhibition in 1971. Other objects include SOFO Sofa and Gherpe Lamp for Poltronova (both 1968) and Lambda Table (1972) and Teso Table (1973) both for Giovannetti. Some Superstudio designs are still in production with Centro Studi Poltronova and Zanotta. 

Superstudio disbanded toward the end of 1970s. Natalini founded Natalini Architetti, mainly designing buildings in the Netherlands. Toraldo di Francia continued to design for companies like Anonima Castelli, Breda, Calzolari, Flos, Giovannetti, Pica, Poltronova, and Zanotta.

In the 21^st century, interest in Superstudio and other radical designers has resurged, evidenced by a new round of exhibitions: Superstudio: Life Without Objects at London’s Design Museum (2003); Environments & Counter Environments at Chicago’s Graham Foundation (2013); Superstudio. The Secret Life of the Continuous Monument at the Venice Biennale (2014), and Superstudio 50 at Rome’s MAXXI (2016), among others. 

Superstudio’s work can be found in the collections of several international museums, such as the Museum of Modern Art (New York), Israel Museum (Jerusalem), Deutsches Architekturmuseum (Frankfurt), Centre Pompidou (Paris), and MAXXI (Rome).

* Images courtesy of Centro Studi Poltronova, Graham Foundation, MAXXI, and Zanotta

Design luminary Emilio Ambasz, in 1988, wrote that the history of Italian design “could not be written without referring to [Zanotta’s} contribution.” Aurelio Zanotta founded Zanotta in Nova Milanese in 1954. In the early years, the company manufactured mostly sofas and armchairs that never made it into the history books. In the 1960s, however, Zanotta began working with the most conceptually driven designers of the days—the Castiglioni brothers, Joe Colombo, and Ettore Sottsass, for example—and by the end of the decade, Zanotta has produced some of the world’s most iconic works of postmodern and radical design.

 Among Zanotta’s notable designs from this game-changing era are the plastic-covered Throw-Away Armchair by Willie Landels (1965); the interlocking Karelia Lounge by Liisi Beckmann (1966); the inflatable Blow Chair by Jonathan De Pas, Donato D'Urbino, Paolo Lomazzi, and Carla Scolari (1967); the prefabricated portable living space Guscio Hut by Roberto Menghi (1968); the beanbag-like Sacco Lounge by Paolini, Gatti, and Teodoro (1968); and the poster child for the radical design movement, the Quaderna Console by Superstudio (1971).

In the 1970s, Zanotta began to mine design history for important, boundary-breaking works that were no longer in production. The first project in this vein was the Castiglioni’s Mezzadro Stool, which had been designed in 1957—inspired by Marcel Duchamp’s concept of “ready-mades—but was never made in large quantities. Spurred on by the success of this re-edition, Zanotta followed with more, for example Italian rationalist architect Giuseppe Terragni’s Follia Chair (1934); Italian designer Marco Zanuso’s Maggiolina Lounge Chair (1947); and Swiss architect Max Bill’s Sgabillo Stool (1952). Zanotta would go to re-edition super rare designs by Italian designer Carlo Mollino, as well. 

In the ’80s, Aurelio Zanotta founded Zabro (Zanotta Brothers) with Alessandro Mendini and Studio Alchimia. This experimental workshop aimed to conserve Italian craft heritage while exploring new design languages. This led to the creation of unclassifiable hybrid objects like Mendini’s Zabro Table/Chair (1984), which transforms from a kind of throne into a dining table. Zanotta next launched Zanotta Edizioni in 1989 to answer to a more selective, collector market. Among these limited editions are Bruno Munari’s Singer Chair Object (1945), Mendini’s Colomobio Chest of Drawers (1985/88), and Joe Tilson’s Alchera Chest (1992). 

Today, Zanotta continues to produce many of its designs classics alongside new contemporary designs. The company has over 200 pieces inside the permanent collections of the most prestigious museums, like the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, the Victoria & Albert in London, the Triennale Design Museum in Milan, and the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein.