1941-2019

Coauthor of the ‘Continuous Movement,’ one the most influential architectural visions of the second half of the 20th century, Cristiano Toraldo di Francia died on 30 July at the age of 78. Son of the physicist and philospher Giuliano Toraldo di Francia, Cristiano graduated from the university of his city, Florence, before founding Superstudio in 1966 with Adolfo Natalini. Those politically convulse, but intellectually fruitful years were the breeding ground of the radical theories of this unique duo of architects, materialized in megastructures that evaded reality while exposing the contradictions of capitalism. It is no coincidence that the extraordinary drawings and collages in which Superstudio represented the polis-territories halfway between formalism and land art coincided with the years of greater theoretical productivity in Italy, where the greatest influences in the architectural field where figures like Zevi, Tafuri, and Rossi. After dissolving Superstudio, Toraldo founded in 1982 his own office, and delivered colorist, carefree, and often polemic projects, like the canopy of Florence bus station, demolished in 2010 during Matteo Renzi’s mayorship.