{"title":"ARCHITECTURE","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"vita-morte-e-miracoli-dell-architettura","title":"Vita, morte e miracoli dell’architettura","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eActive between 1968 and 1972, Gruppo 9999 was among the most visionary protagonists of the Italian neo-avant-garde, challenging the formal and institutional frameworks that defined architectural practice at the time. Founded by Giorgio Birelli, Carlo Caldini, Paolo Galli, and Fabrizio Fiumi, the group was based in Florence at Space Electronic, an experimental venue near the Santa Maria Novella station that transformed, within the same space, from an architecture school by day into a psychedelic club by night. A laboratory for exchange and experimentation, Space Electronic became the stage for Gruppo 9999’s radical exploration of architecture as a cultural, ecological, and ethical practice.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThrough their work, the group questioned the mechanisms of mass media, the acceleration of consumer culture, and the conventions of architectural production, proposing instead new forms of spatial and social imagination. Their research contributed to the intellectual climate that would soon be identified by Germano Celant, in 1972, as “radical architecture”: an anti-establishment movement that shifted attention away from the profession of architecture itself and toward a critical investigation of its foundations, possibilities, and limits.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublished in 1971, this rare volume remains one of the most compelling documents of Gruppo 9999’s visionary universe. Richly illustrated with photographs, photomontages, drawings, and comics, it gathers images of projects, installations, and speculative environments that embody the group’s experimental approach. Produced in collaboration with Superstudio and featuring contributions by Ant Farm, Ugo La Pietra, G. Chiari, Portola Institute, G. Pettena, UFO, and others, the publication served as the general catalogue for \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCatalog Festival n.1\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, issued on the occasion of the design event \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eS-Space Mondial Festival N.1\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, held at Space Electronic in Florence from 9 to 11 November 1971.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe publication’s pages unfold as a visual manifesto, bringing together alternative modes of representation. This dynamic and technologically charged imagery is set against the unexpected serenity of its bucolic cover, designed by Gruppo 9999, whose title (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eVita, morte e miracoli dell’architettura\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e) suggests the cyclical, transformative vision of architecture that animated the group’s practice.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Metabooks","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54027774656851,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1068\/8898\/6963\/files\/999smaller600.png?v=1781881510"},{"product_id":"ransacked-aunt-ethel-an-ending","title":"Ransacked - Aunt Ethel: An Ending","description":"","brand":"Metabooks","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54062338605395,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1068\/8898\/6963\/files\/Rainsacked.png?v=1782121306"},{"product_id":"letters-from-wittgenstein-abridged-in-ghent","title":"Letters from Wittgenstein, Abridged in Ghent","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLudwig Wittgenstein’s thought permeates Joseph Kosuth’s conceptual practice. In this artist’s book, the influence becomes literal. Kosuth takes as his starting point the correspondence between the British philosopher and architect Paul Engelmann, developing a parallel, anachronistic narrative through text and image. In 1925, Engelmann and Wittgenstein were commissioned by the philosopher’s sister, Margaret Stonborough-Wittgenstein – known, among other things, for posing for Gustav Klimt – to design her house in Vienna. The three-year project unfolded alongside a profound friendship, documented in an important corpus of letters published posthumously in 1967.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOver a discoloured facsimile of Engelmann’s publication of philosophical meditations and exchanges with Wittgenstein, Kosuth pastes photographs documenting the architectural transformation of the city of Ghent, where the book was commissioned and published. The two narratives unfold in parallel and complement one another: while the text traces the construction of a building – and a friendship – the photographs bear witness to the destruction and profound transformation of a city over the course of its recent history.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Metabooks","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54275526820179,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1068\/8898\/6963\/files\/KosuthWit.png?v=1783781076"},{"product_id":"ginza-kaiwai-ginza-haccho","title":"Ginza Kaiwai \/ Ginza Haccho","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublished in 1954, this early leporello anticipated Edward Ruscha’s “Every Building on the Sunset Strip” by twelve years. A simple coincidence, the collective unconscious, or perhaps Ruscha being inspired by a copy encountered in Los Angeles’s historic Little Tokyo neighbourhood? Whatever the connection, or absence thereof, “Ginza Haccho” has been the subject of much discussion among photography-book aficionados in recent years.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis accordion-folded publication conceals within its folds photographs of every building along Tokyo’s Ginza Street. Precious in its original cardboard slipcase, the edition was co-authored by Shohachi Kimura and Yoshikazu Suzuki and comprises a map of the district, a leporello presenting a panoramic view of Ginza Street, and a separate volume reconstructing, visually and textually, the history of the neighbourhood. The publication offers a vivid record of a city in perpetual reconstruction and remodelling, preserving buildings and streetscapes that have long since disappeared from Tokyo’s urban fabric.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis rare publication was exhibited in 2023 during the \"Folded Cities\" \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eexhibition at Studio 454 in Venice, alongside other urban “radiographies” of the twentieth century, including “Venezia. Il Canal Grande,” a curious publication produced by Il Gazzettino Illustrato in 1931; Edward Ruscha’s “Every Building on the Sunset Strip” (1966); and Jan Henderikse’s “Broadway” (1983), among others.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Metabooks","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54284651823443,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1068\/8898\/6963\/files\/Ginza.png?v=1783865157"},{"product_id":"pop-architektur-concept-art","title":"Pop Architektur. Concept Art","description":"","brand":"Metabooks","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54302394974547,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1068\/8898\/6963\/files\/PopArchi.png?v=1784017569"},{"product_id":"milano","title":"Milano","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublished by Edizioni del Cavallino, the imprint associated with the historic gallery in Venice founded in 1942 by collector and publisher Carlo Cardazzo, this artist’s book is a playful experiment in the technique of “kinetisation” (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ecinetizzazioni\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e). It collects 12 postcards depicting monuments and views of Milan, each meticulously cut into concentric circles. Slightly offset, the circles create an optical sensation of movement, transforming static photographic images into small kinetic compositions. Produced in collaboration with the legendary printer Sergio Tosi, the publication is a unique act of appropriation and transformation of found ephemera.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe publication was exhibited in 2023 as part of \"Folded Cities\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 42, 0);\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/metabooks.art\/cdn\/shop\/files\/FOLDED-CITIES_2023.pdf?v=11773327600038621070\" style=\"color: rgb(255, 42, 0);\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e at Studio 454 in Venice, alongside other twentieth-century investigations of the urban environment, including “Venezia. Il Canal Grande”, a curious publication produced by Il Gazzettino Illustrato in 1931; Edward Ruscha’s “Every Building on the Sunset Strip” (1966); and Jan Henderikse’s “Broadway” (1983), among many others.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Metabooks","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54367479693651,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1068\/8898\/6963\/files\/Milano.png?v=1784643670"}],"url":"https:\/\/metabooks.art\/collections\/architecture.oembed","provider":"Metabooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}