Active 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.

Through 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.

Published 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 Catalog Festival n.1, issued on the occasion of the design event S-Space Mondial Festival N.1, held at Space Electronic in Florence from 9 to 11 November 1971.

The 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 (Vita, morte e miracoli dell’architettura) suggests the cyclical, transformative vision of architecture that animated the group’s practice.