Superstudio: A Utopia-Driven Projective Architecture

This article will address the claim that Superstudio works, which were part of the reflections of the 1960s’ and 1970s’ search for a new world order regarding architecture, contrary to the widely held view, present a utopia-driven projective architectural approach, rather than a complete rejection of architectural practice. In this context, the members’ work in various fields, belonging to the period after the dissolution of the group, can be seen as a reflection of the theoretical perspective that they had formed up to that day in practice, rather than as a renunciation or defeat. This assessment, which we will consider on the basis of »the constitutive potential of utopian thinking and imagination«, is intended to be a reference for ongoing debates surrounding the relationship between architectural thought and practice. Finally, in this text, which is constructed from cross-references between the group’s own discourses and various critical architectural discourses, it is proposed that Superstudio should be interpreted as an intellectual manifestation of a projective architectural approach, rather than a mere intellectual approach. Such an assessment not only introduces a new interpretation of the group’s work, but also enables a reconsideration of the concept of »projective« regarding the engagement of theory and practice in architecture.