Superstudio's 12 Ideal Cities: A 1971 Project That Questions the Price of Perfectly Designed Life
In 1971, architect Gian Piero Frassinelli and his firm Superstudio unveiled a thought-provoking series called Twelve Cautionary Tales for Christmas, also referred to as 12 Ideal Cities. This project presents twelve fictional urban environments, designed to highlight pressing societal issues through unsettling scenarios. Notable concepts include the 2,000-Ton City, which offers automated comfort but punishes dissenters, and the New York of Brains, featuring preserved brains linked via electrodes. These evocative designs explore the balance between convenience and individual freedom, featured in designboom's chapter, MODES OF HABITATION, drawing images from institutions like MAXXI and SFMOMA.
Key facts
- Superstudio published Twelve Cautionary Tales for Christmas: Premonitions of the Mystical Rebirth of Urbanism in 1971.
- The project is also known as 12 Ideal Cities.
- Gian Piero Frassinelli was a key figure in Superstudio.
- The 2,000-Ton City features a ceiling panel that drops on inhabitants with rebellious thoughts.
- The New York of Brains preserves human brains in containers connected through electrodes.
- The City of the Book organizes life through a literal instruction manual.
- The project is part of designboom's MODES OF HABITATION chapter.
- Images of the project are held by MAXXI, Centre Pompidou, SFMOMA, and Hidden Architecture.
Entities
Artists
- Gian Piero Frassinelli
- Superstudio
Institutions
- Superstudio
- MAXXI
- Centre Pompidou
- SFMOMA
- Hidden Architecture
- designboom
Locations
- New York
- United States