Clorindo Testa


Clorindo Manuel José Testa was an Italian-Argentine architect and artist.
Testa was one of the leaders of the Argentine rationalist movement and one of the pioneers of the brutalist movement in Argentina. His style as an architect has always been influenced by his artistic nature, with projects dominated by the effects of colour, tension, metaphors and plasticity; these aspects are well illustrated in his designs for the Biblioteca Nacional de la República Argentina and the Banco de Londres building in Buenos Aires. He was member of the international jury which chose Carlos Ott as the architect for the Opera Bastille in Paris.
Testa won the Konex Award, the most prestigious award for visual arts in Argentina, in 1982, 1992 and 2012. He died, aged 89, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Early life

Testa was born in Benevento near Naples, Italy. He graduated from the Faculty of Architecture at the Universidad de Buenos Aires in 1948. Testa came to architecture via naval engineering and then civil engineering. After a two year stay in Europe he also became a painter.

Principal projects

1950–1959

  • Cámara Argentina de la Construcción
  • Centro Vacacional Municipalidad Córdoba
  • Templete y Nichos Cementerio Chacarita
  • Centro Cívico La Pampa
  • Plan Regulador Buenos Aires
  • Edificio Flota Fluvial del Estado

1960–1969

1970–1979

1980–1989

1990–1999

  • Plaza Del Pilar- Bs. As. Design Center
  • Casa en Martínez
  • Locar para Interior Forma
  • Auditorio Templo S.G.I.A.R.
  • Caritas Guarderías y Escuelas Prototipo
  • Stand Feria Libro
  • Casa Verde
  • Galeria Arte Altera
  • Casa en barrio River Oaks- Maschwitz

2000–2009