Clorindo Testa

Clorindo Manuel José Testa (December 10, 1923 – April 11, 2013) 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 Argentine Chamber of Construction Córdoba City Council Holiday Centre Gazebo and niches in the cemetery at La Chacarita Cemetery La Pampa Civic Centre (Government House, Bus Terminal, Chamber of Deputies, Library) Buenos Aires Master Plan State River Fleet Building 1960–1969 National Library of the Argentine Republic (started 1962 but not opened until the 1990s) Omint Sanatorium Lacarra House Castiñeira House 1980–1989 Recoleta Cultural Centre Castex Towers, Phase 1 Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight Simulator Castex Towers, Phase 2 Santa Rosa Civic Centre, extension Clorindo Testa's Studio Paseo de la Recoleta Shopping Centre Capotesta House Banco Nación, Carlos Paz Branch, Córdoba Paseo Infanta Gymnasium La Perla Spa (Balneario La Perla) Castex Towers, Phase 3 La Tumbona House I.C.I. Premises Paseo Infanta Japanese Restaurant House at San Diego Country Club 1990–1999 Plaza Del Pilar, Buenos Aires Design Center House in Martínez Interior Forma Retail Premises S.G.I.A.R. Temple Auditorium Caritas Prototype Daycare Centres and Schools Stand, Buenos Aires International Book Fair Green House Altera Art Gallery House in River Oaks Neighbourhood, Maschwitz 2000–2009 Stud House in La Plata Di Tella Apartment Torcuato di Tella University Quilmes Hospital Campus Universidad del Salvador, Auditorium Campus University of La Punta (San Luis) Konex Foundation Cultural Centre La Pampa Provincial Government Library