Google doodle honors Clorindo Testa, a Pioneer of Modern Architecture in Latin America

The Italian-Argentine architect and artist Clorindo Testa is honoured in this Doodle. He is regarded as one of the main pioneers of modern architecture in Latin America.

One of Testa’s most famous artwork, the Mariano Moreno National Library of Argentina, was designated a national historic monument on this day in 2019.

On this day in 1923, Testa was born in Naples, Italy. He got in love with art at a young age after his family relocated to Argentina when he was a young child. 1948 saw him graduate from the Universidad de Buenos Aires where he studied architecture.

In 1955, the building of a government centre in La Pampa was his first major project. His official introduction to brutalist architecture, which has simple structures that highlight raw building materials rather than decorative designs, came with this project.

After building the Banco de Londres y América del Sud (Bank of London and South America), which is today regarded as a masterwork of Brutalist architecture, Testa would achieve international acclaim four years later. Later, in 1962, Testa received a commission to create the National Library of the Argentine Republic, or Biblioteca Nacional de la República Argentina. His standing as a top architect was solidified by these two projects on a national and worldwide scale.

Testa broke the conventions and limitations of 20th-century construction, helping with the creation of a new architectural language and style in Argentina. He completed over sixty projects in his career and was the recipient of three Konex Awards (1982, 1992, and 2012). Testa was a well-known modern architect and a respected artist who left his mark brick by brick.