A paradoxical Imago Mundi: The no-stop city by Archizoom Associati

The No-Stop City (1969-1971) by Archizoom Associati was born from a simple, and yet radical, idea: to create an interior and potentially endless city by spreading artificial lighting and air-conditioning to all urban activities. The first problematic feature of the No-Stop City is its very nature since Archizoom resolutely denied that it was what it seemed to be: a proposal for an alternative or future city. To understand this, we must bear in mind that it was an explicitly political project, in line with the group's Marxist ideology. From the moment of its publication, the project has been analyzed from very different perspectives. This text focuses on what makes it a polysemic work that allows diverse and contrasting interpretations: its striking contradictory or, at least, paradoxical character.