Guido Fiorini was born in Bologna on 1st July 1891.

After graduating in Engineering, he specialised in Architecture in 1919.

During the early days of his career, he devoted himself to both teaching and the practice of his profession, even gaining recognition for some of his work.

During the 1920s, while in Paris, he got to know Le Corbusier, the famous Swiss architect with whom he formed a long-standing friendship and professional collaboration.

As part of the building renovation debate, which was particularly lively in those years, Fiorini focused his attention on the use of metal structures, culminating in the invention of the tensile structure (1928-1935), with the aim of creating a union between building construction and architectural culture.

This sense of innovation earned him involvement in numerous projects, some of which remained on paper.

However, he found great support from the Futurist current, which saw in his ideas and works a concrete symbol of progress.

Starting in 1932, he began working on film set designs: he worked extensively in the field, winning several awards, including a Nastro d’Argento for best set scenography in the film Miracolo a Milano (1951) under the direction of Vittorio De Sica.

He died in Paris on 28th December 1965.

You can consult the birth certificate on the Ancestors Portal: Archivio di Stato di Bologna > Stato civile italiano > Bologna > Registro 1057, suppl. 2

The original is kept at the State Archives of Bologna

For more on the figure of Guido Fiorini, see the entry in the Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani edited by Rosalia Vittorini.

His personal archive is kept in the Central State Archive.