Rafael Moneo’s Writings for Arquitecturas Bis ( 1974-1985 ). The figure of the architect : Gregotti & Rossi ( 1974 )

Rafael Moneo (1937) was one founding editors of the Barcelona-based magazine Arquitecturas Bis. When its last issue was published in 1985, Moneo was already working as Chairman of the Department of Architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. The publication proved an ‘after-modern’ philosophical and historical self-consciousness approach; a theoretical structure capable to distil self-reflexivity, as evidenced significantly by Moneo’s writings, dedicated to Twentieth-century architects. These texts, framed between his tenure professorship at Barcelona (1972- 73) and Madrid (1980-85) underline some of the issues he addressed upon his arrival to Harvard: On the one hand, they allow us to elucidate his concern on the ‘figure of the architect’ and embrace a humanist vision of the architect; on the other hand, to proof his role played as active translator of ‘La Tendenza’s’ ideology into North American academia. Moneo knew well the Italian theoretical agenda after having spent two years in Italy as a scholar of the Royal Academy of Spain – a wilful period to reflect upon theory and history – and because of the cultivated Catalan-Italian connection while teaching in Barcelona. Thus it is no coincidence that his first major writing (1974) was dedicated to Vittorio Gregotti (1927) and Aldo Rossi (1931-1997).