Conversations on architecture of the second half of the XXth century

Professor: Jose Rafael Moneo with invited guest: Peter EisenmanLast year this lecture course was an attempt to reflect on the \”underground currents that inform the work of today\’s architects\”, covering the latest architectural trends. This year the course places the focus not so much on the immediate present, but instead goes back to what we consider to be crucial years for architectural history in the second half of the XXth Century. The class will follow an unusual format that of a dialogue between two architects who have witnessed the scene they are talking about: the decades of the fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties. The fact that these two architects have known many of the protagonists of this narrative will give these lectures the value of becoming a first attempt at oral history. The course will try to connect architecture and ideological attitudes throughout the various decades, paying attention to both the works and the theoretical texts that we believe are still alive in many ways in today\’s architectural horizon. The lecture course will be a kind of conversation with the double frame of reference – Europe and America – that in spite of the differences are bound by a common origin. To recognize the continuous interaction between America and Europe is very necessary in order to understand how history evolved. Peter Eisenman will take the lead in presenting the American scene and Rafael Moneo will do the same with the European field. We will deliberately stop in the 90s as we consider them to be too diffuse and undigested. The planned format implies that each session will be a presentation by one of the architects that will be responded to by the other. We will try to make it as lively and direct as possible looking for a true dialogue more than a formal lecture. Schedule:Jan 26, 27March 2, 3 March 23, 24April 13,14