Exhibition Opening: Rafael Moneo in conversation with Michael Hays, 9SG. The Production of An Architectural Idea

In light of the GSD’s Teaching Techniques and Superstudio launch this past fall; the Nine Square Grid (9SG) exhibition, curated by Caio Barboza and Sofia Blanco Santos, pays tribute to the Nine Square Grid Exercise and John Hejduk following the fifteenth anniversary of his death.

The Opening Talk for the Nine Square Grid Exhibition will bring together Professors Michael K. Hays and Rafael Moneo in a conversation about John Hejduk’s contribution as a professor and architect, as it has underpinned the works and influenced architects not only within that period but also for years to come. The historical context and lineage of projects presented in the Nine Square Grid Exhibition will serve as frame for this discussion. Today, we look back at the Nine Square Grid projects exhibited and understand the purity of their Architecture expressed in its now unfamiliar context. Perhaps the true value of the Nine Square Grid exercise lies in establishing a distance between the architect and the project, by creating an open framework in which architectural ideas, relations and elements can be played out. In its irresolution and estrangement from the architect, The Nine Square Grid exercise produces an Architecture that lives in all the potential states, conveyed within the sixteen points of the exercise.

K. Michael Hays is Eliot Noyes Professor of Architectural Theory at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Hays joined the Faculty of Design in 1988, teaching courses in architectural history and theory. Michael Hays has played a crucial role in the development of architectural theory in the United States and has written profusely about John Hejduk’s work: Hejduk’s Chronotope (1996) or Sanctuaries: The Last Works of John Hejduk (2002).

José Rafael Moneo is the first Josep Lluis Sert Professor of Architecture. He was chair of the Department of Architecture of the Harvard Graduate School of Design from 1985 until 1990. Recipient of the Pritzker Prize for Architecture in 1996 and the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 2003, Rafael Moneo is renowned for his built works: the National Museum of Roman Art in Merida, the Town Hall in Murcia, The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston or the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles.

Anyone requiring accessibility accommodations should contact the events office in advance at 617 496 2414 or [email protected]

 

Anyone requiring accessibility accommodations should contact the Public Programs Office at (617) 496-2414 or [email protected].

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