Rafael Moneo: A Theoretical Reflection from the Professional Practice. Archive Materials (1961-2013)

HKDI Gallery Presents the first major retrospective of award- winning Spanish architect Rafael Moneo in Asia Committed to enhancing Hong Kong’s design education by its continuous effort to showcase contemporary design issues and bringing world class international exhibitions to the city, Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) & Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE) (Lee Wai Lee) proudly present “Rafael Moneo: A Theoretical Reflection from the Professional Practice. Archive Materials (1961-2013)” from 22 October 2016 to 14 January 2017.
Organised in collaboration with Fundación Barrié and Estudio Rafael Moneo, this is the first major retrospective held in Asia for the award- winning Spanish “starchitect” Rafael Moneo, featuring around 250 original drawings, photographs and models from 46 projects spanning his entire career. Organised into six biographical sections, the exhibition sheds light on how Moneo’s unique way of thinking and theories have been central to the development of the recent history of architecture, and how his designs have had tremendous influence on generations of architects. “Rafael Moneo: A Theoretical Reflection from the Professional Practice” tells the story of an architect who sought to define an approach to architectural design based on a strong disciplinary basis amid the ever – changing conditions of his time, and who accepted the difficult position of claiming architecture as a specific form of knowledge.

Moneo skillfully applied both traditional Roman construction techniques and
contemporary architectural mechanisms, such that the museum came to be the
missing link between ancient Roman culture and Mérida today. Other projects
featured include Kursaal, Auditorium and Congress Centre in San Sebastián, Spain (1999). Ignoring conventional architecture, this auditorium and congress centre was designed to become part of the landscape along the coastline. To maintain the proposal’s abstraction, Moneo explored the potential of a material he had never worked with before– glass. It honours the geography, ultimately becoming a well – known cultural landmark in Spain. Another exhibit,
the Prado Museum Extension,Madrid, Spain (2007), shows his outstanding work which breaks free from the limitations of typical building extension construction projects. Instead of a simpleevamp of the museum, it resulted in an intervention to the city.