José Rafael Moneo Vallés was born in Tudela in the province of Navarra (Spain) in May of 1937. He obtained his architectural degree in 1961 from the Escuela Técnica Superior of Madrid. In 1963 he was awarded a fellowship at the Spanish Academy in Rome where he remained until 1965. Upon his return to Spain he opened his office in Madrid and began teaching at the Escuela Técnica Superior of Madrid (1966-1970). In 1970 he won a teaching chair in architectural theory at the Escuela Técnica Superior of Barcelona where he was professor until 1980. From 1980 to 1985 he was chaired professor of composition at the Escuela Técnica Superior of Madrid. In 1985 Rafael Moneo was appointed Chairman of the Architecture Department of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, a position he held until 1990. In 1991 he was named Josep Lluís Sert Professor of Architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design where he continues to teach. Rafael Moneo combines his professional activity as an architect with that as lecturer, critic and theoretician. His writings have been published in the foremost professional magazines and the presentation of his work through lectures and exhibitions has taken him to numerous institutions on both sides of the Atlantic.