Rafael Moneo
José Rafael Moneo Vallés (born 9 May 1937) is a Spanish architect. He won the Pritzker Prize for architecture in 1996, the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 2003, and La Biennale's Golden Lion in 2021.
Also recorded as José Rdkdafael Moneo Valles · José Rafael Moneo Vallés · Rafael Moneo Vallés · Jose Rafael Mineo
Rafael Moneo

Germán Saiz © · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- Rafael Moneo
- Birth Name
- José Rafael Moneo Vallés
- Born
- 9 May 1937
- Birthplace
- Tudela, Navarre, Spain
- Awards
- Rolf Schock Prizes in Visual Arts (1993) Pritzker Architecture Prize (1996) Thomas Jefferson Medal in Architecture (2012)
- Nationality
- Spain
- Occupation
- architect
- Fields
- architecture
- Education
- Technical University of Madrid · Real Academia de España en Roma · Superior Technical School of Architecture of Madrid
- Known for
- Bankinter building · Kursaal convention centre · L'Auditori
- Honours
- Royal Gold Medal · Pritzker Architecture Prize · Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts · Saint George's Cross · Feltrinelli Prize · Rolf Schock Prize in Visual Arts
- Languages
- Spanish
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Documentary summary
José Rafael Moneo Vallés (born 9 May 1937) is a Spanish architect. He won the Pritzker Prize for architecture in 1996, the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 2003, and La Biennale's Golden Lion in 2021.
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- Identity
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Authority files
wikidata · Q311692 · wikipedia · Rafael Moneo
In this article
Biography
Biography
Rafael Moneo studied at Technical University of Madrid, Real Academia de España en Roma and Superior Technical School of Architecture of Madrid. José Manuel Pérez Latorre is recorded as having studied under Rafael Moneo. The recorded working language is Spanish. The field of work recorded is architecture. Employment is recorded with Harvard University, Polytechnic University of Catalonia and Superior Technical School of Architecture of Madrid. Works named in the authority record are Bankinter building, Kursaal convention centre and L'Auditori. Work by Rafael Moneo is recorded in the collections of Art Institute of Chicago and Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design. Distinctions recorded are Royal Gold Medal, Pritzker Architecture Prize, Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts and Saint George's Cross.

Rafael Moneo. Museo Universidad de Navarra
MuseumUnav (youtube) · Rafael Moneo, arquitecto del Museo Universidad de Navarra (at 6min 56s)

Interior del Museo Nacional de Arte Romano de Mérida
Amfeli
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Rafael Moneo • Birth Name — José Rafael Moneo Vallés • Born — 9 May 1937 • Birthplace — Tudela, Navarre, Spain • Awards — Rolf Schock Prizes in Visual Arts (1993) Pritzker Architecture Prize (1996) Thomas Jefferson Medal in Architecture (2012)
Biography
Biography
Born in Tudela, Spain, Moneo studied at the ETSAM, Technical University of Madrid (UPM) from which he received his architectural degree in 1961. Moneo designed in Spain the National Museum of Roman Art in Mérida, and the Town Hall of Murcia. In the United States, Moneo designed the Davis Art Museum at Wellesley College in Massachusetts and the Audrey Jones Beck Building (an expansion of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston). He also designed the Chace Center, a new building for the Rhode Island School of Design. In December 2010, the Northwest Corner Building (formerly the Interdepartmental Science Building) at Columbia University in New York City first opened. Moneo's most recent work is Peretsman-Scully Hall and the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, which houses the psychology and neuroscience departments at Princeton University and opened in December 2013. In 2012, Moneo was awarded with the 2012 Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts. According to the jury, Moneo is "a Spanish architect of universal scope whose work enriches urban spaces with an architecture that is serene and meticulous. An acknowledged master in both the academic and professional field, Moneo leaves his own mark on each of his creations by making them a weird modern type of building at the same time as combining aesthetics with functionality, especially in the airy interiors that act as impeccable settings for great works of culture and the spirit." Moneo's work has been shown in several international exhibitions including "Rafael Moneo. A Theoretical Reflection from the Profession" whose curator was his disciple, Francisco González de Canales.
Gallery
Gallery
• Illustration — National Museum of Roman Art, Mérida, Spain • Illustration — Murcia Town Hall on the Cardenal Belluga Plaza • Illustration — Kursaal Palace in San Sebastián (Spain) • Illustration — Valladolid Science Museum, Spain • Illustration — Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles • Illustration — Audrey Jones Beck Building, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas • Illustration — Davis Museum and Cultural Center at Wellesley College
Works
Works
• National Museum of Roman Art, Mérida, Spain (1986) • Davis Art Museum, Wellesley, Massachusetts (1993) • Moderna Museet and Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design, Stockholm, Sweden (1997) • Kursaal Congress Centre and Auditorium, San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain (1999) • Audrey Jones Beck Building, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas (2000) • Library of Sciences, Heverlee, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium (2000) • Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles, California (2002) • Valladolid Science Museum, Valladolid, Spain (2003) • Museo del Prado expansion, Madrid, Spain (2007) • New Library of the University of Deusto, Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain (2009) • Beirut Souks Gold Souk, Beirut, Lebanon (2009) • Northwest Corner Building, New York City, New York (2010) • Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton, New Jersey (2013) • Museum University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain (2015)
Career and activity
Career and activity
Rafael Moneo worked in architecture. He was employed by Harvard University, Polytechnic University of Catalonia and Superior Technical School of Architecture of Madrid. He belonged to Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, Royal Academy of Engineering of Spain, Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts, American Academy of Arts and Sciences and American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Identity
Identity
Rafael Moneo is recorded as having studied at Technical University of Madrid, Real Academia de España en Roma and Superior Technical School of Architecture of Madrid.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
Explore 1937–2008
The full dated record · 15 entries
1937
Rafael Moneo born at Tudela.
1958
Moderna Museet is dated 1958.
1962
Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design is dated 1962.
1973
Edificio Urumea is dated 1973.
1977
Bankinter building is dated 1977.
1986
Library of the University of Deusto is dated 1986.
1986
National Museum of Roman Art is dated 1986.
1992
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum is dated 1992.
1999
Kursaal convention centre is dated 1999.
1999
L'Auditori is dated 1999.
2002
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels is dated 2002.
2003
Valladolid Science Museum is dated 2003.
2004
Footbridge of the Science Museum (Valladolid) is dated 2004.
2007
Extension of Museo del Prado is dated 2007.
2008
Museo del Teatro Romano de Cartagena is dated 2008.
Recognition and collections
Where the work is held
Recognition and collections
Rafael Moneo received Royal Gold Medal, Pritzker Architecture Prize, Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts, Saint George's Cross, Feltrinelli Prize and Rolf Schock Prize in Visual Arts.
Documents and archives
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q311692: Rafael Moneo
Reputable secondary · Wikimedia Foundation
- “Rafael Moneo”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
scholarly publication
- Rafael Moneo: Rafel Moneo Architect, Why Architects Draw, 1994
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 1994
Awards and honours
• National Architecture Award of Spain (1961, 2015) • Pritzker Prize (1996) • RIBA Royal Gold Medal (2003) • Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (2011) • Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts (2012) • Praemium Imperiale (2017) • Soane Medal (2017) • Golden Lion (2021)
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
Rafael Moneo: Rafel Moneo Architect, Why Architects Draw, 1994Crossref registry
Verifiedreference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q311692: Rafael MoneoWikimedia Foundation
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
A further 1 witness is held back from this article because the person or object named in it is not yet resolved to this record. They are kept, not discarded, and return once the identity is established.
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Rafael Moneo studied at Technical University of Madrid, Real Academia de España en Roma and Superior Technical School of Architecture of Madrid. Each of those relationships is stated by the authority record rather than inferred from style.
His recorded language was Spanish. One child is recorded: Belén Moneo. Connected to 1 other published record in the VALÉORINE Encyclopedia.
Identity and origins
Within the Encyclopedia
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Design
11,558 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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