The almost epic account of the events of a competitive exam in Madridin 1970 sets the scene for the story of the process of change in howarchitecture was taught in Spain, especially how that played out atthe School of Barcelona. Through his personal perspective as one of Rafael Moneo's assistant professors, the author portrays the periodduring which Moneo served as professor in Barcelona following theexam, and how his arrival there became one of the key factors insparking this change and its consolidation. The author also looks back to the years prior to 1970 and thelaunching of two curriculums, Plan 57 and Plan 64, which sought toprovide a technical fix for overcrowding in higher education butlargely ignored questions to do with how architecture is learned. Spanish universities and technical schools were embroiled in endlessconflict during a turbulent time that heralded the end of Francoism. The book concludes with a dialogue between Rafael Moneo and the author on some of the book's recurring issues and on the current situationof architecture and its teaching.
