Mario Gandelsonas
Biographical interview
SUMMARY
The video traces Mario Gandelsonas’s family background and early life in Buenos Aires. It follows his education in architecture at the University of Buenos Aires and his further training in urbanism and theory in Paris, which formed the basis of his analytical approach to the city. The interview then focuses on his move to New York and his formative involvement with the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies, where he worked closely with Peter Eisenman. It discusses the founding of Agrest & Gandelsonas Architects with Diana Agrest, highlighting the firm’s work in urban design and theory-driven practice. The video concludes with Gandelsonas’s reflections on contemporary architecture, offering a critical perspective on today’s urban condition, the role of theory, and the responsibilities of architects in shaping cities.
BIOGRAPHY
Mario Gandelsonas was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the son of Lithuanian immigrants, and studied architecture at the University of Buenos Aires before earning a certificate from the Centre de Recherche d’Urbanisme in Paris. Early in his career he was invited by Peter Eisenman to the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies (IAUS) in New York, where he contributed to Oppositions and developed his theories on urbanism and semiotics. In 1980 he co-founded Agrest & Gandelsonas Architects with his wife Diana Agrest, producing both built projects and urban plans that reflect his analytical approach to city form and design. Gandelsonas has taught at Yale and Harvard and joined Princeton University’s School of Architecture in 1991, where he serves as Professor of Architectural Design and Class of 1913 Lecturer in Architecture and directs the Center for Architecture, Urbanism and Infrastructure. His extensive scholarship and design work, including The Urban Text, X-Urbanism, and Shanghai Reflections, have influenced architectural theory, urban design, and interdisciplinary research on infrastructure and cities.
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