This panel discussion marks the opening program for Treaties on De-Fences, the inaugural exhibition at the Onera Foundation. The exhibition features work by artist and preservation architect Jorge Otero-Pailos, whose practice explores the intersections of preservation and contemporary art.
The evening’s conversation will explore the profound influence of the Harvard Five—particularly Marcel Breuer and John Johansen—tracing their evolution from designing experimental modern homes in New Canaan to creating visionary U.S. embassies during the Cold War. The discussion will highlight how these innovative domestic designs, which introduced a new way of living, laid the foundation for an architectural language that promoted cultural and diplomatic exchange in the post–World War II era—an initiative known as the U.S. Embassy Program. The panel will also address the growing urgency to preserve these embassies as enduring landmarks of mid-century modernism and international relations.