Archisearch the Paper Edition Vol 6

DOWN TO RTH

EARLY SUMMER

AtPE

Erieta Attali, Andreas Fies

Herzog & de Meuron, Ryan Neheiser, Δημήτρης Παπανικολάου, Olga Tourlomousi, on-site representative of Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) in Greece και Olaf de Noover από Renzo Piano Building Workshop

Lifetime Achievement Awards,

Jette Cathrin Hopp

Snøhetta.

It has not been a short time since we've observed a significant increase in events and publications related to architecture. This surge, indicative of the industry's growth, is undoubtedly positive news for Design Ambassador and Archisearch, which have long championed Greece's creative potential.

In the seventh edition of Archisearch Paper Edition, we celebrate these creative forces through time and maintain our commitment to high-quality content. We revisit the work of Suzana Antonakaki and Stelios Giamarelos with a detailed homage on the occasion of their new book, "Architectural Poetics." We engage in a heartfelt dialogue with Eva Manidaki and analyze the architecture of tourism with Dimitris Potiropoulos, alongside insights from Juhani Pallasmaa and Martin Heidegger. We explore construction projects in China with Georges Batzios, and in Egypt and Indonesia with KKMK Architects. We reflect on this year's most notable projects, both internationally with the Mies Van Der Rohe awards and in Greece with the GRAIL Awards. Before the upcoming ESO conference, we delve into the theme of ESO through the perspective of Sophia Vyzoviti.

As always, we draw inspiration from the theses that resonate with us, showcasing the thoughtful vision and passion of architects still untouched by the industry's demands. With this seventh issue, Archisearch Paper Edition continues its exploration of the diverse realities of architecture. We focus on the extraordinary and the unique experiences of architects that create modern, miniature rhapsodies.

The distribution of Archisearch Paper Edition 7 will commence at the ESO Conference, featuring Areti Markopoulou, Stella Pieri, Panos Dragonas, Konstantinos Pantazis, Erieta Attali, Andreas Fies from Herzog & de Meuron, Ryan Neheiser, Dimitris Papanikolaou, Olga Tourlomousi, an on-site representative of Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) in Greece, Olaf de Noover from Renzo Piano Building Workshop, and Jette Cathrin Hopp from Snøhetta. During the Lifetime Achievement Awards, Panagiotis Pangalos will present honors to Tassos Biris, Manolis Korres, and Eleni Vernardaki.

As we conclude this issue, allow me to tease the content of our next edition, which will feature highlights from the ESO conference presentations among other topics.

VASSILIOS BARTZOKAS

MAY 2024 AtPE ARCHISEARCH

ISSUE

THE PAPER EDITION

INDEX

[01] AGENDA

[02] PEOPLE [03] ARCHITECTURE

[04] THE DESIGN AMBASSADOR

[05] YOUNG & UPCOMING

INDEX

[01.10]

[02.3]

ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN

AMBASSADOR UPCOMING

HÄSTENS STORE ATHENS | Poseidonos 46 Avenue 17455 Attiki Greece

T: 215 215 2000 | W: www.gruppocucine.gr

SHOWROOMS

CHALANDRI

GLYFADA

AIGALEO

NEA SMIRNI

AG. PARASKEVI

VOULA

Model: SNAIDERO VISION

AGENDA

[01.8] DIA NEO SIS P.048

[01.7] DIMITRIS POTIROPOULOS P.042

[01.9] KKMK P.052

[01.1] ETSI ARCHI TECTS P.018

[01.4] SOPHIA VYZOVITI P.026

[01.3] KSTUDIO P.024

AGENDA

[01.5] KYKLÀDA PRESS P.028

[01.2] OBLIQUE P.022

[01.6] MIES VAN DER ROHE 2024 P.034

[01.11] GEORGE TSOLAKIS P.058

[01.10] GEORGES BATZIOS P.056

(

The Etsi Architects firm won the prize for best architectural office of the year 2024 at the GRAIL Awards. Let's discover the reasons by talking to them.

GRAIL WINNERS )

ETSI ARCHITECTS

The Ethics of Locality

Thanassis Diamantopoulos

GONATSA

It takes talent to turn a disadvantage into an advantagea quality that seems not to be missing from the members of the Etsi Architects firm. They managed to turn the disadvantage of having their headquarters in Kardamili, Mani, far from the two major urban centers, into an advantage since the natural environment and the aesthetics of the region became the "playground" where they seem to carry out worth mentioning projects.

This was also confirmed by Eleni Tsigarida, founding member of the office, through our interview: "I would say that the adventure of decentralization and love for the villages, the landscape, and the local techniques made us stand out. We were fascinated by the challenge of telling a modern story through traditional buildings and integrating our works into this landscape." The modern architectural history of the area now also bears the firm’s mark because they created it with love for the past and the environment: "Some say 'away from Athens,' we say 'close to nature'! Our decision to work in Mani, in its villages, and within nature inspired us to look for beauty in simplicity, to connect more directly with customers and the environment, to implement circular economy, and to enjoy every moment of the creative process," Eleni told us.

GONATSA

Their project, "The Inside-out House in Gonatsa," won the "Detached House" Category award at the GRAIL Awards 2024. The project concerns a 120 sq.m. residence designed to integrate inside and outside visuals, respect the landscape, and integrate the building into the landscape. They told us: "The olive grove in Gonatsa inspired us to create a space that derives its beauty from the simplicity of the landscape.

By using transparent openings to human scale, we tried to achieve a harmonious connection between interior and exterior space, bringing the beauty of the natural environment into the house and ensuring the continuity of the landscape." And they added a poetic touch: "In Gonatsa, we listened to the stories that the trees and the earth told us. We aimed to translate these stories into a home offering a refuge and a window into the landscape’s soul. We tried to connect humans with the environment, creating a space narrating coexistence's beauty."

KARDAMYLI CUSTOMS

In the architectural category "Reuse/Restoration/Addition/Extension," they took the first prize for reusing the Kardamyli Customs office as a residence. They said, "We took a building with a heavy history, damaged by time, nature, and several invalid interventions, and turned it into a house that breathes history and warmth. We used every technique available, from secret openings to eco-friendly materials, to create a landmark that narrates past stories with a modern twist. The local community embraced the project, overcoming initial reservations as it became an attraction, exceeding both our expectations and our clients'."

So what can make an architect more creative: confining renovation to an existing shell or creating from scratch?

The architectural office from Mani gave us the following answer: "Creativity is necessary, whether we are renovating or starting from scratch. In renovations, the challenge is interpreting and combining historical elements with contemporary needs, creating a dynamic coexistence between the past and the future. In new constructions, we explore the limits of architectural creation, adapting innovative ideas to the context and needs of today."

VAMVAKOUS ALLEY (ROUGA OF VAMVAKOUS)

The stone of Mani becomes lighter in the hands of Etsi Architects, as they proved in "Rouga Of Vamvakous," four early 20th-century stone structures in the remote village of Vamvakou, Laconia. These structures were converted into a small guest house as part of the Vamvakou Revival project, funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.

The initiative aims to serve as a model for other rural areas by attracting new residents, businesses, and visitors to the once-vibrant village. By the 1950s, it had been devastated by the German occupation, the Greek Civil War, and emigration.

MONASTERY HOUSE

This project was commended in the GRAIL Residence category. In this particular project, Etsi Architects designed and built a country house for a large family on the Mani peninsula in Greece. The plot was high on the side of a mountain, offering a fantastic view of the village and the sea below. The family's main requests to the architects were maintaining the members' privacy, with individual spaces for each, and security. Greek monasteries and local traditional stone buildings with tiled roofs and minimal elements of modern flat-roofed buildings inspired the resulting building.

Example #1 is a renovation project of a 26 square meter space in a 1970s building in Vouliagmeni by Oblique, a six-year-old office founded by Stella Livieratou and Dimitris Chatzioakeimidis.

OBLIQUE

The Big Micro

They won the Interior Design award at the GRAIL Awards in the category of apartments under 100 sq.m. They achieved this by daring to change it entirely and essentially starting from scratch. We started our interview by trying to understand further what was written in the architectural description of the project: "The extreme limitation of the space was the reason for a radical reorganization of the floor plan for it to serve the needs of the user but at the same time avoid the creation of a standard apartment in miniature."

TD I read in the architectural description that you did a "radical reorganization of the floor plan." So, what exactly did you do?

OB First of all, everything there was gone; we removed the partitions to start on a white canvas. We were also lucky because the space was a strict rectangle, so we could do whatever we wanted. By saying "radical reorganization," we mean that we did not try to make a miniature of a classic apartment, with a living room, bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom where we would simply reduce the corresponding square footage of each intended space. We tried to prioritize that it's a small property, and that's what we'd go with. We prioritized uses, saying what is the most important on that surface, and we have paid attention to the feelings born out of the sense that something looks bigger than it actually is.

( GRAIL WINNERS )

Thanassis Diamantopoulos

TD How is this achieved?

OB In practice, we tried to "box in" all the secondary uses beyond the built-in appliances and furniture that an apartment could have, which were included in this architectural element that we call the "blue box." We also tried to include the main uses such as a bedroom or a bathroom. Eventually, these uses are "collected" and result in us saying: we want this room for sleeping. We included the bed in the single space so that the resident of the house can sleep comfortably. As a result, we maximized the "living spaces," such as the living room or kitchen, and this supported the creation of a single open space that made the apartment look practically twice as large.

TD Is the house’s furniture designed by you?

OB In essence, architecture is furniture. We didn't see it as furniture design. We treated the furniture like architecture. So, we consider the "blue box" an oversized piece of furniture—architecture. Specifically, now it is a sofa that the customer has bought and the kitchen. A wardrobe and the drawers of the bed are all one thing and part of the "blue box."

TD You said that the work is a "canvas." To create, you must have had a source of inspiration. What was it?

OB Given our professional coming of age, our references were during the recession. We were inoculated with questions such as "how can we identify spaces?" and information such as "there are no square meters" and "Real estate has become more expensive", so we were concerned about the ways what we call micro-living could be done better. We had many references from projects of small apartments (he did not want to share any examples because of their large number) where they attempt, in a compact, solid way, to make life better for those who cannot get a larger residence. It is more of a philosophy and school of Architecture than a list of houses made by this or that architect.

TD What is this project’s luxury?

OB The experience of living in this space with the best possible conditions. It does look like a luxury project, but it's nothing like that. It's a matter of approach. Materiality doesn't matter as much as the architect's point of view. That's why we called it an "Example." It has applications in other areas as well.

OBLIQUE

Oblique is an architectural office based in Athens. It was founded in 2018 by Dimitris Hatziioakeimidis and Stella Livieratou. Through practice and research, their work deals with the production of space at all architectural scales (furniture, interiors, buildings, urban planning, landscaping). Their work experience and studies in Greece and abroad (Brussels, Rotterdam, London) allow them to offer architectural services for all phases of a project, from design to supervision and construction.

WWW.OBLQ.ORG

WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM/OBLIQUE_ARCHITECTURE

The success of Liknon, a project sweeping the architecture awards, is explained through two phrases from the founders of the architectural office K-Studio, which composed it. The phrase "we loved the project", as said during the awarding of the GRAIL Awards and "we had to get dirt under our nails" by Dimitris Karampatakis in his interview.

( GRAIL WINNERS )

K———STUDIO

Building Dissolves

Liknon is located in the home of the Metaxa brand in Samos, in a vineyard with more than a century of history. As a branded museum, it obeys the trend of the times but returns the brand to its roots. To them, along with the history of Metaxa, you learn to respect the natural environment that surrounds it. Dimitris Karampatakis, the co-founder of K-Studio and chief architect of the project, told us how branded museums should coexist with the museums we all know - the first offer "vertical" analysis, while the latter "horizontal." Vertical in the sense that you stand at one point, the brand, and penetrate its history.

This links the legendary spirit to its origins —and its beginning by Spyros Metaxas— at the end of the 19th century with Samos and the local Vine Growers' Association. This event created a deep connection between the brand and the island at both the production and community levels since all the vine growers who produce grapes for Metaxa wine have a long history.

According to Dimitris Karampatakis, "Something interesting we discovered while being in Samos was an incredible place under the village of Vourliotes. A certified organic Metaxa vineyard, over a hundred years old, located at an altitude of 800 meters from the sea, an ideal spot for the north winds to favor this unique crop." The Metaxa people told them all this on their first visit, "and I became emotionally attached, not only to the product but also to the place" added the Greek architect.

BUILDING INTEGRATED INTO ITS ENVIRONMENT

The agency wanted to make a building that "celebrates" the vineyard itself. The architects bet on the experience and the emotions it would evoke.

Even in a surrealistic sense, it had to capture that particular vineyard character whose antiquity makes wine so complex and Metaxa so special. "One ought to explore it in an even more special way, to walk under the vines, to see the composition of the soil that produces them. With this poetic approach, we wanted to create a story about the vine and the Metaxa family's appetite to showcase its value across the planet. And in this journey, we started to put the place first, the terroir, which we have to show in a way that is not a classic museum way, but by creating a feeling and experience for the visitor," says the agency's founding director.

But our conversation started from the beginning of the project: 'Five years ago, we were approached by Metaxa to participate in a competition to design a building that would tell its story. After the acquisition of the Greek brand by Remy Cointreau in 1991, the new owner aimed to position Metaxa worldwide as a drink of special quality. A fact that is true, although we take it a little for granted here in Greece. It is special in the craftmanship used to produce it - the commercial edition or a premium range such as the twelve-star, Reserve, or M. Within this, they wanted to evolve the product but also to deepen its roots in history."

In addition to the company's "Academy" -as they call it— at the factory in Kifissia, they wanted to take an extra step backward to say something even more unique: that this form of "cognac" (which is not, in fact) comes from Samian Muscat, a type of wine that gives it a particular, sweet taste — without sweeteners or sugar— and keeps it "alive" over time.

"As we walked around the plot with Marketing Manager Ms. Chouiti Konstantinidou and Master of Metaxa Konstantinos Raptis (each Master of Metaxa makes the vintages of Metaxa by selecting the wines and the spirit) walking through the plot and listening to all the history, we realized the need for a building that tells the story of the area and the brand to the visitors. Through the competition process, we formulated an architectural proposal that considered the history of the vineyard, the valley, the people of Vourliotes above, and the brand's relationship with the island's Wine Growers Association."

Then, they invite the visitor to reach a level from which the soil, clay, and gravel where the vines are rooted can be seen through a glass pane (measuring six by three meters, made in Italy because, in Greece, such a large glass pane cannot be produced). "Then you go back to the vineyard," Dimitris continues. If it's the right season, you pick up a grape and taste the beginning of everything.

Thanassis Diamantopoulos

Υπάρχουν και ποτά που μπορεί να μην δεις το αποτέλεσμά τους,

The next venue is time-focused:

"It's a living laboratory where Samiotiko has been kept for many years, and various tastings and spirits are created. There, the visitor can taste the time. There, we find that time softens everything. It sweetens, matures, and gives them character and the right complexity. Time makes all the tasty notes emerge. There are drinks in which you may not see the result, as the maturation process can take over forty years. And that gives you an incredible sense of humbleness. It connects you to the past."

GRAIL 2024. To έργο Metaxa Liknon,

(shortlisted) των European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Awards 2024.

Archello 2023

Architizer 2023.

The interview was conducted on the occasion of the K-Studio office receiving the Gold Architecture Award at GRAIL 2024. The Metaxa Liknon project has been shortlisted for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture—Mies van der Rohe Awards 2024. Among other awards, it has received the Archello 2023 magazine award and the A+ of Architizer 2023.

EMPATHY

Green Deal.

I want to give an example with one of my projects in the convergence of architecture, art, and environmental ecology, the representation of the catalpa in the Climate Parliament, presented at the 8th Biennale of Contemporary Art in Thessaloniki on the theme "Geoculture." The action aimed to recognize non-human living beings as equal members of the urban ecosystem and to cultivate an empathetic symbiosis. An important place in the conceptual constitution of my work is occupied by Joseph Beuys' iconic work, I Like America and America Likes Me (1974), in which the artist dressed as a shaman is imprisoned inside the gallery, along with a coyote feeds on the fat with which he is smeared. In an archetypal act of human and animal domestication, a relationship of intimacy and trust develops between the artist and the animal as it becomes his interlocutor over the days. Empathy here is about identifying with the state of the non-human being and understanding its function and behavior. The question is how empathy can become instrumental in the commons of the city, how it can become a methodological tool, not only for planning and shaping the urban landscape but also for sustainable conservation of where it proposes to care in place of confrontation, care as a vehicle for citizen activation in the European Green Deal.

*I am sharing with you the speech of the catalpa at the Climate Parliament.

Honorable members of the Climate Parliament, I am the catalpa bignonium, a flowering tree with large heart-shaped leaves and long capsule-shaped fruits. I am here to represent not only my species and genus but also our trees that have been cooling Thessaloniki for 60 years. As you say, Catalpa trees are generally beautiful and ornamental. Still, our most important property is that when we breathe, our large leaves capture three times as much carbon dioxide and produce three times as much oxygen as the average tree. This is how we protect you from pollution. Also, our foliage enhances biodiversity by hosting insects and birds and curbing the urban heat island effect, which is the stifling temperature rise in cities during heat waves.

People, for all your good intentions, be aware that these recent beautification prunings are hurting us irreparably. Cutting our branches brutally not only hurts us immensely - I inform you that we have a sense of pain - but after the amputation, our trunk reacts to the shock by filling up with gluttonous and voracious sprouts that have nothing to do with our lush foliage. By these actions, you are not only harming us, but also yourself. You are undermining our ability to sequester carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, regulate the microclimate, support biodiversity, and make our city more resilient to the effects of climate change.

Through this plan for a vote in non-human living beings' parliament, we call for an end to the amputation of our branches and for them to be replaced with regular light pruning. We also petition for the establishment of local groups to care for the tree lines of each neighborhood.

As dear partners in our efforts, we would like you to define Thessaloniki's subsoil. We call for removing the cement surfaces that cover it and creating perimeter paving and large trees on the pavements.

Catalpa bignonium (Catalpa bignonioides)

01.4.1

Kyklàda.press is a small publishing house or "publishing project" based in Athens founded in 2020, and already features a string of 10 solid books in its ever-growing catalog.

( INTERVIEW )

KYKLÀDA.PRESS

Kyklàda.press, an Athens-based publishing project established in 2020, presents a diverse array of 10 compact books within its growing catalog. Born under the guidance of David Bergé, kyklàda.press is a writing experiment immersing itself in the phenomena of the Aegean Archipelago. Each book is intertwined with the essence of life on the islands, such as public health, tourism, extraction, healing, infrastructures, beach topographies, vernacular, architecture, and the expression of lament and affection.

TM When did you start kyklàda.press? What was the idea behind it? Could you tell us a few words about your multidisciplinary, collective approach?

DB As an artist, I am primarily known for my Walk Pieces, a time-based and participative format I developed in 2008. I have been taking small groups of people in silence through precise trajectories in urban centers. In looking for ways to extend and materialize this practice differently, I started experimenting with writing in early 2019. Writing about space in material and embodied ways, similar to my Walk Pieces, where I don't verbally explain space but walk through it, in silence, over a specific rhythm and set dramaturgy, interacting with what's happening in the city while we pass, presently and historically.

Tina Marinaki

01.5.1

I wanted this writing to be distributed in physical form, and I knew making books during and post-COVID would be challenging given the amount of screentime we were facing and growing into during the first lockdown, as well as AI lingering around the corner. These elements would radically transform how people would deal with reading, books as objects, knowledge-based forms of writing, and content publishing. So I decided to make a compact object, light to ship and uncomplicated to take with you, a series with a recognizable cover design, where water, wind, and salt of the beach can become part of the reading experience by leaving their marks on our unlaminated covers.

I founded the imprint kyklàda.press in 2020 to distribute these books and find their way to readers. Each kyklàda book emerges from one central theme. Five to six contributors from different practices craft each book together, relaying knowledge from lived experiences on islands: archaeologies of moods, expressions of desire and grief, affection and pain, constructed landscapes, human geographies, and historical (dis)continuities.

The book landscape has changed tremendously since 2020; today, you see many more small books on the market and a new art space: the art book store. This space brings together many ideas and aesthetics, whereas in galleries and more conventional art spaces, the experience proposed is often centered around one aesthetic. Medium-sized books have taken the form of e-publishing, and artist monographs and architecture coffee tables have taken larger proportions than before 2020.

Together with performance artist Ant Hampton, I have in 2023 founded Time Based Editions, another imprint under the same umbrella, let’s say kyklàda’s queer sister: A series of books where you scan a QR code on the back cover activating a soundtrack on your phone, in which an artist guides you through the book, mainly consisting of visual materials. While browsing the physical book, the soundtrack sets a time-based experience in place. The first book is out now, consisting of 77 minutes and 232 pages.

TM Your catalog already counts ten titles. How do you choose each topic?

DB Again, I listen to and respond to our time and place, just like with a Walk Piece. Sometimes, by precisely describing an event in the past, you let the reader make the connection to the present tense themselves. In 2020, we came out with “Public Health in Crisis,” a book edited by Dimitra Kondylatou, speaking about islands and quarantine measurements centered around the lazaretti in Syros. A year later, we published “Architectures of Healing,” looking into more holistic approaches to bodily and mental health; this book, with contributions by Antigone Samellas and Milica Ivić, published in 2021, explores architecture and elementary forms of care and healing, starting at the Αsklepieia, the ancient healing temples, trying to imagine what these places could be today. At that time, well into the second lockdown, people were craving other healing ideas.

But we also did a book on Extraction, with Lydia Xynogala and Aslı Özdoyuran, on how mineral evidence was historically produced, disseminated, and capitalized upon in the Aegean region. I often initiate and further develop the book in dialogue with the editors and contributing writers. Books get crafted together; it’s an experiment where the unfolding of an initial idea is hard to foresee until it’s there.

TM Your approach focuses on producing texts inspired by the Cycladic islands. How did your engagement with the Cyclades begin? What makes these islands important to you?

DB The islands in the Aegean Sea represent an incredible convergence of human civilizations, extreme heterogeneity, and local ecosystems. What makes the islands' topography fascinating is that more than half of them remain hidden inside the sea.

TM "The Beach Machine" frames the beach as a machine and discusses its iconic spatial typology. Could you briefly describe the aim of the book and the collection of texts?

GP If the Greek hospitality sector is widely likened to an industry, then its main factory floor is the beach and the coastal space more generally. While this is not a contested framing, its impacts are less appreciated. The beach is often understood as a leisurely space, thus neglecting its defining qualities as part of what Keller Easterling has called infrastructure space.

Therefore, the book, which we co-edited with Phevos Kallitsis and David, approaches the beach as a spatial product, one that is configured logistically and is multiplied throughout the global sunbelt. The contents attempt to shed light on this operational nature and its attributes: the spatial protocols, material maintenance, and engineered landscapes. From traces of moving sands in Lefkada island to mirror postwar developments in Delos and Mykonos, and from historical and bodily explorations of the Athenian Riviera to rituals surrounding eco-certification schemes, the texts frame the beach as a machine with protocols of operation and metabolic needs that direct the capture of land and bodies while establishing forms of environmental control.

TM In your book The Beach Machine, you mention “The beach as a contested space and the Blue Flag as a performative spatial inscription and a protocol of a standardized human-centered experience of place.”

GP Building upon the metaphor above, the factory space of the beach could only have its own standardization protocols. Well-known in Greece, the so-called “Blue Flag” is a scheme that rewards the sustainable treatment of coasts. Unlike other certificates and standardization badges that often remain “mundane” background protocols, in Greece, the Blue Flag is accompanied by yearly celebrations that sometimes take the form of elaborate performative rituals: the flag is carried, hoisted, and celebrated in quasi-religious and often televised processions. In my research, I read these patterned performances as a cultural text to argue that the rich symbolic work of the Blue Flag is essentially a process of shaping environmental subjects while capturing the terrain and standardizing a type of environmental experience. The Blue Flag provides a mechanism for managerial control of and governance over the bounded space of the beach.

Crucially, however, the references to the environment are, in practice, decoupled from the biogeophysical materiality and are instead underpinned by an understanding of the environment as a national-cultural landscape and a part of the hospitality services on offer. This does not mean that the symbolic work at play around the Flag is empty or disingenuous but instead points to how the "environment" is functioning as a discursive narrative device more than a material one.

TM “The Cycladic Landscape is both rural and urban,” you state on your website.

DB At kyklàda.press, we believe the islands are not exotic entities alone in the sea waters. Islands remain interconnected with the mainland and each other, from the top of the mountains to the hidden topographies of the sea bed: a myriad of creatures and non-organic matter that lives in constant symbiosis with water, tectonic plates, fossil fuel pipes, and data cables. If you look at the vegetation on the city hills of Athens, they're quite a Cycladic continuation.

The peculiar urban nature of the Aegean archipelago has been discussed by geographers, sociologists, and architects/ urbanists—an encompassing example being Greece's participation in the 10th Venice Biennale of Architecture, with a catalog titled "The dispersed urbanity of the Aegean Archipelago." This is an extended urbanization expressed spatially not so much in "cities" but in operations, infrastructural intensities, and programmatic densities that the islands in the global sunbelt are charged with seasonally. At the same time, especially regarding the Cyclades, we should not forget that their postwar human and cultural geographies are co-constructed with those of Athens (from neighborhood clustering of islander communities in Athens to the workforce and capital flows between the two, etc).

TM "Islands After Tourism" addresses the discussion on overtourism that started to emerge but insists on escaping the "monoculture of tourism" instead of the "recent efforts towards the restoration of a previous status quo that had developed unchecked" "within the cosmologies of tourism." Could you tell us more?

GP In the past couple of years, it has been encouraging to see the concerns about over-tourism being discussed in mainstream media, and it is even more encouraging to see communities organizing their own forms of resistance. However, these efforts reveal a rather administrative concern over tourism and its impacts and not so much a desire to escape its grip fully. Actually, in many instances of the popular discourse, the various forms of "sustainability talk" are intended to resolve frictions inherent in problems of environmental impacts, capital intensity, project scale, and geographic unevenness while essentially preserving—if not altogether safeguarding—the current monocultures of tourism. Again, this is not meant to downplay the importance of the various forms of resistance in discourse and practice we saw in the previous summers but rather to suggest, as the book does, that we also need some radical rethinking of what we want to do at the shores and the coasts. Perhaps, to defend the public accessibility and environmental significance of our coasts, first, it's necessary to imagine alternative programs for them beyond summer plunges and sunbathing.

TM The architecture of tourism has stereotypically been considered a vehicle for modernizing Greece through the emergence of constructed tourism landscapes (hotels and resorts, organized beaches, archaeological sites and museums, public space designs, and infrastructure facilities). How has tourism reshaped the Greek national identity?

GP Indeed, tourism has served as a vehicle of modernization for many coastal and island nations worldwide. Greece is no exception, and excellent scholarship provides comprehensive accounts of these stories, especially regarding the country's postwar reconstruction efforts. One less explored aspect is how the hosts' identity is reshaped by the ongoing environmental anxieties and "green turns" of the hospitality sector. In my research, which was ongoing in parallel to the preparation of the book, I found that various stakeholders in the hospitality industry increasingly position themselves as stewards and guardians of the biogeophysical environment, seeing it as the critical infrastructure that makes their industry seductive in the first place. This implies a process in which the socio-technical mechanisms of the tourism industry are reoriented and conveniently reframed as practices of care for the landscapes that constitute the "infrastructures of the summer.

The apparatus of this relatively novel and evolving relationship, which involves not only hotels, operators, and tourists but also municipalities, NGOs, civilian associations, research institutes, activists, awards, standards, and new technologies, is what I call the stewardship-hospitality complex. In Greece, a country where more than one-fifth of the working population takes the role of the "host," at least in some capacity, the management of the environmental experience on offer is tethered to the project of hospitality in a sort of large-scale "coastal housekeeping." Environmental stewardship becomes a function of the tourism apparatus, and thereby, both the subjects as "the hosts" and their territory are remade.

TM Do you think we have been "stuck with tourism"? Can an alternative future outside the "monoculture of tourism" be imagined? What would an alternative program of the coastal front look like?

GP These are concerns we have been exploring in the context of a research fellowship at the Yale Environmental Humanities program, of which the book is a part. I would say that these questions are not there to be answered definitively but to suggest specific frames of thinking. Research has shown that many aspects of Greece's coastal geographies have been heavily conditioned by tourism in ways that create dependencies that are difficult to escape from. These influences may refer to socioeconomic factors, as, for example, happens in Messinia, where a very large-scale hospitality organization employs a significant number of locals and alters the structure of territorial ownership (from smallholders to land consolidation), creating dependencies and subsequently shaping development priorities for the entire region. On top of that, I would argue that the stewardship-hospitality complex doubles down on these dependencies.

The pairing of tourism and environmental management —as a pairing of necessity with funding and as a possible public-private partnership— ostensibly appears so ideal that it strengthens the staying power of the first while making the second dependent on it.

Articulating alternative programs is a more complex pursuit than any book can address and must be a plural endeavor. For our part, let's just say we bring together some seeds with potential. In The Beach Machine, Eleni Grapsa recalls past collecting sea shells and fishing activities. At the same time, in the Islands After Tourism, Angelos Varvaroussis draws on Gavdos to narrate a different way to inhabit the coastal landscape outside current land ownership models, and Yorgos Efharis is quoted to refer to a coast used as infrastructure for climate change mitigation. In my text, I try to think of what it would mean to put the hospitality machine in reverse. I am interested in hospitality as the apparatus that makes mobilities possible. An infrastructural inversion of this apparatus foregrounds a huge reserve with the capacity of hosting, independent of any particular flows. Putting this machine in reverse, after acknowledging its weaknesses, violence, and injustices, is not about stopping it: it is about showing that, at least in the context of the Eastern Mediterranean, it can accommodate mobilities from the East to the West, as well as it has for decades accommodated flows from the West to East. This may sound too specific a proposition, but in any case, the book argues for programs that pluralize the current monocultures of tourism, following an anti-utopian habit of mind that needs to be bold as it will be absurd.

DB That’s what you’d have to buy the book for!

George

The Beach Machine: Making and Operating the Mediterranean Coastline (2022) και

Islands After Tourism, Escaping the Monocultures of Leisure (2023).

Stanley Tigerman: Drawing on the Ineffable,

Yale University Press στα

2024.

Footprint, Šum, Log, Clog, Cartha

Paprika.

George Papam holds a Master of Environmental Studies from Yale University and previously studied Applied Geography at Harokopio University and Architecture at NTUA in Athens. In 2019, he was a fellow at the Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture, and Design. His current research project focuses on the overlaps between environmental management and the hospitality industry, but he is interested more broadly in the study of infrastructures, geographic media, the urbanization of the countryside, and the social construction of environmental knowledge. For kyklàda. press, George co-edited The Beach Machine: Making and Operating the Mediterranean Coastline (2022) and Islands After Tourism, Escaping the Monocultures of Leisure (2023). He is the editor of the upcoming Stanley Tigerman: Drawing on the Ineffable, to be published by Yale University Press in late 2024, and has contributed to journals and periodicals such as Footprint, Šum, Log, Clog, Cartha, and Paprika.

(MHKA),

Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD),

Spector Books, Jap Sam Books

MER. Paper Kunsthalle.

PUBLISHING ATHENS

Time Based Editions.

In the work of David Bergé, audiences experience a journey through hybrid and post-digital formats, including timebased installations, site-specific interventions, and text pieces, both spoken and printed. But Bergé is best known for his Walk Pieces, in which he guides small groups of people on a silent walk, exploring the sensation of the physical and climatic conditions of the built environment. Recent commissions and presentations include the Museum Of Contemporary Art Antwerp (MHKA), Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD), MOMus Thessaloniki, and Amado Art Space in Seoul. He was invited as an artist in residency at Pivô in São Paulo, the Cape Cod Modern House Trust in Wellfleet, USA, and Beta-Local in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He published books with, among others, Spector Books, Jap Sam Books, and MER. Paper Kunsthalle. In Athens, he founded PHOTOGRAPHIC EXPANDED PUBLISHING ATHENS as a platform for material and embodied forms of writing, which currently has two imprints: kyklàda.press and Time Based Editions.

WWW.DAVIDBERGE.INFO

kyklàda.press books can be purchased online and in a network of 88 selected bookshops and museum shops all over Greece, Europe, the UK, and North America. More info on their website:

WWW.KYKLADA.PRESS

The 2024 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Awards were held in Barcelona, celebrating notable architectural work. This year's finalists, as announced by the European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, contribute to innovation, sustainability, and community enhancement. Archisearch Paper Edition presents the finalists, sharing the values of Europe’s best architectural practices.

MIES VAN DER ROHE 2024

Best practices through the finalists

At this year’s Architecture category, among the distinguished finalists were the Plato Contemporary Art Gallery in Ostrava, Czech Republic, by KWK Promes; the Study Pavilion on the Campus of the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany, by Gustav Düsing & Max Hacke; the Reggio School in Madrid, Spain by Andres Jaque/ Office For Political Innovation; the Rebirth of the Convent Saint-François in Corsica, France by Amelia Tavella Architectes; and the Häge in Lund, Sweden by Brendeland & Kristoffersen Architects. Each project advocates inclusive living environments, particularly in areas that have been overlooked or forgotten. The Emerging category highlighted groundbreaking projects by up-and-coming architects, including the Gabriel García Márquez Library in Barcelona, Spain, by SUMA Arquitectura, and the Square and Tourist Office in Piódão, Portugal, by Branco del Rio. The projects aim to redefine the essence of community spaces in smaller, often rural, locales while remaining unique in their geographical and cultural contexts.

As we celebrate the winners, the focus remains on the finalists' collaborative milestones. Their works serve as paradigms for local and global city policies, championing high-quality, sustainable living environments that promote a strong sense of community.

THE FIVE ARCHITECTURE FINALISTS

Plato Contemporary Art Gallery PLATO, Městská Galerie Současného Umění

ΠΟΛΗ

Ostrava,

Promes,

Plato Contemporary Art Gallery PLATO, Městská Galerie Současného Umění

CITY Ostrava, Czech Republic

ARCHITECTS

KWK Promes, Katowice, Poland

CLIENT City of Ostrava

PROGRAM

Culture

By saving a historic building and turning it into an art gallery, we have introduced a solution that makes art more democratic. By rotating the walls in an unusual way, it goes outside the building. We transformed the space around the gallery, which had previously been contaminated, into a biodiverse art park for the benefit of residents.

THE FIVE ARCHITECTURE FINALISTS

Σχολή Reggio Colegio Reggio

ΠΟΛΗ

Andrés Jaque /

Reggio School

Reggio School

Colegio Reggio

CITY Madrid, Community of Madrid, Spain

ARCHITECTS

Andrés Jaque / Office For Political Innovation, Madrid, Spain

CLIENT Reggio School PROGRAM Education

The design, construction, and use of the Reggio School are intended to exceed the paradigm of sustainability and engage with ecology as an approach where environmental impact, more-than-human alliances, material mobilization, collective governance, and pedagogies intersect through architecture.

01.6.3

[ ARCHITECTURE WINNER 2024 ]*

THE FIVE ARCHITECTURE FINALISTS

Studierendenhaus TU Braunschweig

Technische Universität Braunschweig

Study Pavilion on the campus of the Technical University of Braunschweig

Studierendenhaus TU Braunschweig

CITY Braunschweig, Lower Saxony,Germany

ARCHITECTS

Gustav Düsing, Berlin, and Max Hacke, Berlin, Germany

CLIENT Technische Universität Braunschweig

PROGRAM

Education

The newly built Study Pavilion on the grounds of the Technical University Braunschweig is an open-space concept designed to accommodate various student activities. The concept follows the principle of a super-structure, which allows the user to change and re-configure the building layout to meet ever-changing requirements in a fast-developing campus context. Through high flexibility in layout, the Pavilion becomes ephemeral and thus responsive, ensuring a long-lasting relevance as a new type of campus building.

THE FIVE ARCHITECTURE FINALISTS

Ανοικοδόμηση του μοναστηριού Saint-François Renaissance du Couvent Saint-François

Rinascimentu di u Cunventu Saint-François

ΠΟΛΗ

Sainte-Lucie-de-Tallano/ Santa Lucia di Tallà,

Amelia Tavella Architectes, Aix en Provence,

Collectivité de Corse

Rebirth of the Convent Saint-François Renaissance du Couvent Saint-François

Rinascimentu di u Cunventu Saint-François

CITY Sainte-Lucie-de-Tallano/ Santa Lucia di Tallà, Corsica, France

ARCHITECTS

Amelia Tavella Architectes, Aix en Provence, France

CLIENT Collectivité de Corse

PROGRAM Culture

This building, built in 1480 and listed as a historical monument, partially in ruins, was dormant. The architect had to rebuild it without separating from the vestiges of the past. “I believe in higher and invisible forces. Housed at a height on its promontory, it was a defensive castle before being a place of prayer or retreat, chosen by monks aware of the absolute beauty of the site. Faith rallies to the sublime."

CITY Lund, Scania County, Sweeden

ARCHITECTS

Brendeland & Kristoffersen Architects, Oslo, Norway

CLIENT Lund Cathedral

PROGRAM Landscape

“Hage” is a high–quality public space that should both work as a shortterm space for public discussion, events, and workshops while also, in a long-term perspective, offering a meditative, beautiful urban space and garden at the heart of a new neighborhood. Open to everyone, it is a response to how to build a new community: start with social space.

Gabriel García Márquez

Biblioteca Gabriel García Márquez

Gabriel García Márquez Library

Biblioteca Gabriel García Márquez

CITY

Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

ARCHITECTS

SUMA Arquitectura, Madrid, Spain

CLIENT

BIMSA Barcelona Municipality

PROGRAM

Education

The García Márquez is a pioneering and landmark library that culminates a three-decade plan building these facilities in Barcelona. It serves a working class and vindictive neighborhood, lacking significant investment for years, that demanded its "people's palace" ever since.

Square and Tourist Office

CITY Piódão, Central Portugal, Portugal

ARCHITECTS

Branco del Rio, Coimbra, Portugal

CLIENT Câmara Municipal Arganil

PROGRAM

Urban planning

The only flat and open area of the steeped village of Piódão has been given back its identity as a welcoming lobby and gathering place. What was previously a parking lot has been redesigned, paved, and partially shaded using traditional materials and techniques. The space was given back to its people following their material and constructive culture.

The discussion with Dimitris Potiropoulos, architect and head of Potiropoulos+Partners, is about tourism architecture. We find ourselves, however, under unexpected philosophical shelters, such as that of architecture in addition to the "eye-centered mentality" and habitation reconciled with nature, the man who "is-in-the-world," as well as in the design of Slow Living Resort in the Cyclades, and the Costa Navarino villas.

LEISURE—OR PHILOSOPHICAL— ARCHITECTURE

A talk with Dimitris Potiropoulos

Danai Makri

DM Your path in architecture spans several years, so you have crystallized experience. How have the narrative and the result of the architecture evolved over the years you have been working as an architect?

DP Architecture allows us to understand the dialectic of permanence and change, to place it on the continuum of culture and time, and to find our place within it. It must perceive the dynamic social and environmental developments, predict, and give answers, mediating between the present and the future, the material and the spiritual, human connections and individuals.

What architecture needs most today is exactly what our lives need as well: the Fundamental, in the sense of the archetypal values of living, which have been neglected, and the Honesty, the Authentic, in response to the tendency to impress. When you defend the right to the Fundamental and the Authentic in your building, you defend the Fundamental and the Authentic, both socially and environmentally, as an inevitable, reciprocal relationship. Architecture can strengthen our contact with the world and ourselves and support our life's counterpoint within the depth of the historicity and spirituality of human existence. This requires a deep understanding of the human condition, given that architecture shapes social behaviors. "As the environment in which our lives unfold has lost its human meaning," says Juhani Pallasma, "the purpose of art and architecture is to re-mythologize, re-sensitize and re-eroticize our relationship with the world." Once again, the discussion returns to the poetic dimension of architecture. I do not perceive this search for its poetic essence as a utopia but as a necessity. Architecture must serve society with new ethics and consciousness, free from the shackles of an eye-centric, "projection design," environmentally and socially unsustainable mindset, envisioning "ideas" and "images" of an ideal life. If we succeed in this, we shall have rendered a great service to our biological and moral nature.

Regarding architectural language, I already answered your first question. There is, and is not understood, a "specialized" language for the typologies related to tourism and hospitality. Every architect's approach is or should be, uniform and consistent — in terms of content and expression — regardless of the type of building he deals with.

DM Nowadays, private holiday homes and hotels have skyrocketed the turnover of Greek architects. How do you assess this trend in terms of its long-term outlook for architectural firms?

DP I think it's a temporary thing. It will take some time, and then this hyperactivity in the field of tourism will normalize, or at least I hope and pray that it will normalize so that we do not become like Spain. In Greece, architectural production works in cycles: 1980 was the period of hospitals due to the development of the National Health Service, the 2000 of the Olympic projects, and today of tourism. In the interim, we watched the "explosion" of luxury homes, mainly in the northern suburbs of Athens, of gourmet restaurants, and, in general, lifestyle in its excess. Greece has its own paradoxical way of perceiving and metabolizing developments. What we should discuss is, on the one hand, how the Greek architectural offices will become extroverted, addressing the global community to enrich their experience and performances, and on the other hand, how to be able to co-shape contemporary trends and not follow them from afar. Which means they have to be exposed to research. All this wealth should be imported into our domestic world, indirectly educating the Greek society so that it starts to think differently. This may all seem ambitious, but it's a challenge worth seeing.

01.7.2

In the section dedicated to Athens, Fodor's mentions that excessive tourism and the lack of strategic management cause problems in the Acropolis and the surrounding areas, degrading the daily life of the capital's residents. Sounding alarm bells, the article's authors pointed out that the Athenian districts will be culturally eroded if the wave of visitors continues unchecked. At the same time, the National Committee of the International Council of Monuments says that excessive visits to the Acropolis could cause irreversible damage. Athens, however, is one of many destinations in Greece that are burdened by the problem of mass, uncontrolled tourism. In Malia, Crete, mass tourism has brought changes to the landscape; the same is happening in Kavos, Corfu. In Pelion, there is a burst in arrivals, in the villages of Arcadia as well, and the same goes for the islands. No one knows what these places will be like in a few years without proper planning for sustainable management of tourist flows.

περιορισμούς που αποσκοπούν στον έλεγχο των ζητημάτων και των παράπλευρων απωλειών του υπερτουρισμού, ενθαρρύνοντας τους εμπλεκόμενους να αναλάβουν την ευθύνη να καταστήσουν τον τουρισμό βιώσιμο. Ο υπεύθυνος τουρισμός είναι πολυδιάστατος, χαρακτηρίζεται από μορφές τουρισμού

It is not surprising that many tourist hubs around the world are taking initiatives and setting restrictions aimed at controlling the issues and collateral losses of over-tourism, encouraging those involved to take responsibility for making tourism sustainable. Responsible tourism is multidimensional, characterized by forms that minimize negative economic, environmental, and social impacts while contributing to the preservation of each place's natural and cultural heritage and global diversity. The solution for us is precisely this: to turn our model into a responsible, i.e., sustainable, form of tourism. Therefore, the problem of over-tourism is administrative, not political; it cannot be addressed through architecture.

DM I would also like a comment on the cultural and economic consequences — positive or negative — of Greece's significant tourism development.

DP After several years of recession due to the pandemic, it is true that the travel sector is booming in our country, which can be positive for local economies. Still, it also has significant disadvantages, such as a burden on public resources, lower quality of life for locals, and reduced visitor experience, to name just a few. One of the latest editions of 'No List' focuses on three main areas - over-tourism, pollution, and water quality and adequacy - which not only harm the destinations themselves but also local communities. Athens is in the second place on the list, with Venice in first place after the damage caused to the lagoon's ecosystem by cruise ships.

DM Do you think the demand for hotels shapes new architectural typologies? What do you like about the contemporary architectural language of tourism architecture, and what troubles you about it?

DP To some extent, architectural typologies, like architecture itself, are dynamically shaped. They reflect, as is typical and to be expected, the needs of society or, in extreme commercial ethics, they artificially generate "desires for sale" according to the marketing respective, which should not be the case. All this has to be

01.7.3

balanced. Regarding the architectural language, I already answered your first question. A "specialized" language for the typologies related to tourism and hospitality cannot exist or be fathomed. The approach of every architect is or should be, uniform and consistent - in terms of content and expression - regardless of the type of building he deals with.

Αν μπορούσε να δοθεί μια απάντηση στο ερώτημα της διαφοροποίησης

DM In a world where global and local influences often collide, what do cultural sensitivity and environmental consistency ultimately mean to you?

DP The modern world of design is like a future almost without a past. At the beginning of the last century, Modernism tried to cut itself off from memory; it was not based on evolution but on intersection. In his exaggeration, some spoke of an absolute abolition of memory. But atavistically, there is continuity; in fact, we operate within things that pre-exist. When I think about architecture, when I design, I have no desire to abort or erase the past; there is the factor of memory in my conscious and subconscious, or even in the unconscious; there is, at the same time, the expectation of the "new." The "chance" - when you try to create something, the process is not entirely rationalizedcomes and eventually co-shapes the thought. I am not obsessed with the past, even though, as

we said, everything has a historical context, a beginning, and is subject to changes as a product of time. However, I have "nostalgia" in the sense of the mood of "inclusion," although the term is not tested for what the memory evokes emotionally as an experience. Like the morning Attic light, an image of olive groves, the Greek summer, or the traditional settlements of the islands. Or even the introversion of the yard, the shadow beneath the pergola wrapped in vines, the scent of nature. All these, as "fragments" somewhere in a second reading, are inherent in the office's plans. But our direction is forward. I am not concerned with the timeless or the super-temporal.

For me, cultural sensitivity and environmental consistency are the "Fundamental" and the "Authentic", as I already told you. That means sustainability over time. If an answer could be given to the question of differentiating sustainable from unsustainable design, it would be to ensure a language that does not burden the natural environment and the cultural status, from an eco-centric, cultural perspective, its opposition to absolute commercialization, from a socio-centric point of view, and the vision of an "ideal" future, which may never come, from a poetic point of view, because without dreams we cannot live.

ΔΜ Μιλήστε μας για τη σχεδιαστική λογική στις βίλες του Costa Navarino.

ΔΠ Εννοιολογικά η «ηθική» του σχεδιασμού στις βίλες μας στο Costa Navarino προκύ-

πτει από το «habitus», δηλαδή τις «συνήθειες», σχετίζεται με τον τρόπο ζωής, με την ατμόσφαιρα της διαβίωσης, δεν απευθύνεται άμεσα στο κτίριο/κατασκευή,

που επινοήθηκε δεν είναι μια ειδυλλιακή, εικονογραφική μεταφορά, αλλά μια διαρκής εντατική διάδραση που προτρέπει τον χρήστη να αφουγκραστεί τη συνομιλία του Τόπου -Πελοπόννησος, Μεσσηνία- με τον σύγχρονο τρόπο κατοίκησης. Ο διάλογος αυτός, όπως εκφράζεται χωρικά, διαθέτει υλικότητα, πυκνότητα, βαρύτητα, θερμοκρασία και ακουστική ποιότητα, στοιχεία που δεν έχουν να κάνουν με αφηρημένες έννοιες αλλά με μια εμπεριστατωμένη εμπειρία.

Στοχεύσαμε σε μια αρχιτεκτονική εκφραστική και ανθρώπινη,

DM Tell us about the design logic of Costa Navarino villas.

DP Conceptually, the "ethics" of the design in our villas in Costa Navarino derives from the "habitus," i.e., the "habits" it is related to the way of life, to the atmosphere of living, not addressed directly to the building/construction, but mainly to the experience which this creates. The narrative devised is not an idyllic, pictorial metaphor but a continuous intensive interaction that urges the user to listen to the conversation of the Place - Peloponnese, Messiniawith the modern way of living. This dialogue, as expressed spatially, has materiality, density, gravity, temperature, and acoustic quality, elements that have nothing to do with abstract concepts but with thorough experience.

01.7.4

We aimed for an architecture that was expressive and humane, integrated and calm, with controlled reversals and multiple readings. In this measured and, at the same time, narrative architectural discourse, which combines the "modern" with the "traditional" components, the "new" with the memory, an "idea" prevails and goes beyond clichéd design gestures as it listens to the world of history and myth.

αν ακούγεται σε συνάρτηση με την αλματώδη εξέλιξη της

DM The need for "luxury" is in stark contrast to the austerity of Greek life and landscape, as shaped by our social truth. However, investors and new residents are looking for "Greekness." Is this a contradiction? And what does the architect advise?

DP Today, "luxury" - and "Greekness" if you like - is the return to nature. I am referring to an architecture that includes in its philosophy the concept of "mother earth," highlighting the connection of the human condition with the empirical understanding and experience of the elements that make up our natural surroundings or their extension. For Heidegger, only in a dwelling reconciled with nature is man "in-the-world" and in a secure relationship with it. "We must build in the way we cultivate the land," he argues, "... we only live in the countryside, rooted in the soil, in familiar memory." The stake is in a way of design, which, as contradictory as it may sound in relation to the leaping development of technology, seeks to render, literally and figuratively, a sense of nature to awaken relationships that have been neglected due to the modern way of life.

Contemporary spatial quality and experience should be linked to the reinvention of a new narrative

around the question of sustainability through the reversal of established practices that have led to today's environmental crisis. The natural and artificial environment is now an event to be recognized and reinterpreted. Given the imperatives of sustainability, the developing idea for the architectural space cannot be neutral with regard to the requirements of habitation. Man's contact with nature and the earth is a fundamental survival issue.

DM What is the narrative of the Slow Living Resort in the Cyclades for your specific point of view and architecture?

DP In Slow Living Resort, the compositional handling does not suggest spectacular gestures; it focuses on the long-rooted local idiom. It seeks to offer "a lot" through what is already there. His intention is not to create a "building-complex monument" but an open system that includes in its philosophy the concept of wellness, allowing light, air, and greenery, as well as the change of seasons and colors, to pass through it. From the outset, the perspective of a multi-sensory experience in nature was a primary concern. The general design canvas follows 01.7.5

the forces of the field, sets limits, divides, and simultaneously unites and produces space. With single-story volumes organized into a basic spine that forms the core with public functions, the sidewalk grid, and the perimeter ring, both the masterplan structure and the architectural language hearken back to the inherent austerity of local architecture. The central square - an archetypal place familiar and full of memories - is treated as the heart of the whole. With a clear reference to the cultural-social background of the Cycladic settlements, the center of the complex is transformed into a place of celebration of life itself. The visitor experiences a continuous, flowing experience from function to function, from the "certain" and more "formal" to what is more "abstract" and "everyday." Following the geometric randomness of the general arrangement, as it takes shape tracing the sculptural stone walls along the network of sidewalks, the accommodation buildings of stone and some plaster are integrated and balanced into the terrain undulations. Their sheltered, Mediterranean courtyards open to the view, forming a continuation of the interior spaces; the "inside" and the "outside" are unified. The poetics of materials have their own symbolism and vocabulary, while the interaction with light allows unexpected relationships and contrasts to emerge, captivating the eye. Public and private "gardens" embrace the buildings, reminiscent of a territorial extension, like an elevation of the landscape. Nature dominates. "Slow Living Resort" is soft; it adapts to the natural relief, recedes in places, and at the same time, it declares its presence. "From one end to the other of space, in a continuous, experiential present, Man exists."

ενώ μετασχηματίζονται συνεχώς. Ο συνθετικός χειρισμός «διαλύει» τα όρια μεταξύ ανθρωπογενούς και φυσικού περιβάλλοντος σκηνοθετώντας στον χώρο κτιριακούς όγκους ελεύθερης γεωμετρίας, σαν

DM Are there landscapes that irresponsible construction due to tourism has already been destroyed? How could architects "save" these areas, and what example does the Active Materiality complex have?

DP Throughout history, man has struggled with nature in pursuit of harmonious coexistence with it. Raphael Lamar West's work "Hercules Slaying the Hydra" precisely captures the intensity of this effort. Contrary to what our ancestors did, modern humans have developed a counterpoint to nature. Now, as we enter the third millennium, we realize that in order to survive, we have to protect it, to live with it.

Regarding the idea of Active Materiality, beyond the mythological dimension, which I will not analyze here, one cannot help but notice the contemporary similarity of the shapes in West's painting with those of the topography in the project area. In particular, with the irregular, lacy border of the coastline, as the beach fades away to meet the water. This curvilinear soil structure also characterizes the relief of the broader area of Argolis, which consists of gentle hills, elsewhere stronger soil uplifts, reminiscent of a wave painting while constantly transforming. Synthetic manipulation "dissolves" the boundaries between man-made and natural environments by staging building volumes of free geometry in space, like large-scale natural stone carvings, as an extension of the landscape. The goal of the design was for the buildings to leave the smallest possible footprint on the local nature, being a continuation of the land, to "become one" with it.

DM Can you foresee specific trends for Greek architecture?

DP In today's global society, there is a paradoxical coherence of disparate, contradictory elements, which is also reflected in modern architectural production, where coherence connects in a state of delicate balance these pieces, but not completely. In this dynamic, what is observed in principle is a destabilization of philosophical and complex views and searches in architecture in the sense of the presence of ambiguity and gray zones, which evoke ideas of transformation in directions that are not known. I believe that architecture is entering a new phase, one that has many question marks. I don't think I can make predictions.

01.7.6

The problem of abandoned listed buildings becomes evident with a simple tour of Athens and many other Greek cities. Dianeosis' new policy document, signed by Nikos Triantafyllopoulos, Assistant Professor of the Department of Planning, Urban Design and Regional Development of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Thessaly, focuses on the development of listed buildings and attempts to propose solutions.

( RESEARCH )

A PROPOSAL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF LISTED BUILDINGS IN GREECE

The problem of abandoned listed buildings becomes evident with a simple tour of Athens and many other Greek cities. Buildings of architectural and historical value stand derelict, vacant, and unused, often causing outrage at their state and possibly posing a danger to the safety of citizens.

Although no official data is available on the total number and condition of listed abandoned buildings, the problem in Greek cities is evident and significant and affects the life of entire neighborhoods. An unofficial survey and autopsy in 2014 around Omonia Square in Athens alone identified 267 buildings. Of these buildings in this small area, more than a third, 92, were abandoned, and their total area was approximately 150,000 square meters. How many of these buildings could, with the help of the State, be brought back to life?

The new policy document of Dianeosis, signed by Nikos Triantafyllopoulos, Assistant Professor of the Department of Planning, Urban and Regional Development Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Thessaly, focuses on developing listed buildings. He points out the regulatory regime in which they are placed after their designation and comments on the obstacles, contradictions, and gaps that prevent the "revitalization" of these buildings and, by extension, the areas where they are located.

However, the text is much more than mere observations. Its main contribution is that it attempts to propose solutions: it formulates an evidence-based scheme based on existing legislation and follows the recommendations of international organizations to address the problem. If implemented, it could potentially significantly mitigate the issue and lead to the use of many listed buildings.

Before exploring possible solutions, it is better to understand the problem better. Unsurprisingly, listed buildings and monuments are internationally recognized as an essential element in the identity of a place and its development. But what can a state do to promote and exploit them, especially when individuals own them? Under the current regulations, the state stipulates that buildings designated as listed must remain unaltered, to a greater or lesser extent, and often their specific uses. It also becomes mandatory for their owners to restore and maintain them, which is usually very difficult to do in practice.

Nikos Triantafyllopoulos diaNEOsis

KKMK Architects is one of the new, ambitious, and promising Greek offices that have already started their activities abroad. Kate Karagianni and Marina Karamali are currently working on a hotel in Egypt and one in Indonesia while sharing their experience, aiming to inspire more —especially new— offices to follow this direction.

( ARCHITECT’S DIARY )

ADVENTURES OF THE ARCHITECT

KKMK

goes from Egypt to Indonesia

Having gained a reputation for creating spaces that combine innovative design with respect for local architectural traditions as well as for the natural and cultural context of the location, KKMK Architects Marina Karamali and Kate Karagianni have managed within a short period to expand their activity and their clientele significantly.

Στο

"At this moment, Greek architects have a unique opportunity. Many of our foreign clients know, trust, and entrust us to their projects in other countries. We must and can all create a solid status for Greek architectural firms. On the other hand, customers have found us even... through Instagram", say Kate and Marina.

Specifically, in Egypt, KKMK Architects work in an environment where tourism development is concentrated on the northern coast, with construction progressing at an impressive pace. The endless desert and beach are dominated by intense reconstruction and offer an opportunity for architects to introduce more qualitative design elements and shape tourism products that are both accessible and exclusive. "What impresses us is that all these new hotels are of quality but still do not address an international clientele, rather the locals themselves."

Danai Makri

At the Zoya Rituals Hotel, Kate and Marina have taken over the interior design. "After the Arab Spring, the coasts of North Africa are only just catching up again with the myth of tourism development." The hotel in Egypt is an artificial environment designed and built from scratch. KKMK Architects were asked to connect the local element with international aesthetics there. "The complex's philosophy combines clusters and lagoons where the sea water “spills into” the hotel area. For our design, we were asked for the quality of abundance and the combination of outdoor living due to the Mediterranean climate, with extensive indoor living, keeping in mind the idea of a summer house. Here, customers even come for a whole month."

KKMK Architects relied on raw, earthy, and exclusively local materials. "For a Greek office, the materials there are very familiar. We specified and collaborated in the search and selection of samples", Marina and Kate explain. However, the interest in Egypt is not about the materials but the way we design and build: we design, we build, the customer evaluates, and then we change and rebuild. Why is this happening? Labor is cheap, and this changes the balance of building production. It also creates a different perception of sustainability, but also around the value of the study. It is the architectural office's decision whether or not it can cooperate in this way. On the one hand, our client entered a process of education about what a study is; on the other hand, we overcame the architect's ego when we saw a wall not being... precisely in place. Fortunately, it is pretty easy to do it again correctly," they add.

How did KKMK Architects get this specific client? Egyptian entrepreneurs, with an international and extroverted orientation, when looking for offices to upgrade their product, see Greece as a familiar and accessible first step in Europe. They seek a modern, Europeanized, but also Mediterranean aesthetic, emphasizing the field of hospitality. The extroversion of Greek society has attracted business people interested in investing or residing in Greece. The country's built environment offers rich examples of Greek architects' architectural experience and art, often leading investors to discover the office that suits their needs and preferences.

The opposite was the experience of architects in Indonesia. "The businessmen from Singapore also hired us for a hotel. They found us online without any acquaintance, recommendation, or even a visit to Greece. We were wondering if it would develop into a serious collaboration or not. However, we have an excellent collaboration with consistency but also corporate requirements due to their corporate structure and morals in Singapore", the architects say. As they say, the incredible thing about Indonesia is that there are no regulations as we know them. The boundaries of the plot are negotiated with the principle of the local northern council. As they make clear, it is not even defined which is the plot or the forest.

"Suddenly, we discovered how difficult it is for an architect to have no limitations. It's difficult in a good way, of course. Among the negatives, we could include the absence of forest management legislation". We received a slope where the jungle had simply been ‘shaven’". For the Desa Alam Resort hotel, Marina Karamali and Kate Karagianni were asked to design "Greek architecture" as the Cyclades and Santorini "sell" in the upper market of the Far East! "Of course, we have translated the language they like into local conditions, and we have included, among other things, a lot of planting in the hotel. We have brought back the lush vegetation that prevails. The architect's job is to listen to the client's wishes and vision and be able to guide them to a quality result. Also, we are currently in the phase of exploring local materials. Contrary to the case of Egypt, the local materials of Indonesia constitute a new world'!

Overall, the Desa Alam Resort hotel conveys the immersive experience found in the Cyclades in the local idiom. "It's like walking through a village, turning into an alley, meeting the unexpected. In addition, the building is small in scale, white, and has sculpted corners. We take characteristics of the experience that make a traditional Chora in the Cyclades unique and propose a new unique reality in the new environment", they conclude.

The study in Indonesia is at a final stage, and construction work is expected to start in the coming months. The hotel in Egypt is under construction and is expected to be completed this summer.

01.9.4

Georges Batzios, founder and head of the Georges Batzios Architects firm, has undertaken, among others, the study and construction of skyscrapers in China, which offers a modern and inevitably Greek look on a global and contemporary type of buildings.

OVER THE SKYLINE

A talk with Georges Batzios

He is Greek but also a citizen of the world. This is because he oversaw many projects alongside the French star architect Jean Nouvel and the British David Chipperfield, such as the MoMA Tower in New York, the Paris Philharmonic, the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi, et al. He returned to Greece in 2011, and he collaborated with important Greek offices before founding a year later Georges Batzios Architects, his own awarded firm - with distinctions such as the European Architecture Award for the "To Tsai" teahouse in Kolonaki, or the awards for the renovation of the AGET building two years later, which is a rare example of brutalist architecture in Greece.

Now, among other things, he is called upon to design skyscrapers in China, which made him refer to his favorite buildings in the same category. Including, of course, a work by his former partner and star Jean Nouvel: "Among others, I single out Jean Nouvel's MoMA Tower 53W53 in New York, whose triangular form is inspired by the ideal solid and is very recognizable on the horizon of Manhattan. It was developed as part of the expansion of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. It houses luxury residences and commercial spaces at a height of 320 meters, making it one of the tallest buildings in the city.”

When I was in the USA - in San Francisco in particular - to measure how modern our city is, they asked me, “Does it have skyscrapers? And if so, how many?”. This made me wonder whether or not we need skyscrapers in our city, Athens or Thessaloniki. The Greek architect replied: “As each city has its own particularities, the need for skyscrapers in a Greek city should be assessed based on the specific conditions and needs of the community. Athens must leave behind the demonization of skyscrapers as they are a means to limit the uncontrolled spread of the urban fabric. Through an organized spatial and urban design, skyscrapers can offer a dense and sustainable way of living, satisfying the need to reduce the building footprint. They are perhaps the most sustainable way of building in the megacities of the 21st century."

Thanassis Diamantopoulos

SKYLINE IN CHINA

But let's take the phenomenon of skyscrapers from its beginning. German-American architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe became one of the most famous architects in the world during the second half of the 20th century. He was the one to conceive the glass-fronted skyscraper and, together with Norwegian Fred Severud, designed the Seagram Building in 1958, a skyscraper often regarded as the pinnacle of modernist high-rise architecture. What has changed since then? “Although the general principles of design and functionality imposed by Mies Van de Rohe are timeless, there are new challenges and requirements that must be taken into account. Sustainable architecture and energy efficiency are now critical issues. New skyscrapers must be designed based on the use of technologically advanced systems to reduce energy consumption based on the principles of sustainability. In addition, there is an increased need for mixed-use skyscrapers to include different functions and activities in a single building. Nowadays, we are talking about dynamic, multidimensional environments that serve the needs of many different communities and users and promote social interaction and interaction."

BIG IN CHINA

IN CHINA

As of September 2023, fourteen cities in the world will have more than 100 skyscrapers of 150 meters or more: Dubai in the United Arab Emirates with 252 skyscrapers, Guangzhou in China with 188 skyscrapers, Shanghai in China with 183 skyscrapers, Tokyo, Japan with 168 skyscrapers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with 156 skyscrapers, Wuhan, China, with 149 skyscrapers, Chongqing, China, with 144 skyscrapers, Chicago, USA, with 137 skyscrapers, Chengdu, China, with 117 skyscrapers, Jakarta, Indonesia, with 112 skyscrapers, and Bangkok, Thailand, with 111 skyscrapers. We notice that China now leads in the number of skyscrapers worldwide. How did this happen? Does it come from real need or imitation? Georges Batzios answered and enlightened us:

"China is facing a housing crisis similar to the one caused in France at the end of the 20th century. This phenomenon concerns the intense urban development due to the movement of the population from the rural areas to the big cities. In this context, skyscrapers and high-rise developments provide limited space for housing and offices, allowing cities to accommodate more and more residents in modern housing. This is a realistic answer to a real problem: upgrading the quality of life through a mass housing system. The skyscraper typology can produce modern residences that are adapted to the needs of modern life, as an "open" construction system, offering the maximum possible comfort with minimum footprint."

The Greek office imprinted natural elements to its skyscrapers: "We intend to break down the coldness and the solid, monolithic treatment of the skyscraper and present it in the form and function of a living organism. In this project, we explore organic shapes and curves inspired by water ripples, using glass that intensely reflects the external environment, the sky, and the neighboring river. The result gives a sense of fluidity and natural movement, with the skyscrapers appearing as a part of the natural landscape rather than strict and solid structures." Sustainable not only in materials but also in aesthetics.

The architect George Tsolakis, head of the Tsolakis Architects office, references the agony of form caused by the fast succession of contemporary images and the transformation of the emptiness into

EVOLUTION THROUGH THE TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE VOID

By George Tsolakis

"We live in an age full of beautiful images, which creates the anxiety of form in architecture. Quite often, when starting the study of a project, there is an image in our mind that we try to make justice to in a binding and static way. Beyond the ready-made image, we would like to examine a different process of morphogenesis, which, when explored, led to the following sequence of thoughts and questions emerging: What does a courtyard have to do with an alana (open space within a neighborhood) and a square?", asks the architect.

Asking the question more specifically, he asks what relation this above courtyard has to the alana and the square depicted. Apart from the obvious answer that they all are works of his office, their common connection is that the void was the generative cause of plenitude in all three works. "In a world mainly based on the image, let's talk about what we don't usually pay enough attention to; let's talk about the void," notes G. Tsolakis.

"In everyday speech, we are used to characterizing unbuilt space as empty. Empty means absolutely nothing. But that which is enclosed by the complete is also empty. The opposite of the void is the plenitude, the built volume. As architects, we use these terms to describe space. So the built space, the complete, is the result, born within the empty space. As the empty and the full define each other, their composition gives meaning and feedback to both concepts. Ultimately, it determines the balance of the space. Based on these, the original question returns: What can be the common element in the design of a country house, an education and sports center, and an archaeological museum?" he adds.

The courtyard and the structural elements that shape the building. As he says, the spatial metaphor of the courtyard concerns a country house at the end of a small peninsula in Antiparos. To the northwest is the peak of Prophet Ilias; to the east, the gaze reaches the sea, and to the south, the island of Ios emerges. "In the landscape of the Cyclades, primary elements such as the sun, the air, and the smell shape the unique experience of living with the basic aim of hedonistic contact with nature. In this case, the void acts as a filter between the outside and the inside. An outdoor, intermediate space for relaxation and recreation where the natural elements coexist with the structural elements, and together shape the building itself."

While answering, he states that these three buildings use the void as the starting point of the architectural composition. Thus, the void is transformed into a courtyard, an alana, or a square, depending on its position in the overall composition and function. It then focuses on the three works and the element they both share – the void.

"Inside the yard is preserved a natural rock formation and a centuries-old wild olive tree that has always been there. The elements of the composition slowly begin to be defined, with the square void turning into a welcoming miniature of the landscape, leaving the natural ground free and unaltered. Around the void are the covered corridors that sometimes lead to the living room, sometimes to the bedrooms, and sometimes to the guest rooms, always ending up in the area with the swimming pool and open view towards the sea".

George Lambiris

TRANSFORMATIONS

According to George Tsolakis, the courtyard's size is the basic structural unit, determining the overall area and scale of the building. The scale of the courtyard space affects the composition. Through multiplications and subdivisions of the original square, the individual sizes of the architectural elements of the building are formed. While the composition focuses on the void, it remains well hidden from the outside world, emphasizing its private character and the inhabitants' need for protection and tranquility.

In this case and in relation to the houses in Antiparos, the office of G. Tsolakis followed a different procedure. The density of the area and the need to protect children initially pushed for an introverted and compact built volume from which sections can be removed. The coexistence of outdoor play areas and closed rooms creates a multi-faceted complex woven between void and plenitude consistent with children's perception of space and scale.

It then refers to the spatial metaphor of alana, which concerns an educational and sports center for children and teenagers in Rentis, in a densely built urban area where massive industrial buildings and residences coexist. "In this area, we notice that there are unbuilt surfaces and urban spaces among the built-up plots. These urban voids are the cradles of our childhood. A randomly built plot, relatively wide, used by the neighborhood residents, acquires meaning because of its use as a place for play and socialization. The existence of the body suddenly gives meaning to this empty space."

A void, the central alana, is prominent within the solid volume. Individual voids penetrate the built space and create patios, gardens, bleachers, courts, and courtyards. The voids erode the volume to create outdoor spaces of different character. They are bringing back the neighborhood feel. This diversity tries to bring back the feeling of the neighborhood, where the play was not limited to the space of the alana but extended between the courtyards of the houses and the adjacent streets, creating a labyrinthine network, which includes a sense of childlike curiosity and exploration.

01.11.2

01.11.1

The building's introverted character is evident from the street level. But entering it, one discovers an entirely different world. A wide, free floor, ideal for play, hosts a multitude of possible activities that are determined by the void that appears on the ceiling. The alternation between light and shadow filters the space and creates points of reference that emphasize the eroded volume. Around the alana, the interior spaces develop organically, housing classrooms for educational programs, workshops, and recreational areas.

The alana extends to the floor via ramps, staircases, and bleachers. Thus, a three-dimensional and interactive playing field develops, and the solid suddenly turns into porosity. Small and large rectangular volumes alternate with each other and create different-sized voids and full ones.

In this case, the void became a methodological design tool that combined the alana's carefree, creative freedom with the schoolyard's educational organization and the family garden's protection.

01.11.3

The wing is divided into four arcades, and the interior is transformed from a closed sanctuary into an open public space. Arriving in the center of the square, the constructions emerge from the ground, highlighting the organization of the space. The approaches lead antidiametrically on two levels. The built spaces are developed around the center, allowing visitors to view the interior and the exhibitions. From the north-south axis, the surface of the square is approached, while from the east-west axis, the route to the level of the main entrance begins.

THE SQUARE AND THE NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM OF ATHENS

The spatial metaphor of the Square concerns the design for the New Archaeological Museum of Athens in the Plato Academy in an "urban void" of supralocal importance. The existence of the Academy Gymnasium's findings determines the space's character — a place of memory and history. The surrounding blocks enclose a "secret" courtyard full of surprises. Among the dense planting, archaeological excavations appear, creating a composition of unique space, nature, and history. The study area of the museum is located at the north-western end, at the antipodal from the archaeological site of the Gymnasium, next to the Holy House. According to the architect, the archaeological excavations on one side of the grove and the new Museum on the other form a new dipole, an open public gathering space, a square in other words, and an archaeological grove.

The museum is mainly developed below the park's surface and harmoniously transforms into a building-land. The shape of the space, i.e., the square and the landscape, affect the ground and are the main protagonists of the space. The sloping roofs emerge as a natural continuation of the ground and, combined with new plantings, extend, strengthen, and enrich the existing ones. The multiple courtyards and different views of the space connect with the natural element and create new dynamic connections between the park and the Museum, effectively enriching the visitor experience.

The limits of the void are set by the dynamics of the city in Plato's Academy; the city dynamics delimit the void. The city and the grove imaginably interact with the center of the plot in the form of four new engravings. Four new pedestrian streets create at their junction a node that sometimes acts as a centripetal force and sometimes as a centrifugal force. A swirling movement that defines the space. The specific arrangement recalls the typology of the ancient Agora, where the void was the original gathering and reading space, dividing the accesses to the rest of the buildings. The void of the square is the beginning of the development of the buildings, reversing the typology of the ancient Greek temple pavilion and transforming it from an inward-facing to an outward-facing space.

"Thus, examining three different places with three different empty spaces with their own particularities and characteristics, we notice that each complete part acquires a different character, as it is determined by a different architectural program and addressed to different people. As we have seen, the void can be the starting point for solving an architectural composition. Depending on the scale of the project, the basic size of the entirety can be determined, which will ultimately affect the structure of the building and create new relationships between the outside and the inside. Simple geometric operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and rotation shape the individual elements. Three approaches to composition through geometric operations where give a fair measure to each plot. The void can, by simple addition and repetition, determine the rhythm of the building, it can shape the volume of the building through subtraction, and it can define and connect the disparate elements of the space and the city through vector movements.

Apart from the geometry, though, the void affects the full in a myriad of ways. Each transformation of the void treats privacy differently in each building. The void of the courtyard is hidden and introverted, emphasizing the private character of the residence," says George Tsolakis.

The void of the alana displays unified but fragmented outdoor spaces within a sheltered enclosure. In this way, different situations of privacy, education, and socialization are created.

Finally, the void in the Museum square creates a public space, projecting the interior spaces of the exhibitions to visitors and the city. The design principles of the new Archaeological Museum project the vision of a future Athens: a city that relates the building infrastructure to the natural terrain and landscape, a city that respects, highlights, and coexists harmoniously with nature and its history, including all its citizens.

According to the architect, empty and full may, therefore, be two opposite concepts. Still, ultimately, they work together to create a harmonious construct that refers to both the landscape and the inhabitants, the neighborhood and the children, and the city and its culture.

He ends by saying that, in conclusion, the void, in other words, the unbuilt, acquires the same

Rinascimentu di u Cunventu Saint-François Photography ©Thibaut Dini

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[02.1] EVA MANI DAKI P.086

[02.3] STELIOS GIAMARELOS MEETS SUZANA ANTONAKAKI P.098

PEOPLE

[02.2] ZEUS + ΔIONE P.094

[02.4] DE PLOT ARCHI TECTS P.110

Eva Manidaki's work is an organic bridge between Architecture and Theater. Balancing between the perpetual and the ephemeral, she transports and incorporates elements and references always in the light of the spatiotemporal context. A night drive, a trip to Japan, a journey of the eye through her library shelves —anything can contain inspiration.

FOLLOWING HER STEPS

A talk with Eva Manidaki

DM Who was Eva at the beginning of your career in 1995?

EM I had finished Architecture and was still trying to figure out what to do next. Circumstances arose that I thought I would take the next step: theater. The theater was on my mind, and I wanted it before Architecture. But because there is a long tradition of Architecture in my family, our father told my sister and me that we would study Architecture and then we could do whatever else we wanted. So I did Architecture and then theater. My sister studied Architecture and then finished her Fine Arts degree. I very consciously took the next step and went into the theater. I did my prep and got into the Empros School. It was an important milestone.

( LONG FORM CONVERSATION )

Danai Makri

DM In what ways? Do you have an example of that two-way relationship?

DM How did architecture and theater studies fit into a career path?

EM After I finished theater, I never left architecture. I love it very much, but also because I had to make a living. It has been a constant in my life. So when I finished theater as well, it happened on its own. It went from theater to architecture and architecture to theater. There's an interaction from then on, whether it's a theatrical performance or an architectural work. Sometimes in an obvious way, sometimes not so much. That's there, too. One influences the other, and one animates the other. It doesn't let it become routine.

EM A client might come in and want a house. Or he may want to do a bookstore. So there is the building program, which is nothing more than the text that a set designer has to make a performance. I treat the building program as if I were treating the play. I get into a lot of detail when I work on the building program in architecture, like when I have to work on the set design part. At first, I read the text to understand the story. Then, I read the text in relation to time, space, weather, and different atmospheres. This is something I also do in architecture. There's a client, and he wants to build his house in Kea. We have a specific plot of land. In my mind, I start making images. What does this plot look like in the morning? What does it look like in the rain? What does it look like in the winter? What about nature and the trees? How does the wind blow? I make images like that. This has started as a process since my theater studies. In the theater, I see these vivid descriptions in the texts, which help me work on set design, but they pop up and enter architecture that way. It's qualities like that that get into the way I work. I'm the same person, and that's what I try to do.

DM From your career, do you have anything extraordinary to share from such an encounter? Have there been any encounters that have been instrumental in shaping your own continuity?

EM Yes, there are. In Architecture, it was a significant meeting of my life. My teacher, the man with whom I did my thesis, and the man who unlocked me is Paul Virilio. And in the theater, for sure, a significant meeting was with Lefteris Vogiatzis. He's someone I miss very much, along with our conversations and everything I experienced around him. And certainly, the collaboration I had with the Japanese when I went to work on Nekya at NO Theatre at Tokio, was an unforgettable experience. I was staying in the theater where the rehearsals were taking place. You know I also have this love affair with Japan. I won't forget when they came here to see the space in Epidaurus, where my emotions were immense. They bent down and kissed the ground. It was unimaginable.

DM Do you have a single favorite play text or a top 3?

EM No. What happens with plays is that I love some writers very much. I love Chekhov very much. I think he's a timely and contemporary writer. I like that surface static while some things are happening underneath. I also like Beckett very much because I find that he has a minimalism and a form that fits my architectural education and the way I perceive and see spaces. Beckett has an architectural writing. And that minimalism comes out in the spaces and his own writing. But as I get older, I think the most essential thing in life is the encounters with people and the bridges we make with them. Whether that's in architecture or in the theater.

DM What did that gesture mean?

EM First of all, when you greet the Japanese, there's a bow. They bowed to the grandeur of this theater. The bowing was so deep that the body folded, and they kissed "Mother Earth". It was a bowing and a pilgrimage to this magnificent theater.

DM That's really awesome. So, what are your influences? Japan and the masters are clear constants in your work. If we look at it holistically?

EM Everything is. Because that's how we are. That's our nature. We design and speak with everything we carry. It's definitely the people I've met and the travel I do. I love traveling. I love moving. Whether that's the movement of the mind or the movement of the real thing. And when I'm sad or shut down inside, I don't hide from you that my mind needs to go. And how does it go? I can leave and take a journey with my mind. I mean, think and go back to a favorite place. I need that. I need that move. Or if I need to get some air in my head, I get in the car and get out on the highway. I go 30, 60 miles and turn around. That commute washes me out.

DM On mind trips, do you go back? Do you relive favorite moments or create new worlds and new scenarios?

EM No, unfortunately, I can't create new scenarios. I resort to my favorite parts of the past. I like that better.

DM That’s beautiful. Do you think you're a particular style? Have you heard a lot of people attribute a particular style to you?

ΕM I definitely must have. I don't get it, to tell you the truth. People I trust or who follow my work tell me that my sets and architecture are recognizable. They tell me that I have certain obsessions that may be in the materials or the spaces. Ultimately, as the years now go by, I say yes. I don't realize I have obsessions.

DM When other people talk to you about it, how do they describe it?

EM I was told by a journalist years ago that I am obsessed with making spaces within spaces, making booths, little houses, and stuff like that. She always noticed that I was making something even in a big space. I didn't respond when he told me, but then I thought that's the reality. I really do. If you see the space, it's an openspace office. My little room has different materials in the front so I can hide. And I've built a small office in this space. Even here, I need it. Unbelievable. But this is something that someone outside spotted.

DM To tell you the truth, a penthouse apartment that you had built is one of my favorite apartments, and it's remained one of my favorite apartments over the years. It's something I can't forget, and I loved it very much. The feeling I got is that you can imagine things happening here. You can imagine mental states, people's relationships, and incidents in fragments or sequences, all of which make up a complete thing called life. In each case, there was every absence of pettiness. You could not imagine anything small and petty happening in this space. Let's go into your contribution to academia and your role as a professor at the University of Thessaly.

EM I taught there for 15 years. It was not a short time. I was on contract. I never became tenured, and I was very conscious of that. I wanted to have a relationship that gave me the freedom to renew it. I didn't want to be at faculty meetings. I wanted to do the class. I really like the whole process. It's a process that gives me a lot of things from the kids. Now I'm teaching at the National Theater. I'm doing a stage design course. The process of sharing is very awakening. The kids make my head spin. They tease me. I like that a lot. It's a fertile process close to both theater and architecture.

02.1.3

DM Have ideas been born that have been embodied in some of your works through this interaction?

EM I would say directly no, but the process may, in an indirect way, have shaken me up and taken me in a direction. In children, there is this process of questioning all the time. This is very useful in our work. When things become certain, I think they die, too. Having children put me in a questioning process helps me to put my thinking into words and, in that way, document and feel that I'm on the right track concerning something I might be planning. I would say that's interaction.

DM So, let's talk a little bit about the history of the office and the building. What drew you to this space? How did you imagine you would be able to unleash your creativity here?

EM It's an area I've always loved in the center of Athens. So when I found this space, it was already my home. I wanted some space nearby. It was luck. I like that it has this secret: you walk through another shop, a bag store. The whole thing is very Japanese. You have to find out and go upstairs. There's the surprise part. I like the fact that it's very bright and high-ceiling. It's a space like a laboratory. At the same time, it's very important to me to be part of a team. Both architecture and theater work here. Both are pervasive in the space.

DM Let’s move on to Flux’s founding in 2007. What happened that year? What's the story of the office's founding?

EM We did the office together with Thanassis Demiris at a time when we both wanted to get a space in Athens. That space was found, and together, we said yes. Thanassis and I had known each other before. We had a common ground in terms of the look. But we had never worked together. Flux was called my cat because I liked the word and the art movement. We didn't think much about it, and we did the office. And Thanassis is a cat lover, so we agreed on the name.

DM Can we really imagine such a rich scenography of real life in our lives today, the way architecture is commissioned? Under the present social and investment conditions, can real life have the vitality and interest that the product of the intellect, which is theater, has?

EM We must try to go in that direction. I want to be optimistic. If we don't see light in what we're doing, I think we can't create. At least, I can't. Every time I pick up a pencil to start drawing, it gives me tremendous joy. I don't know if I draw well or not, and we don't talk about that. I tend to draw something that will allow me to "fly."

DM If I understand it correctly, there is something ephemeral about set design, whereas architecture has something timeless. How do you live this relationship between creation and time?

EM It's something crazy. I could have gone crazy. The architect is called upon to make houses that will live on after him, whereas it's the exact opposite in scenography. In scenography, I can never see a set being torn down. It's like ripping out everything. When I think about designing something, I never think about the ephemeral. I think about forever. I wonder if that forever has anything to do with my architectural education. But that's what I think about. That's what I am. If the ephemeral enters my mind, it might make my design cheaper. The forever is bigger in my mind. I can't get used to the ephemeral of theater. I joggle every time because I get very sad when something ends.

EM No, because these constructions are made and never live without the text or actors. The theater has this amazing thing about it: it happens when we watch it. Every performance is different. When I did Nekya, which I worked on for a year, I did it for two performances. Isn't that terrible? For two 90-minute performances, and then it was over. You can't say I filmed that either because it makes no sense. You just carry it around inside you. That's something precious. It leaves you with a knowledge.

DM Like those flowers that only bloom for a few minutes and then wither away. That's awesome.

EM That's awesome. But then again, it is ephemeral.

DM What is it that survives after these scenes? In my understanding, these settings create a heterotopia that somehow lives on.

EM It does not continue, no.

DM Could there be another future for all these constructions?

DM Not even in the perception of the actors or the audience?

EM No. One performance ends, and everything ends. All that remains is the spectator's experience and the actor's experience within what he has inhabited. Then everything goes away. They go up in smoke.

02.1.5

DΜ Let's pick a particular set and get into the process of creating it. Do you have a set that you feel is a favorite?

EM All of them are my favorite.

ΔΜ

DM So, let's take the most recent one.

EM I love them all because they're my children. Maybe some of them gave me a hard time at birth. But I love them all. Of course, I don't hide from you the fact that I love Epidaurus very much. It's a great honor for a set designer to be able to direct in this unique theater and interact with the landscape, the antiquities, and the different views that set design can have. So, I'll talk about the last one I did at Epidaurus, which was Hippolytus, a production of the National Theater. The direction was by Katerina Evangelatos. It was a very difficult performance stage-wise. It was a big gamble because I created a dystopian landscape in the orchestra of Epidaurus, with water-loving plants and a river. But I made them as if they had always been there. So, I treat Epidaurus as if it were land art. I try every time to make what I do interact with the landscape. That's what I tried to do in the last set. And, of course, I had the help of all the people in the set design department of the National Theater. It's one of my complex and favorite sets.

DΜ Why was it difficult?

EM I had so many technical difficulties. I had to create all this relief landscape without spoiling and affecting the space. A slurry of fake brown, dark soil was made, which was on a cloth and didn't touch the orchestra space at all. It was challenging.

DM For Brecht's work, where do you draw your inspiration from? What are we going to see? How can we see again the setting of the rise and fall of the town of Mahagonny? Are there any realistic analogies? The text creates realistic analogies and thoughts.

EM The text creates a tremendous freedom for what that could be. One doesn't do it realistically. In set design, I don't decide. The conductor is the director. In this case, my scenography is inspired by Fritz Lang's Metropolis, Mahagonny has no overt references to its time, only indirect ones. It is a prophetic work, like the Metropolis. After all, the two works were written at almost exactly the same time. That is what fascinates me above all else about Mahagonny, that it speaks of the future for all of us in a truly shocking and highly entertaining way. Beyond that, I can't say anything else because I'm committed.

DΜ So first comes the inspiration about the text and the space, and then comes the technical realization. In this whole process, are there some moments that are more pleasant or more unpleasant? When do you feel better about a piece of work?

EM I never feel. Now that so much time has passed since Epidaurus, I can talk about it. It was impossible for me before. Now I'm terribly anxious about what I'm preparing at the Lyric Scene, the opera Mahagonny. It's a great work, with tremendous music and direction by Yannis Hoovardas. I can't escape the suspense and rejoice when I'm making something. That definitely has to do with my character handicap. I wish I could.

DΜ Where does this anxiety originate?

EM I don't know where.

DΜ You have a German education, though; I can see that from your library.

EM I don't speak German. I studied in France, but I must tell you that in the years after I entered the theater, I became very much in love with German theater and the way German stage directors read the plays. It's clearer and closer to my own eye than English or French.

DM How can that help with the viewing? Similarly, if this rule applies to architecture.

EM It does apply. In modern movements, we see this thing. There should be no frills, and this thing should be clean. In Architecture, it's more complex because other pieces go into it. What the Japanese do, which I love, is how nature comes into the way we design Architecture every time. Nature in different ways, such as sight, smell, and sound, is very much present in Japanese architecture. I don't say, for example, I will make a window here because I have a blooming almond tree. I mean it in more complex ways. What happens at the threshold when I leave the public space and go into the house? That transition. There is a different treatment in every architect. We can look at this concept differently in the theater as well. At least I read it that way in the German works. The French in the theater tend to embellish certain things in the image. I like this purity of German theater.

DM On the occasion of Lanthimos' success, what I was thinking about, watching the work of Greeks abroad, is that when we overcome our own barriers a little bit, we manage to give a Greek essence internationally, which is Greek and goes far beyond any trivial discussion about identity. And I wanted to ask you, what does Greekness mean to you?

EM I like Lanthimos and his work very much. But there is no Greekness in the strict sense. There is definitely Greekness because he is Greek and carries that thing and what he makes. Just like Dimitris is Greek, Dimitris has more of it than Lanthimos. Greekness can be found in Xenakis, too. I say this on the occasion of our exhibition. Greekness beyond the clichés. It's something more profound, which may have to do with land, mythology, drought, sowing, and much older and more primordial things. So when I hear Greekness, something like that comes to mind. Something to do with the raw material that goes into giving birth to something. That's the kind of thing that word brings out in me. You have to water the tiny seed for it to blossom and take root. That's what the word Greekness brings out in me. Something old in a good way.

DM Let's also talk about the Demountable Pavilions of Odeon Herodes Atticus.

EM The pavilions of the Athens Festival are ephemeral structures that serve the festival's needs during the period when the Herodion is open. There are dressing rooms, a small shop for festival merchandise, bars, and ticket booths.

DM I have two last issues before we close our discussion. One is the awards and international recognition through the Biennale and your participation there. What do all these things mean to you?

EM I am delighted with the awards, which give me tremendous joy. An award is a joy because our effort had an impact, and others saw it.

DM Since we talked a bit about your work for the Xenakis exhibition, do you want to tell me some things about logic, such as how you designed it and what you wanted to create?

EM First of all, I wasn't alone. This exhibition was designed in the office together with Thanassis Demiris. The idea of this exhibition was to create a space that would be like an institute. This idea was very much entrusted to Katerina Gregou. Things are always done in collaboration. We tried to make the whole part of the archive feel like it was in an old office from that time. Everything was designed by us—the lights, the windows, everything. The design of the exhibition creates a space for visitors to meet with the work of Xenakis, aiming to understand the multidimensional personal his multifaceted personality. The sense of the viewer is that he enters a space of production and creation. Prototypes and exhibits are organized and presented on the basis of inclined surfaces - analogues, referring to the architectural design tables.

DM What was the logic behind the design?

EM These structures had to be lightweight because they are set up every summer. The material we have used is wood. We really like how it ages. It's a material that ages very nicely and we think it also interacts very well with the stone there. We believe the verticals in the design and the wood interlocking give a rhythm, which we've taken from the Herodium facade. We tried to be as subtle as possible.

02.1.9 Modular Constructions - Odeon of Herodes Atticus Athens & Epidaurus Festival Photography ©Panos Kokkinias

02.1.10 Iannis Xenakis: Sonic Odysseys Photography ©Paris Tavitian

ΕΜ Είναι και τα δύο. Οι επιρροές εί-

ναι σίγουρα αυτό που είμαστε. Είναι τα φαγητά

μας, οι συναντήσεις μας, οι έρωτές μας, τα ταξίδια μας. Σίγουρα υπάρχουν αρχιτέκτονες

που είναι φωτεινοί πυλώνες. Ένας από αυτούς

είναι ο Κωνσταντινίδης για μένα. Επίσης, Ένας

πολύ σπουδαίος αρχιτέκτονας είναι ο Ζενέτος. Με ενδιαφέρει πολύ να δω πώς έχει δουλέψει

π.χ. ο Κωνσταντινίδης. Έτσι κοιτάζω κάθε φορά τις κατόψεις των σπιτιών

DM That's for sure; they like them. What are the main international influences? I spend a lot of time looking at the library and wondering how you describe all that. Are they things that have come by accident? Are the real influences outside the library? Does what we encounter outside make us go to the bookstore? What's the order in all of this?

EM It's both. The influences are definitely who we are. It's our food, encounters, loves, and travels. There are certainly architects who are luminous pillars. One of them is Konstantinidis for me. A very great architect is Zenetos. I am very interested in seeing how Konstantinidis, for example, has worked. So, I always look at the floor plans of the houses or hotels he has built. Both Konstantinidis and Pikionis are very fond of Japanese architecture. Of course, I love Japan very much. It's my favorite place and destination. I love Japan's architecture, nature, people, and food. When I first went to Japan, I had put on the map works done by Tadao Ando, whom I had met in person when he had come to our school in Paris to do an exhibition and a lecture. So, on my first trip, I went to see the places he had built. I then started to see Tadao's influences and how much he had seen the traditional Japanese house, which, in another way, is very much present in his architecture. Then, I started going to the mountains and seeing the traditional Japanese houses, which, in a way, also came into my work. Sometimes, very consciously, too.

EM That's a dark part that exists. It's there in some literature and some movies we see as well. I'm not fascinated by that. I'm trying to figure it out. It's challenging. And I don't even know if I'll be able to understand the way a Japanese person thinks. This closed-mindedness that he has. Definitely Japan; a very large part of it is dark and inaccessible, creating a fear and a tendency for me to discover in the literature of Yoko Ogawa for exemple or the films of Kore-Eda. It's something different from what we have in the West.

DM What is your relationship to the contemporary culture of Japan, of neon light, of the skyscraper, of isolation, of social phenomena of people not leaving their apartment for years?

DM I have the impression that you generally descend in everything you do and search. The Japanese are making that descent and exploring all these truths in a much more honest and less superficial way. They don't put so many filters around reality, and they don't put so much embellishment.

EM It depends. You also see the aesthetics based on manga characters, which is totally about that appearance. Of course, you never know what's going on inside or their mode of entertainment, which is very specific. Even though I've been there many times and tried to get relationships with some people, there's too much of that limit.

Zeus+Dione is a fashion brand that is proud of its Greek origin, which is why it creates intimacy. Its source of inspiration is the history and culture of modern Greece.

ZEUS

On Menswear and More

Thanassis Diamantopoulos

Dimitra Kolotoura is proud to be Greek. This also passed into the business venture she initially started with Mareva Grabovski-Mitsotakis and then on her own; the Greek brand Zeus+Dione. In her office in the area of Psirri, there are images related to the brand and a photograph that inspires her: that of the great man of Greek furniture and design, Eleftherios Saridis, who, with the "Klismos" Collection aroused the interest of international public opinion, was appreciated by the Onassis and Niarchos families and reached the Metropolitan Museum of New York and the Smithsonian Institution. She told us that she doesn't speak often unless she has something to say. That's how we started our interview.

TD You told me you had something to say. What is this;

DK Menswear is now our most ambitious project. Their presentation started at our previous event, which took place in Piraeus at our first catwalk. The foreign media praised it and has to do with the small artisans or people who sew, handle bronze, and anything that needs manual involvement. Now, it appeared in Greek and foreign stores.

( FASHION DESIGN )

ΔIONE

TD I don't, either. It's the characters that count more than the genders. But how would you define his style?

DK Stylistically, man in the classical sense has also changed. He is definitely more concerned with how he dresses, the quality of his clothes, and what he wants to say to the world about how he looks. We see him as essential, just like the woman who is interested in substance and quality in everything she wears. We are also interested in the man to have the concept of quality. The fabrics are silk or cotton-silk, and the seams of the clothes are handmade, so he should be interested in what touches him while wearing them. And there is that audience now. The Zeus+Dione man, in addition to the quality of the stitching and the raw material, also adopts our specific design approach.

TD What is the journey of menswear fabric?

DK We continue to use fabrics from Soufli in men's clothing. That's where 80% of our production takes place. One is left there, Mouhtaridis, a young man who inherited his father's business and embraced the idea with all his being, sharing our vision and evolving with us as a fellow traveler. This is very important. Because we have carte blanche, we do whatever we want more cooperatively, and as a result, we make the fabrics we want. So for the man, we made exquisite cotton silks and our classic all silk, the ones with the jacquard, but also others that we want the man to get used to wearing because the silk doesn't look like silk so much. They are woven in Soufli and dyed in Como; then they return; what is to be embroidered goes to Argos to our other partner, Aris Tzoneurakis; they end up in Athens, where we "assemble" them.

TD What is the profile of the man who will wear your clothes?

DK Although women tend to be more educated about what to wear, the Zeus+Dione man is culturally cultivated and cosmopolitan—so, someone who knows what he's looking for. He will like the jacket, the high-waisted trousers with pleats, and the style that evokes the 30s and 40s.

TD Why specifically these decades?

DK It is when all the creators in Greece gave us their most remarkable work. From the poetry of Seferis to painting and also to politics, there was an orgasm. Also, it was not only the banker back then but also the fisherman who went to work in a jacket, which he took off and put on his work uniform. Wearing a jacket and looking decent was a matter of self-respect. Or the rebetes (Greek distinct style of music and dressing) that are a significant part of Zeus+Dione's DNA. People saw their clothing as a liability they brought upon themselves. Today, everything is sacrificed on the altar of convenience and trends that may come from Asia or anywhere else.

TD Would you like to see your brand be the one to create trends?

DK This is our goal and vision: to create important collections and narratives that arouse the interest of the public outside the country's borders. If the country has a luxury brand, it is us. The Greeks who export often do not have a good name. But the country has changed in this area for the better. We have shown continuity and consistency in our presence abroad. We are vigilant, ready to act if something goes wrong, threatening to destroy what we have built so far.

TD What is the international appeal of the men's collection?

DK There is a very nice article in American Vogue by Tiziana Cardini, who attended the catwalk we organized in Piraeus and was moved. Many foreign people had come for this event. When I saw her, she had tears in her eyes and said, "I wasn't prepared to see what I saw." She wrote a sensational text for the men's collection. When such influential people write about fashion, with glowing words about our collection, then our first goal, that of acceptance, becomes a reality.

brands.

TD In what way does your philosophy influence menswear?

DK We take cues from our culture and history, such as a "golden" age for recent history. We have integrated them into a fascinating collection. Beyond that, the logic of the handmade clothing is present because the cross-woven silk is made in Soufli, and the buttons are designed by the jewelry designer Minas. Our philosophy comes from culture, heritage, and raw materials through synergies with people who share the same vision.

TD What hopes for distinction does a Greek fashion brand have in international fashion?

DK When we always and consistently follow the rules of the world game, then there is hope. You can't be in Paris at one time and then never be seen again. Always with dignity and a dynamic presence that competes with foreign and not Greek brands.

TD Is being proud of your roots and not copying foreign trends part of the recipe for success?

DK We didn't do it as a marketing trick. We are proud as Greeks ourselves. We were two women who worked abroad. We went through various stages: they cursed us as Greek women because the country also went through many hardships. Wherever I was, whether in a palace or a neighborhood, I felt proud to be Greek. So, my passion for my country could not but pass through this business experiment. There was a huge tendency for imitation of all things coming from abroad in the 80s and 90s. I think we succeeded in overturning the disadvantage that the Greeks had about their origin.

On the occasion of the recent publication of the book "Suzana Antonakaki, Architectural Poetics: Texts 1959-2019", edited by Stelios Giamarelos, Associate Professor in History and Theory of Architecture at The Bartlett School of Architecture UCL, we discussed in depth about his "heroine," Architecture and the world as its context.

( CONVERSATION )

STELIOS GIAMARELOS MEETS SUZANA ANTONAKAKI

theorist, the Spanish activist, the Chilean architect, or the Russian historian, for example. Each of them can then see how their specific knowledge from each place contributes to a global conversation. There are of course many more ways to talk about the differences between Greece and The Bartlett, starting from the prevalent pedagogies in their Schools of Architecture.

DM The Bartlett School of Architecture and Greek architectural history. Where do these two worlds meet, and where are they miles apart?

SG I arrived at The Bartlett as a Ph.D. student in 2012. Back then, I thought that the scope of my thesis would be international and theoretical. Within the first year of my doctoral studies, however, my research developed as historical, rather than theoretical, and Greek, rather than international. This is related to the way in which the university encourages its students to work. UCL is known as "London’s Global University" and its main idea is that students from across the world arrive in London with their luggage of local knowledge from their lived experience in a specific cultural context. This is how each of them substantially contributes to the global culture of the university.

Άρα

Bartlett

So, The Bartlett is effectively saying: “bring along the luggage that you already carry from your home country, and we will help you to situate it within a global forum." At UCL, one can place their work next to that of the Indian

DM What is the topic of your thesis, and how did you eventually join this global dialogue?

SG My originally submitted research proposal revolved around tracing the consequences of the postmodern discourse on Architecture in the 1970s and 1980s, including their ramifications to the present. But my interests shifted as I was gradually trying to define my subject more and more precisely.

My supervisor, Peg Rawes, encouraged me to start wondering how the Greek context could offer a specific response to my general questions. There are so many details that one already knows about their home country, so much historical knowledge that you unconsciously carry without realizing it, simply because you were raised and educated in a specific place. This knowledge of contextual nuance is extremely useful in one’s later work as a historian. My familiarity with the Greek context

Danai Makri

GIAMARELOS ANTONAKAKI

helped me to work better and faster; I did not need to start by trying to understand the institutional framework of architectural production in the UK from scratch, for example.

how I arrived at critical regionalism, an architectural discourse that was originally constructed around the work of Greek architects Suzana & Dimitris Antonakakis, Aris Konstantinidis, and Dimitris Pikionis. Through critical regionalism, Greece emerged as a significant contributor to the great debates around postmodern architecture in the early 1980s.

My thesis eventually focused on the work of Suzana & Dimitris Antonakakis and their collaborative practice, Atelier 66. I focused more on the aspects of critical regionalism that formed part of the debates around the future direction of Architecture after the crisis of the Modern Movement in the late 1960s and the early 1970s. This is how my research, which started off as theoretical and international, ended up responding to these big issues through the history of Architecture in Greece. A major part of my thesis foregrounds how architectural theory was then produced through the work of Greek architects. And another part of it is purely about these architects’ work and what they were trying to accomplish in the Greek context. I was especially interested in the cross-cultural exchanges, relations and networks that ushered in this discourse on Greek architecture at that time.

DM Has the Modern Movement left its mark on contemporary architecture that is produced in Greece today?

SG It has certainly left its mark on contemporary architectural forms, but not so much on the ideology behind them. The very word "movement" alludes to a significant socio-political project. The legacy of the 20th century is this fundamental idea that people can take the fate of the world in their own hands. They can change the world and turn it into a better place. For the fate of the world is not predestined by a God or anything else that rests outside of human will; it is, rather, defined by humanity which can change the world to bring it closer to its own image, technology, and needs. As such, humans can ultimately create a more just world than the one that they inherited from the 19th century. This was the revolutionary credo of the 20th century that has dissipated today, owing to the climate crisis, among other things, that have challenged the sovereign place that humanity had accorded to itself over the ecosystems that sustain it.

to the extent that 20th-century architects believed so. Back then, there was, for example, the Soviet idea of buildings as "social condensers": they believed that housing blocks - whose kitchens are communal spaces in which residents cook and dine together, while the children of all these families play together in other spaces of the same complex, - would create new forms of social relations. Such ideas are no longer as prominent or as visionary as they were then. Nonetheless, the forms of Modern Architecture survive; they are constantly reproduced and they continue to form the foundation of architects’ education. The socio-political project behind these forms, however, is largely absent today.

DM Let’s talk some more about the universities. What differences do you identify between the architectural pedagogies in English and Greek universities?

SG My experience from the two countries is obviously different: in Athens, I was mainly a student and postgraduate teaching assistant; in London, I arrived as a Ph.D, student, but I have mainly worked there as a professor. So, I definitely have more experience from both sides of the academic life in the UK. But there are certainly significant differences in the prevalent pedagogies, especially regarding what Architecture means and how it should be taught, in each School.

The Bartlett’s pedagogy, for example, revolves around who you are, or the artistic identity that you can create for yourself as an architect through your studies. A childhood hobby, such as collecting buttons, is therefore regarded as extremely important for a student's architectural practice. Design tutors will find a way to help this student to express and form their identity as an architect through this old collection of buttons. Such an approach was hardly present, if not totally absent, in the School of Athens. Architectural studies in Athens primarily aimed to teach you how to make a building that stands, a building in which one can turn corners without bumping into opening doors, whilst discovering the new spaces that open up as they move through it, and so on. All these things are very important in the work of an architect.

Both pedagogical approaches are important, and different ideas about what it means to study architecture and develop a creative personality were also making the rounds in both schools. I just feel that The Bartlett’s approach was a better match for me, personally. But I also understand the undeniable value of the more technical pedagogy in the School of Athens. The Greek curriculum intended to turn you into an architect-engineer with a good grasp of the construction process. A strong emphasis on unleashing students' creative faculties may also steer them away from an equally important technical side of architectural practice.

The construction and fabrication technologies of the built environment industry today, for example, lag behind students’ experimental prototypes at The Bartlett building workshops. Whether the industry will eventually recuperate the technological advancements that are currently explored within the School remains to be seen. The Bartlett students are productively experimenting with architectural fabrication, utilizing new technologies and materials.

02.3.4

02.3.5

02.3.6

02.3.4-5 Stelios Giamarelos, Comic(s) Truths, 'New Artists' Distinction at the 7th Panhellenic Comics Competition, organised by 9 Magazine, Eleftherotypia, 2007.

02.3.6 Suzana & Dimitris Antonakakis, Lyttos hotel in Anissaras-Hersonissos, Heraklion, Crete (1977). Associate architect: Alekos Polychroniadis. Suzana & Dimitris Antonakakis private archives. Photography

Polychroniadis

DM But the occasion for our discussion was your work for the book Architectural Poetics, the comprehensive edition of Suzana Antonakaki’s texts on Architecture, from 1959 to 2019. What method did you follow for this work?

SG I don't know if I could call it a method. Maybe it was more of a lived experience. I met Suzana Antonakaki, and her partner Dimitris Antonakakis, when I first knocked on their office door in 2013. Until then, I had only seen them from a distance, at various architectural events in Greece. They were consistently present, sitting in the second row, with their ears perked and their eyes wide open. I fondly remember Suzana's penetrating gaze as she was trying to absorb the fine grain of her discussant’s thinking, and process it, in order to respond. But I really got to know them in 2013, in the course of a three-hour-long autobiographical interview. And I returned to their office, afterwards, time and again. In the years that followed, we shared an ensuing sense of intimacy. But I was especially struck by the way in which, from the very first moment, they opened up their archive to show me all sorts of important documents. I very much appreciated their generosity and their confidence in a young man who happened to knock on their door. They didn't know me at all then, and yet they were so generous. Peers who had been in contact with them over the years shared the same feeling.

So, the book is the product of all too human relations that evolved over time. Because I too am a bookworm, and also studied Philosophy and History of Science after graduating from the School of Architecture, I felt that Suzana and I had much in common. She was an avid reader - she would also read fiction and history, not just essays on Architecture. Any theoretical text about any art immediately attracted her interest. So, there was also this strong connection that I felt with her. That's what motivated me to start working on her book, as a personal moral duty in her memory. That Suzana’s texts remained unpublished in her lifetime was also a source of sadness for Dimitris. He always felt that he had a comparatively stronger public presence, owing to his privileged status as the male member of this creative couple, who also taught at the university. Academic election procedures had also forced Dimitris to list and organize the archive of his projects and publications. He and she had not done the same for Suzana’s work while she was alive.

But Suzana was also active on various public fronts, independently of Dimitris’s own public presence. She was very active in the Technical Chamber of Greece, for example. Suzana wanted to promote Architecture as an invaluable expression of collective culture, and demanded its institutional protection. With her public interventions, she wanted to raise the Greek state’s awareness of Architecture. This was one of her greatest concerns. But all these texts that she delivered as lectures on various occasions had never been systematically organized. After her passing in 2020, Dimitris Antonakakis gathered the sum of her papers. Most of her public talks were based on handwritten notes. But even her typescripts were filled with pencil marks and last-minute edits, demonstrating Suzana’s attention to detail; she wanted to convey her thoughts with her audience as clearly as possible.

When I started to edit this material, Dimitris had already spent more than a year trying to reconstruct and classify Suzana’s various speeches from the scattered pages of her notes. His efforts had ushered in about sixty texts, which were then typed afresh by three peers (Sarra Matsa, Angeliki Tsamouridou, Evangelia Drosou) who rushed to help him. I first saw this material in March 2022 when I visited Dimitris to offer him a copy of my recently published book Resisting Postmodern Architecture: Critical Regionalism before Globalisation. I had just finished that decade-long work, when Dimitris told me that Suzana’s unpublished texts were saved in his computer now. I spontaneously responded that I wanted to edit them, to get them from his computer to the world out there. This is how this book project started.

The main part of my work was to organize Suzana’s texts thematically, so that they could become a book. But most texts also lacked numerous bibliographical references. This is how Dimitris and I embarked on a process of "archaeological excavation" in Suzana's library. Dimitris spent several summer evenings of 2022 shuffling through the bookcases of their office and apartment on 118 Benaki Street to take some 180 books off the shelves. And I undertook the task of tracing Suzana's handwritten notes on their pages. I spent several months doing just that, blindly searching for the source of a specific quote, in order to add the missing reference in Suzana’s text. At the same time, this part of the work also enabled me to immerse myself in Suzana's world; I caught a glimpse of the way in which she read various texts. I witnessed her spontaneous thoughts imprinted on the page when she underscored a phrase or read something that inspired her to think about Architecture afresh, and jot it down in the margin. Delving into her books, I also discovered how specific phrases stayed with her, and how she interpreted them.

DM So you got to know a different side of Suzana Antonakaki through this whole process. Could you tell me a bit more about this Suzana that you discovered?

SG Before writing my introduction to the book, I had not consistently thought about how I could see Suzana, independently of Dimitris. When I had that question clearly in mind, my thinking about her sprouted its branches and gradually flourished. Suzana then emerged as the architect-intellectual of Atelier 66. Dimitris is an avid reader, too; he is very much into philosophy and even more into poetry. But Suzana also read much "heavier" theoretical essays. I think one can discern that in her texts. Through my work on this book, I witnessed the depths of her thinking and the cultural gravitas behind every line that she drew.

02.3.11

DM Do you want to give us an example of something that impressed you very much? Something that you held on to?

SG To begin with, the archival material, such as her drawings, is very interesting. In addition to various calculations, or sketchy iterations with different proportions and colours, a verse from a poem or a quote from a book is also frequently scribbled in the margin of a drawing. This reflects the sophisticated thinking that lies behind everything that she draws, which goes beyond specifying the materials or dimensions of architectural features. The proportions of a living room, for example, may consciously allude to the feeling of the same space in an old house in Makrinitsa, which Suzana had surveyed in 1959, when she was still a student.

The architectural world that she shared with Dimitris is very rich. Although I have been researching it for over a decade now, I cannot claim that I have mastered it or that I have managed to step in the minds of its creators. It is such a rich world that you can continue to explore it for a long time. No matter how much you try to see them as individual personalities, these people shared more than 60 years of working and living together. So, they constantly fed off each other. Suzana may have been the one reading the "heavy" theoretical texts, but she would then discuss it all with Dimitris over dinner. Entering the world of these people shows you what it means to lead a life dedicated to Architecture. Suzana and Dimitris Antonakakis’ architect self is always at work in the background no matter whether they are eating steaks in a tavern, attending a political event, or watching a film. They both remain primarily architects in whatever else they happen to do.

DM Do you recall any references to poems and books that surprised you, too, in terms of their connection to Architecture? And also, what do we mean when we say "heavy" theoretical texts?

SG "Heavy theoretical texts" are those that you read but feel that you cannot understand them. You cannot enter the world of such texts without some sort of prior training in their field. Even the simplest things can have their particular terminology; when these unfamiliar words pile up on the same page, the resulting discourse cannot be easily followed. In addition, some authors’ writing is straightforward, while that of others is convoluted. Suzana read both types of authors. And she cherished something from each of them. She was always trying to establish a creative relationship with theoretical material that helped her to advance her thinking about her own work as an architect. Whether she accurately transposed ideas from one field to another is not that important. What truly matters is the way in which she fuelled her creative process through these readings. Some of her favourite writers, such as Paul Valéry, who also wrote texts on Architecture, was a versatile poetic personality like her. Suzana’s

is impressive. There are very few architects who will have read all of the following authors in the same breath: Valéry,

and

reading list

Heidegger

Lefevre; Seferis, Cavafy

02.3.14

02.3.15 Suzana & Dimitris Antonakakis, Lyttos hotel in Anissaras-Hersonissos, Heraklion, Crete (1977). Associate architect: Alekos Polychroniadis. Suzana & Dimitris Antonakakis private archives. Photography ©Alekos Polychroniadis

02.3.12-13 Suzana Antonakaki, translation into Greek of a passage from Victor Hugo's novel Notre-Dame de Paris 1482 (Paris: Pocket, 1989), p. 236: "It is the ant-hole of the mind. It is the hive where all imaginations, those golden bees, arrive with their honey. The edifice has a thousand floors... On the left at the entrance... the old white marble relief of Homer... There, too, there is confusion of languages, unstoppable activity, and tireless work. Suzana & Dimitris Antonakakis private archives. Photographies ©Danai Makri

02.3.14 Resisting Postmodern Architecture: Critical Regionalism before Globalisation (London: UCL Press, 2022).

DM When a researcher is working, do they have a desire for the way in which they would like their work to be used?

SG Writers frequently imagine that there are ideal readers who can perceive even the subtlest allusion that is included in their writings. But this is pure fantasy. The sooner one gets rid of it, the better. As a writer, you must come to terms with the idea that when you release a book out there in the world, it can be understood and utilized to help other people think differently than you do. Readers keep that which is significant for them, and this does not necessarily coincide with your own concerns.

Having said that, my books effectively familiarize international audiences with Modern Architecture in Greece. Until recently, there were no similarly extensive and systematic studies of distinguished Greek architects, freely accessible across the world, in English. But I do not start writing a book with a specific mission in mind. Some topics are just more significant for certain audiences than others. In any case, I usually start working on things that attract my intellectual interest or hold a special place in my heart. I think that my publications also reflect my personal trajectory, the ways in which I have assimilated variegated stimuli from the different environments within which I have conducted my studies, research and teaching.

Within the creative freedom of these History & Theory courses, I felt that I could also delve deeper into the theoretical side of my studies, which always fascinated me. So, I started studying Philosophy and History of Science at the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, after completing my Master’s in Architectural History & Theory, followed up by a Master’s in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology. As such, when I arrived in London, I thought I would embark on this great Ph.D. project that would bring the worlds of Philosophy and Architecture finally together. But my thesis turned out to be something completely different. Instead of becoming a philosopher, I reimagined myself as a historian. And this somehow took me all the way back to my childhood, reminding me that I always liked storytelling. Instead of telling stories about ducks, I would now start writing histories about buildings and the people who make or inhabit them.

DM And how have you evolved, in practice, through this whole process?

SG I entered the School of Architecture without having the faintest idea of all that which an architect does. Since I was a child, I liked to draw cartoons and comics with ducks. So, when it was time to decide for my future studies, my parents directed me towards the National Technical University of Athens School of Architecture, where my love for drawing could find its right place. They suggested that architecture, rather than cartooning, was a safer bet as my future profession. So, without thinking too much about it then, I embarked on studying architecture. It took me some time to figure out what I was doing in this School.

At The Bartlett, it would have taken about a week for someone to encourage me to creatively integrate the comics that I used to write and draw as a child into the creative process of my work as an architect. By contrast, it took me 3-4 years to figure this out in the School of Athens. And it would have been virtually impossible for me to realize it without the History and Theory course on Contemporary Architecture which was then taught by Panagiotis Tournikiotis, Dimitris Philippidis, and John Peponis. This professorial dream team opened my eyes to a richer architectural world than that which was then offered in the School’s design studios. Attending these lectures, I realized that an architect could do so much more than that.

But all these jigsaw pieces did not fall as neatly into place as it may sound now. I faced great dilemmas along the way. Would I become an architect or a philosopher, after all?

Would I settle in London or return to Greece?

I constantly felt like I was trying to find my footing on two boats, without knowing on which of them I would end up. But contradictions and internal conflicts are possibly inevitable as we grow as personalities.

DM Since we have discussed all these things, how important do you think that the oral tradition is for architecture?

SG Orality is significant in my work, although it is not widely regarded as reliable, in strict scientific terms. Through my work with autobiographical interviews, however, I witnessed how much more one shares orally in private (even when a gadget on the table records every single one of their words) rather than in writing, in public. The interviews that I conducted also hinted at other evidence that I needed to gather as part of my later work as a historian. These conversations gave me an idea of the sorts of additional material for which I would need to look out, such as student projects, brochures and pamphlets from that period.

Through these interviews, I also realized that some things could be hidden in plain sight in archival collections. To cite just one example, Dimitris Antonakakis was a teaching fellow at the School of Athens for 30 years. Despite being an internationally renowned architect, however, he was not formally allowed to supervise diploma projects because he did not have a professorial position in the School. So, a colleague would step in as supervisor on paper, for Antonakakis to supervise the student, in practice. Had I been limited to looking at the student projects in the School’s archive, I would not have been able to arrive at this information. It was the oral testimony of one of his peers that led me to it.

So, that which is said orally is very important, because it explores the freedom of a private conversation between two people. For personal and other reasons, people do not say many things as easily in public. At the same time, the testimony of individuals who participated in a historical event should ideally be documented. Even if one does not fully trust their subjectivity, it can always serve as a prelude to more systematic historical work that may follow.

the built environment of our everyday life; the importance of boundaries, of movement and transitions in Architecture; the use of colour in Architecture and the city; theatricality and dwelling; the relations between time and space; ornament and the poetic dimension of everyday objects; the architecture of the Athenian apartment building and the association of the Greek city with its locus and natural environment." Are there any themes from Suzana’s texts that remain very topical today? Which are the most pertinent, in your opinion?

SG The long list that you just read out loud summarizes the topics that were constantly revisited in Suzana's writings. They form her personal contribution to Modern Greek Architecture. We could start with her discussion of colour, for example. When you speak with Dimitris about it today, he usually replies: "I wish Suzana were here so that we could be more daring with our colors." Suzana was willing to experiment with colour at a time when white was mythologized as the true colour of modern architecture. Working systematically, Suzana devised her own colour scheme and continued to develop it throughout her career. She had initially based it on the earlier work of Le Corbusier and Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika’s drawing classes at the National Technical University of Athens in the 1950s. She constantly experimented with mixing different pigments with plaster from one project to the next. Colour still allows one to open a different discussion around Greek architecture today. A cursory glance at the Athenian apartment buildings that are currently under construction would suffice to show that only four colours prevail: black, grey, dark brown, and white. We can certainly live in the more colourful cities that Suzana desired, under the Mediterranean light.

DM Let us return to the book about Suzana Antonakaki. I am going to read this aloud now because I would like to hear your comment on a whole passage: "the poetic conception of

Then there is this very important part of her work, which addresses architecture's relationship with place and the natural landscape in particular. This is relevant to current debates around climate change; namely, how one can arrive at an architecture with minimal footprint on the ground. In this context, Suzana & Dimitris Antonakakis’ design for a house on Crete immediately comes to my mind. They designed it around the old olive grove that stood for years on that plot of land. How one can introduce an architectural project into an existing ecosystem in a way that also inserts people seamlessly into that ecosystem is a very pertinent discussion. Suzana’s work could further foreground it as relevant for the future of Architecture today.

02.3.16

02.3.17

of local bureaucracy. What really impresses me in the work of Greek architects is their resilience; how they can still promote Architecture against the long-standing odds of economic hardship, bureaucracy, delays, and so many other obstacles in their practice. They are constantly called upon to make their way through such Clashing Rocks, in order to realize their architectural vision. Greek architects practise the skills required by such a heroic endeavour on a daily basis. My optimism for the future rests on that side of practising architecture in Greece, combined with the wider knowledge base of the new generation. The only caveat is that we should also seriously address the challenges of current developments in Greek cities.

DM For the finale, what is your next book?

SG I just delivered the manuscript for my book on Konstantinidis, so I have just started working on the special issue of Architectural Research Quarterly on histories of disability in architecture now. This work may also lead to my next book in the future, which will possibly be a wider collection of texts around these issues.

I have also been recently appointed to direct the ‘Architecture’ book series for Crete University Press. Through this role, I intend to commission not only translations of important titles that are currently missing from local architectural literature, but also new books by Greek architects and historians. I would be delighted to see this series becoming a forum for Greek architects to share more details about their art with the wider public. Through the book series, I would also like to introduce the thinking of important architects from our wider neighbourhood, such as the Balkans, the Northern African countries and the Arab World, who remain totally unknown in Greece. I am also willing to oversee book projects addressing the relationships between Architecture and other artistic fields, the environment, landscape and climate change, or the third age. There are hardly any books on these topics from the perspective of Architecture, in Greece.

SUZANA ANTONAKAKI (1935-2020) , in collaboration with Dimitris Antonakakis, was a founding architect-member of Atelier 66. Their joint work won numerous awards in architectural competitions and was repeatedly included in important publications by international historians of Architecture. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Greek Architects (SADAS, 1971-1972), President of the Architects’ Sector at the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE, 1980-1984), member of the National Secretariat of the International Union of Architects (UIA, 1982-2002) and corresponding member of the French Academy of Architecture (Académie d'Architecture, 19952020). Throughout her career, she taught at university seminars and gave numerous lectures in Greece and abroad.

STELIOS GIAMARELOS (B. 1982) is Associate Professor in Architectural History & Theory at The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. He is the ‘Architecture’ series editor for Crete University Press and the author of Resisting Postmodern Architecture: Critical Regionalism before Globalisation (London: UCL Press, 2022). He has served as Executive Editor of The Journal of Architecture (RIBA, 2020-22) and General Editor of Architectural Histories (EAHN, 2017-20). His research in architectural history and theory has been supported with scholarships and research grants by the: European Social Fund, Royal Institute of British Architects, British Council, Hellenic Ministries of Culture and Environment, Greek State Scholarships Foundation, and the Onassis, Michelis, and Schwarz Foundations.

02.3.19

02.3.19 Suzana Antonakaki, Architectural Poetics: Texts 1959–2019, ed. by Stelios Giamarelos (Heraklion: Crete University Press, 2023).

Mediterranean architecture is synonymous with emotion and purity. It represents the earthly materials and the art that shapes them. It praises the poetry and philosophy of the place. At dePLOT Architects, the architectural engineer Ourania Pikramenou and the interior designer Dominiki Katramadopoulou weave Mediterranean stories that respond to the times' needs and the timelessness of places.

A CURRENT LANGUAGE

By dePLOT Architects

In Greece today, investment activity continues to boom at an explosive rate. With it, the new era of Architecture is evolving. An era where Architecture is not just an aesthetic "medium" that precedes construction but a philosophy of embodying new ways of life. The stakes are twofold: on the one hand, in popular destinations, the challenge is differentiation and character. On the other hand, by exploring lesser-known but exciting locations in the countryside, Architecture creates experiences based on their own character. So imagine a high-end cottage in a quiet olive grove, with a watery landscape as a backdrop. Or consider how a 1970s high-rise building in a mountain village in Crete is transformed into a hotel carved from the stone and wood of the earth in just 5 months!

"At our firm, Architecture reflects the soul and practical needs of those who trust us. In renovation, as was the case with the Achatis Hotel in Koutouloufari, Crete, we preserve the original building structure while seeking a new, pure form. The context, the place, and our philosophy guide us. We may be inspired by the simplicity and honesty of rural life, such as the way farmers harvest wheat, and transform this inspiration into architectural creations free of formalisms," says Ourania Pikramenou.

In this particular project, under a limited budget and under time pressure, the implementation was made possible thanks to a downto-earth study that took into account regulations and real project actualizations and, as a result, was applied to the letter in the construction. In the case of the Achatis Hotel, the existing building housed rooms for rent in the 1970s and is a typical example of the collective memory of the area as a holiday resort.

In this reality, we meet dePLOT Architects. Ourania Pikramenou and Dominiki Katramadopoulou, new and rising stars in the design industry, specialize in architecture and interior design, respectively. Two young women under 35 years old, who have traced parallel paths, discovered from their first professional meeting their connection in terms of vision, philosophy, and aesthetics.

They soon became aware of the creative union between architects and interior designers and the universal solution in the re-creation of buildings, complexes, and building structures and in their upgraded reuse.

The architectural design aimed to rearrange the façades and spaces, giving the building a fresh breath of life by incorporating new elements and highlighting the area’s traditional character.

"The fusion of the interior and the exterior is one of the most important cases of our office design.

The openings are passages but also the main link to the atrium space," Ourania and Dominiki explain.

The hotel’s interior design, an earthy palette inspired by the Mediterranean, and use of materials such as natural wood in frames and furniture, mosaic slabs on the floors, and the beautifully preserved staircase with travertine marble, beige tones, and stone, combined with the placement of olive trees at the entrance and in the courtyards, are the "binding" in a sophisticated weave of new and traditional elements.

Danai Makri

02.4.2

02.4.3

02.4.4

02.4.1 Ourania Pikramenou & Dominiki Katramadopoulou Photography courtesy of dePLOT Architects

02.4.2 Apartment in Kolonaki

02.4.3

Another example of the office's architectural approach is the 5-star Philosophy of Mykonos Hotel. The hotel consists of 30 rooms, a reception, a breakfast area, a pool lounge, a pool bar, and several outdoor areas. "In an idyllic landscape overlooking Delos, Rhineia, and Ornos Bay, where you can observe the sun rising just above Delos and setting in Tinos, we were asked to create a new hotel in an existing 50-year-old building.

With the main orientation of cutting the visitor off from the modern stimuli of the island and returning to the ancestral origins of the Cyclades, we created the Philosophy of Mykonos. Our main concern was to make the most of the 17 sq.m. rooms. We decided to extend their living through their outdoor spaces by creating private courtyards, semi-outdoor spaces but also outdoor activities areas such as vineyards, with large dining rooms for wine tasting, outdoor kitchens that the guest can use, traditional Cycladic dovecotes and interaction areas, in addition to the usual ones", explain Ourania and Dominiki.

The big bet for dePLOT was to convey the homely feeling of intimacy in the rather large hotel unit. The experiential architecture characterizes each space, while the square footage remains precisely the same. Now, the visitor comes in contact with the blue sky, the deep blue sea, the arid clear landscape of Mykonos, the salt, and the cool breeze. It is a ritualistic architecture that creates energy and triggers emotions, returning to the authenticity of Mykonos and the deep roots of the Cyclades.

How does dePLOT approach the design of a house from scratch? Re-creation follows its own rules of poetry, as was the case at the high-end farm Isola Cotonea in Messinia. "Our initial intention was to place the kitchen at the heart of the building. To be, as a hearth, a gathering place but also a transition between areas of the house, with a through opening to the view of the sea and the olive grove," explains Ourania. The kitchen was not designed this way; however, Isola Cotonea became a poetic architectural project that takes its name from the local name of the area, "Island of Cydonia."

Isola Cotonea is a rural retreat spread over 100 square meters, with two bedrooms, a spacious kitchen, and a central living area seamlessly connected to countless outdoor spaces. Mediterranean textures, ceramics, and local stones pay homage to centuries-old construction traditions in a modern residence that respects its ancestral roots.

Light curves and the alternation of materials follow the lines of the building, framing the central pool and creating new stimuli for the visitor, who discovers Mediterranean authenticity through wandering in a narrative palette of interaction between the natural and the built.

Returning to the urban environment and competitive landscape of Athens, through experiential architecture, the transubstantiation of the familiar, and a love of the built environment, dePLOT exhibits examples of architectural writing not only in residential structures but also in commercial projects.

"Christina Boba-Tanimanidi’s Holibites group entrusted us with the architectural study and design of all the group's natural food outlets in Greece and abroad. The challenge of working with established young entrepreneurs in the industry was the driving force behind our inspiration and creativity," say Ourania and Dominiki. For the shops, a double survey was conducted by both the entrepreneurs and architects. The coupling of the searches led to the use of best practices. "Our constant was the architectural rendering of the brand name, highlighting it through design. The brand’s positioning focused on the feelings of serenity, hospitality, and attractiveness. Aiming at the atmosphere of easy living, we designed special spaces that introduce the uniqueness of nature inside while extending to outdoor courtyards and patios, inviting guests to new experiential experiences," Ourania and Dominiki explain.

KATRAMADOPOULOU

Hippolitus. Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus Photography ©Andreas Simopoulos

Project: Avant Mar Paros / Lighting by Solomon Group

Since 1973 we have produced thousands of cubic meters and sold thousands of square meters of wooden floors. Moreover, our products have proudly traveled to various projects all over the world. Architecture

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Architecture, the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. The practice of architecture is employed to fulfill both practical and expressive requirements, and thus it serves both utilitarian and aesthetic ends.

- Encyclopedia Britannica

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[03.5] ARISTIDES DALLAS GREEN P.156

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[03.8]

[03.9]

A Greek architectural firm is leading the project of the casino and hotels of GEK TERNA-Hard Rock in Elliniko. Its founder, Stathis Tryfonopoulos, talks about the 45-story skyscraper that will bring the air of Las Vegas to the Athenian Riviera.

DIARCHON ARCHITECTS

CREATE

An Enormous Casino in Elliniko

Diarchon Architects began in 1997 and, to date, has blazed a trail of projects that make Hard Rock's 45-story casino in Elliniko - including the brand's hotels - look like a natural extension. The firm has also carried out the renovation of the Elounda Beach bungalows in Elounda into royal suites and the redesign of the Niko Hotel in Agios Nikolaos, Crete, as well as the Grand Hyatt (former Ledra Marriott and Starcity building) in Athens, which was the first investment of the well-known hotel chain in Southern Europe and also Diarchon Architects' first significant hospitality project within the urban fabric.

Stathis Tryfonopoulos is an architect and founding member of Diarchon Architects, a member of RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects), and the lead architect on the implementation study of the enormous project that will change the Athens coastal front.

Thanasis Diamantopoulos

( NEW PROJECT )

ARCHITECTS THE CASINO

ST How did you win the commission to design the casino in Elliniko?

TD Hard Rock and GEK TERNA, the project owners, conducted a competition between specific firms to select the most suitable one for the project. They had a short pre-selection list, but in the end, they decided to use only us, who had participated in the process in partnership with Grammatopoulos-Panousakis Architecture Ltd. The design was awarded to us directly by the two owners' group. Our participation was agreed upon as follows: a) in the preliminary design stage with 10%, b) in the final design stage with 35%, c) in the implementation study with 85%, and also as lead & coordinators. The remaining part will be carried out by more than 30 foreign special consultants, such as the multinational architectural firm Gensler, KJWA, JBI, et al.

ST I hope it is not true what they say, that too many cooks spoil the broth…

TD No, we have now moved on to the implementation design stage, where we are the lead architect and the ones coordinating all the others. We have been involved at all stages, so now that our role is more prominent, we know where to start or what needs to be added along the way. There are weekly meetings - online and in person - with everyone going either to Miami, where Hard Rock is headquartered, or to Athens, where GEK TERNA is based. Our team comprises about 62 people - primarily architects - and 5% designers.

ST The project is unprecedented in terms of Greek standards.

TD Imagine that the whole project amounts to 170,000 sq.m. The ground floor alone covers 46,000 sq.m. And we are only talking about the building, not the whole plot. The building is 45 floors above the ground floor and about 200 meters high, making it unusual for Greek standards and local designers. But I think we are now beginning to get to know the tall building better here, too.

ST Where exactly will it be built?

TD In the part towards Glyfada Golf. It also has an exit on Poseidonos Avenue. The connection between the site and the coastal front is via a vehicle overpass - its construction has started - and a pedestrian bridge will be built. The land on the seaside front in front of the casino is being developed by Lamda, which is preparing a small shopping center.

ST What’s your design philosophy?

TD Our design philosophy is focused on informing all outsiders that the sea here is not a "black sea," a barren ocean, as Americans are used to. It is a seascape bathed in light. So we insisted that the building’s public spaces be oriented more towards the sea and less towards the city center, explaining to them that this choice, with the view of the Acropolis in mind, would not work, since there’s a 12 km distance that makes it look like a tiny lighthouse. We managed to convince them. We assisted with the design of the building layouts (casino, hotel, etc.), assisting the other designers based on our Greek law experience.

ST How many floors will the casino occupy?

TD Most of the floors will be occupied by the Hard Rock Hotels that will be housed in the same building: 43.5 out of 45. The casino premises will extend to the ground and 35th floors, where the VIP gaming suites will be located. Restaurants are located on the ground floor and the 20th floor. Live arena and conference areas will also be located on the ground floor. The spa, pools, and general physical wellness areas, totaling 15,000 sqm, will be on the 1st floor. The remaining floors will house the hotel's 1,100 rooms and suites.

ST Is there an acoustic study?

TD It is customary for hotels to rely on an acoustic study as well, either to protect against external noise or the surrounding residential buildings. There is a special consultant-designer from abroad who deals with fire safety issues, which are very important for a tall building. It was agreed that the project should be designed according to the American Fire Safety Regulation (NFPA) since our regulation does not cover tall buildings.

ST When will the project be completed?

TD The goal is to be ready in spring 2027.

Urban Soul Project architects, who undertook the interior architecture and interior design of the Kaizen Campus office building, have a long experience in office design. This time, they created the first office in Greece that reflects the cultural change in the way businesses think strategically, through Architecture.

( NEW PROJECT )

KAIZEN CAMPUS URBAN SOUL PROJECT

Corporate Cultural Shift, Through Architecture

και εργαζόμενοι ευδαιμονούν. Το Kaizen Campus είναι το πρώτο γραφειακό κτίριο στην Ελλάδα που αντανακλά την τρέχουσα πολιτιστική αλλαγή μέσω της Αρχιτεκτονικής. Οι αρχιτέκτονες Urban Sould Project που ανέλαβαν την αρχιτεκτονική εσωτερικών

A number of factors are mandating a cultural change in the corporate environment: the rapid development of technology, the post-pandemic trend towards a hybrid work model, the global nature of business, employees' expectations for quality, balanced life, a growing sensitivity to the environmental impact of traditional office work, and the recognition that inclusion at work leads to better business results, are demanding adaptability and flexibility.

FOCUS

LEARN

Danai Makri

Architecture and design prioritize positive employee experience and well-being in this context, supporting a human-centered approach to physical work environments where businesses and employees thrive. Kaizen Campus is the first office building in the country to reflect the current cultural change through architecture. The architects Urban Sould Project, who undertook the interior architecture and interior design, developed a unique research method, which led to a design based on five pillars:

COLLABORATE

Ιncluding meeting rooms, e-meeting rooms, think tanks, and project rooms.

FOCUS

Ιnvolving spaces such as telephone booths, relaxation rooms, and closed office types

SOCIALIZE

Representing social connection areas, hallway conversations, and café space.

LEARN

Pervasive in every space, but mostly in training rooms and leadership and learning studios. Rejuvenate: pioneering spaces for activating or relaxing the body.

REJUVENATE

Pioneering spaces for activating or relaxing the body.

PROJECT

To translate the pillars into a user-friendly design, a new participatory design method was developed that includes the following steps: understanding the brand culture, conducting interviews with team members, discussing needs with team leaders, and organizing installation workshops to produce the building program.

As a result, the Kaizen Campus spaces are tailored to the needs of each company department. The three-level reception area features one side with wood paneling and the other with corrugated perforated sheet metal. Its furniture is made of terrazzo, carved internally to match its curved shape. A metal sculpture hangs in the center of the patio, surrounded by solid wooden representations of sports equipment.

The first floor emphasizes adaptability and collaboration, with a modular library system that divides the space into areas for open meeting rooms or group work in various cluster arrangements. Flexible offices, designed for easy movement, facilitate the creation of large collaborative teams. The second-floor conference area includes meeting rooms, the main conference room, and the executive dining room.

The ground-floor amphitheater serves as an extension of the restaurant when it is not hosting an event. The organic floor design enhances the flow of the space with high-quality braided vinyl flooring that improves both aesthetics and acoustics. The use of solid terrazzo and oak veneer complements the overall design. The building's corporate identity is reflected through the works of Dimitris Polychroniadis and sculptures representing the company's values, designed by French graphic designer Jerome Massy and sculptor Theodore Frastanlis.

The design of the building placed particular emphasis on integrating the basic principles of bioclimatic design and has been certified according to the international LEED certification system for sustainable development at the GOLD level. At the same time, the building is distinguished for promoting the health and well-being of its employees by incorporating the best scientific and medical research practices in its design, construction, and operation.

Overall, the Kaizen Campus creates a benchmark in the country for how

and the wellbeing of businesses.

On the occasion of the first SITES Gold sustainability certification in Europe, which the Ellinikon Experience Park received, we talked with the managers of FOSS Lighting, Tasos Bizakis and Manos Petrakakis, who carried out the lighting study. How do they design an equally motivating approach for the lively spirit of children, the relaxation of adults, and the wellbeing of biodiversity?

( LIGHTING DESIGN )

LIGHT DESIGN

The Ellinikon Experience Park Case

Ellinikon Experience Park is a place with complex semiotics for its diverse audiences. Despite its non-commercial character, it has been loved by thousands of Athenians – parents with children, teenagers, and couples. In addition, it is the first embodiment of an Elliniko vision for an innovative urban regeneration that combines the natural beauty of Athens' beachfront with innovative architecture. The park covers an area of 75,000 square meters, including over 500 trees and 50,000 plants, offering a green oasis in the city. The design focuses on the concept of symbiosis, aiming to satisfy the needs of both people and nature, thus promoting balanced coexistence.

landscape architect, Θωμάς Δοξιάδης, σε πρόσφατο event της FOSS. Η εν λόγω πιστοποίηση

Today, the Ellinikon Experience Park receives the first SITES Gold sustainability certification in Europe, which serves as evidence of its environmentally conscious design, from the Doxiadis+ office. Receiving the certification is also attributed to its lighting by FOSS Lighting, as mentioned by the head of Doxiadis+ and landscape architect Thomas Doxiadis at a recent FOSS event. This certification recognizes the park's emphasis on biodiversity, soil restoration, and the reuse of materials from the old airport, creating a space that ideally combines nature with aesthetic and ecological considerations.

Danai Makri

IN THE DARK

The Ellinikon Experience Park is an outdoor space experienced mainly from the afternoon hours onwards when the summer sun of Attica recedes. The transition to the action points takes place through the mysterious Zen garden. Then, children, as well as parents, rush into the water or deliberately interact with it. They dance and do cartwheels. They move from game to game and explore. In the playground, white and colorful – purple, orange, blue –lighting draws attention to the next adrenaline station. Star projectors bring the sky to earth under the trees' dimly lit, protective, huggable foliage. Dominant senses, safety, euphoria, and relaxation for adults and feelings of well-being and adventure for children. "In the Children's Forest, the experience of lighting serves the function of the space, illuminating and therefore facilitating children's activities at night as well."

In addition, it ignites their curiosity, places it in the field of exploration, and stimulates the satisfaction of the admirer and the new. "To achieve this, we chose low intensity and warm lighting, in an uneven distribution, focused on the points of interest," explain Tasos Bizakis and Manos Petrakakis, founder and General Director of FOSS, respectively. "We investigated the separate needs of each space. We looked for multifaceted experiences, more or less obvious, in the elements of architecture and planting. The architecture and the planting gave us the occasion to imagine positive emotions and human relationships that, through light, could be brought into people's everyday lives."

«Τέλος,

THE LIGHTING CHALLENGES

Outdoor lighting is a demanding process because, unlike indoors, conditions are variable and difficult to control. Additionally, plant growth alters the interaction of light with space. "For example, in the playground, the lighting focuses on the play and the children. The lighting intensity varies depending on the game, with bright light in the games and lower intensity in the zones where the parents sit, creating an interesting contrast that enhances everyone's imagination," says Tasos Bizakis.

The more general approach, based on research and observations, focuses on the use of warm lighting with low intensity due to the reduced energy consumption and the favorable effect on the animals and biodiversity of the night.

"The choice of luminaires and the combination of tall lighting masts, with low Bollard luminaires on footpaths and tree highlight luminaires are critical, as they must operate with different intensities and color temperatures. With the appropriate techniques, we have eliminated the risk of glare. Especially tall lamps, combined with the large area of space, require special design management," says Manos Petrakakis.

"Finally, we have chosen special spots to light up spaces and trees with colors, adding interest, especially in the centuries-old olive trees and the playground, with a gentle approach," they conclude.

The award-winning La Bergerie project in Mykonos is a pristine space that stops time as it becomes one with nature. Created by Mykonos Architects, it expresses the firm's commitment to enhancing the indomitable Cycladic landscape. It also studies true Mykonian architecture through a narrative with an authentic sensory experience.

( NEW PROJECT )

INSIDE LA ARCHITECTURAL

By Mykonos Architects

Firstly, Aude Mazelin has lived in Greece for over twenty years. Second, she is so profoundly connected to Mykonos that her works on the island reflect fragments of its tradition and history. It is no coincidence that her architectural practice is called Mykonos Architects, marking the Island of the Winds as its material and emotional headquarters - with the recent addition of the Athens branch. This is also the location of her GRAIL Awards-winning project, La Bergerie, which in French means "stable," wanting to introduce the idea of a holistic approach, which one could say draws its inspiration from the Mykonos village, the island farmhouse.

As surreal as it may seem in the island's beachy setting, La Bergerie seeks to communicate the lost sense of Mykonos' authenticity, avoiding the trap of copying. But how was this achieved? "We looked for ways to bring out the old, familiar path while incorporating new elements and materials, always respecting the original artistry and spirit of the place," answers Aude Mazelin.

Ira Sinigalia

03.4.1

She continues: "The color shades, borrowed from local natural elements, offer a perfectly integrated composition into the landscape. The interior floors are made of earth-colored cement mortar, consistent with the exterior, with stone floors of the same tones. The yoga room floors are made of olive wood, giving a natural feel to this room. The organic volumes and traditional, imperfect plasterwork are basic Cycladic features harmoniously integrated into our composition, the basis of which is respect for nature and tradition. Inspired by the client's deep appreciation of the Cycladic aesthetic, we envisioned the transformation of the property into a sophisticated paradise, annexing to the existing summer residence 'winter living spaces' with a space dedicated to yoga, a farm, and an orchard."

This project has been a significant challenge for the Mykonos Architects office, which focused on the detailed landscaping of the surrounding area for two consecutive years. Aude Mazelin emphatically states that they allowed the imperfect wood to age gracefully, the iron to rust naturally, and the vegetation to blend smoothly into the environment. The lighting became a stage setter, intended to highlight the sculptural and organic elements, contributing to the overall atmosphere of the project.

BERGERIE’S MICROCOSM

To firmly anchor itself to these convictions, the proposal of Mykonos Architects aimed to emphasize and preserve the poetics of Mykonos. As Aude Mazelin says, "Instead of creating a building, we created a story that awakens the Mykonian poetry and its roots to give the client a pure sensory experience. Deeply rooted in tradition and the present, this project offers an optimistic and authentic identity to Mykonos and itself. For example, no air conditioning has been installed. Instead, small triangular-shaped high openings were placed - a key element of the local architecture - which ensure natural ventilation of the space. The existing stone walls were destroyed and then rebuilt following the traditional local dry-stone construction technique without the use of cement, also typical of Mykonos. To create the barn and stable, we visited local farmers and revisited functional details, while through architectural composition and geometry, we upgraded the project."

However, the interesting thing about La Bergerie is that it is a living organism. This project continues to evolve, as the owner has recently acquired the two adjacent plots of land. Currently, the Mykonos Architects team is working on creating a gym in the middle of an olive grove and a donkey sanctuary.

As a professional active in Mykonos and the Cyclades, Aude Mazelin can answer how the future of the fragile microcosm of the islands is shaping up. Can they be protected from the onslaught of overbuilding? Are their characteristics being altered, or is another perspective emerging following the activation of the recent law prohibiting construction in off-plan areas? Aude Mazelin believes that developments are leading to the restoration of buildings through adaptive reuse. In particular, she argues that "this approach, which is already prevalent in Mykonos, is an important part of modern projects. From this project alone, it is clear that many beautiful traditional and non-traditional buildings in the Cyclades can be transformed into modern tourist accommodations with respect to the landscape and traditional architecture."

PROJECT TITTLE

La Bergerie

TYPE Renovation STATUS Completed

YEAR 2020-2022

SERVICES Architecture

Interior design

Lighting Project management

CLIENT Private individual

DESIGN TEAM

Aude Mazelin

Xara Karantzali

Aristides Dallas architects created a "Green" apartment building, with the goal of zero energy performance, inspired by the typical tree house.

( NEW PROJECT )

GREEN BLOCK OF

Zero Energy Performance

The architectural proposal concerns a "green" apartment building in Gazi, Athens, with zero energy performance. The composition, inspired by the typical treehouse, consists primarily of the main body of the building—the tree trunk—including the interior spaces of the residences. It is completed by a perforated shell of upcycled wood that includes open outdoor and semi-outdoor spaces, serving the building's bioclimatic behavior. The volumes emerging from the trunk facing the Acropolis are "anchored" to it and serve the outdoor expansion of the residences.

The lower volume, unable to turn towards the view, encloses the residence, giving it privacy and isolating it from the eyes of the neighboring houses, enclosing the green courtyard and the vertical gardens of the first and second floors. The building volume is scaled to two smaller ones for all the apartments' best natural sunlight. This way, it forms multiple and different alternations of outdoor and indoor spaces. They also work as the core of the composition, as their rotation allows the utilization of the intermediate open spaces, making it possible to plant them while contributing to the privacy of the apartments.

The synthetic elements of the building's shell aim for the best natural lighting through natural cross ventilation, the visual discharge and comfort of its interior, the improvement of the atmosphere of the space, and, in general, the microclimate both inside and outside it. The integration of green zones in open and closed spaces, perimeter sheds, and perforated elements of the building, as well as the wooden shading system (perforated perimeter elements), are the tools that create ideal bioclimatic conditions in them (green apartment building) by increasing the percentage of green per height in the area.

In the rear (north) part of the apartment building, the second skin encloses evergreen climbing planting that protects from the north without depriving the view from the back side of the apartments. Planted roofs, green canopies, balconies, and vertical planting make their presence evident inside and outside the building, upgrading the environment for the residents as well as the microclimate of the area, contributing to the reduction of the phenomenon of the "urban heat island" in the center of Athens.

OF FLATS

Vikelas

( NEW PROJECT )

LUXURY APARTMENT WITH OUTDOOR

By Vikelas Architects

Το

This opulent residential complex, featuring two staircases and two basements, is set to rise at the intersection of Poseidonos Avenue and Pavlou Bakoyannis Street, boasting magnificent views of the Saronic Sea while maintaining harmony with the natural surroundings.

The quadripartite separation of the building is achieved with the three main vertical elements, which are intended to ensure the privacy of the apartments and orient the views towards the sea. These elements also birth the four sloping roofs that complete the building.

The development comprises sixteen apartments: ten single-level units and six duplexes. Each floor houses four apartments, except the ground floor, which features two apartments flanking the central entrance. All units include private swimming pools on their terraces, except the ground-floor apartments, which exclusively offer gardens with private pools. Apartment sizes vary from 126 sq.m. to 361 sq.m.

APARTMENT COMPLEX SWIMMING POOLS

The two ground-floor apartments extend to the second level with lofts, while the fourthfloor apartments have the attic space under the roofs as a second level. The main entrance to the plot is on Poseidonos Avenue, while a secondary entrance suitable for people disabled is provided from P. Bakoyannis Street. The entrance to the complex is centrally located on the plot and is made at ground floor level through the reception area (lobby), which divides the movement towards the two main stairwells serving all floors and basements.

The shaping of the surrounding area was done to highlight the central entrance of the building while respecting pre-existing elevations. The private gardens of the ground-floor apartments are protected by appropriate planting. At the northeastern end of the plot, in contact with P. Bakoyannis Street, there is a ramp that leads to the two basements of the building. The underground areas are mainly used as parking areas and secondarily as storage areas and mechanical support areas for the building's needs.

PROJECT

LOCATION

Poseidonos 35-37 & P. Bakoyannis, Glyfada

ARCHITECTURAL

STUDY

Vikelas Architects

PARTICIPATION IN INTERIOR DESIGN

DNE Architecture & Interiors

CIVIL

ENGINEERING

LITHOS

Consulting Engineers

MEP STUDIES

LDK Consultants

Engineers SA

LIGHTING

CONSULTANT

Danilof Light & Perception Studio

LANDSCAPE DESIGN

LIVINGSPACES

Mathioudakis + Associates

ACOUSTICS CONSULTANT

Gottfried Schubert

Access is from P. Bakoyannis Street, with two-way ramps that run through both basements. The first basement also has facilities for the tenants, such as a swimming pool, a gym area, and changing rooms. These spaces are for the exclusive use of the complex's tenants.

We note that the choice to place the new building diagonally on the plot resulted from the desire to be oriented to the south and to optimize the views towards the sea. The form of the building is contemporary in terms of design and materials used, and we believe it fits in with the environment of similar structures.

ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATION BOARD DCARBON

TRAFFIC STUDY

Dimitris

Evangelidis

GEOTECHNICAL RESEARCH & STUDY

Haris P. Lamaris & Associates

DEVELOPMENT C. Kanellakis SA

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

TERNA SA

The complex develops on four floors, and an additional floor with attics creates the roof's edge. Also, by dividing the shape into four parts due to the vertical elements that offer privacy to the apartments and an optimal view of the sea and the scaling of the four roofs, an effort is made so that the visitor perceives the volumes of the building as a whole but also as individual parts, getting closer to the human scale. Thanks to the organizational geometry used both on the balconies and at the end of the roofs, it is integrated smoothly into the surrounding space.

The construction of the building is conventional, with a load-bearing body made of reinforced concrete, masonry made of bricks, and external thermal insulation with a smooth coating. The roofs have 40 cm high soil planting and photovoltaic panels that perfectly monitor the slope of the roofs and contribute to the production of energy for the needs of the building. All window frames are aluminum, with energy-efficient, double transparent glass panes. The parapets of the exteriors will be made of glass to provide unobstructed views. Mobile shades will be used on the balconies, and fixed ones of the same perforated form will be used to cover the sinks of the swimming tanks on the balconies. In order not to affect the aesthetics of the roofs and facades of the building, suitable spaces in the basement have been provided for all the air conditioning units.

In the municipality of Piraeus, and the immediate vicinity of the country's largest port, a new steel-framed building that houses massive warehouses, workshops, offices, and a residence on the top floor is the first building in Greece to be LEED GOLD-certified in the category of Warehouses and Distribution Centers. By R|C|Tech architecture firm.

( NEW PROJECT )

STOP & MANUFACTURING

By R | C | TECH

The concept involves creating a massive working building elegantly placed in a congested part of Piraeus. Based on the proportions and placement within the plot, an "empty" space is formed while a barrier is created with the main road to the west.

Specifically, by placing the building on the eastern side of the plot, ample space is left on the western side, which can accommodate loading/unloading areas along with green spaces. The building comprises five levels, each with different uses. On the basement level, there is parking and MEP facilities. In addition to the main warehouse entrance, there is a retail unit, a workshop, and a small storage area on the ground floor. The first floor mainly houses workshops, the second floor houses the business office space, and on the third floor, there is a detached residence.

The potential of the space is maximized by the rectangular shape of the design, which has overall dimensions of 70x35m. The design allows for the smooth operation of the workshop and warehouse processes. The simplicity of the architectural elements is a conscious choice that allows the building to serve each function in the most optimized way.

03.7.1

MANUFACTURING

WAREHOUSE UNIT

Externally, the sheer scale of the white monolithic unit is softened by the louvers that deconstruct the volume through a play of shaded surfaces, in the logic of the camouflage razzle dazzle of ships during the First World War. Between the louvers and the internal façade of the building, there are corridors used as shaded balconies. In contrast, the glazing on the ground floor reveals to the passerby the inner workings of the laboratories.

The building's color palette moves in shades of grey and white, with the sole exception of the yellow interior walls on the ground floor, which stand out by framing the entrance of the building, 'disrupting' the simplicity of the exterior shell.

Inside, the repetitive storage systems form 11-meter-high canyons, which dissolve in front of the transparent threestory internal façade. The volume of the rooftop dwelling is perceived as a white screen that "sits" atop the metal building and is surrounded by outdoor green spaces.

OTE ESTATE OFFICE

By Alexandros Samaras

The sloping plot, with an area of 3,852 sq.m., is in contact with the ERT facilities in Agia Paraskevi, Attica. The existing building, three floors with a basement and roof covering 1,152 sq.m. and a total of 3,982 sq.m., was built in two phases, in 1968 and 1987, with two entrances and two staircases but no elevator. It functioned as a telecommunications center, which resulted in a large part of its facade and roof gradually being occupied by electromechanical equipment.

The renovation of the building aims to create a unit of offices and spaces to house the radio station Olympia Radio, using functionality, accessibility, sustainability, and aesthetics as criteria. It came with a commitment to keep certain mechanical spaces, such as the distributor room, in specific positions.

The redesign of a preexisting shell into a state-of-the-art office building involves adding and repurposing spaces, revising the circulation system, and inserting a new patio into the core of the building for improved natural lighting and ventilation. Furthermore, a planted rooftop provides communal space for interaction and enjoyment of the privileged view. The building mass is wrapped in a second perforated aluminum skin whose pattern is derived from 'pixels,' a reference to the company's activities and focus.

OFFICE BUILDING

The architectural design provides for rearranging the spaces, highlighting the entrances, replacing a staircase, and adding elevators and access to the roof. There are also plans to create an atrium with natural lighting and ventilation at the center of this intensely compact building, with a variable cross-section due to the aforementioned commitment. The resulting roofs within the atrium are planted, and the perimeter surfaces that emerge as complete after opening the windows are also planted, with vertical gardens. Similarly, the roof of the building is also planted and configured as a break area with a view. The office spaces are developed in an open plan, with raised floors, sound-absorbing elements, and visible electromechanical equipment. Exceptions are executive offices and meeting rooms.

03.8.3

03.8.4

PROJECT CREDITS

TITLE AND POSITION

OF PROJECT/STUDY

OTE ESTATE office

building in Agia

Paraskevi, Athens, Attica

PROJECT OWNER

OTE Estate SA

OTE GROUP

CONSTRUCTION

PROJECT MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR

Georgios Tamboureas

CONSTRUCTION

SUPERVISOR & PROJECT MANAGER

Ioannis Kakogiannakis

ELECTROMECHANICAL WORKS SUPERVISOR

Konstantinos Roubis

STUDY & LICENSING

MONITORING SUPERVISOR

Athanasia Theodorou

ARCHITECTS

Alexandros K. Samaras & Partners SA

STUDY LEADER

Alexandros K. Samaras

STUDY GROUP

Maria V. Stefanidou

Lilian V. Stefanidou

Antonia A. Tsoumi

STATIC STUDY

Panagiotis

Panagiotopoulos and Associates

ELECTROMECHANICAL STUDY

PG | Kamarinos

Consulting Engineers

CONSTRUCTION

EDIL ConstructionIndustry Construction & Industrial Company SA

PROJECT MANAGER

Georgios Pantelis

CONSTRUCTION WORKS SUPERVISOR

Irini Kakogiannis

ELECTROMECHANICAL WORKS SUPERVISOR

Christos Lenoudias

FINANCE MONITORING SUPERVISOR

Dimitrios Fillas

PROJECT MANAGER

Vaios Kefalas

SUPERVISION

Alexandros K. Samaras

Antonia A. Tsoumi

Dimitris V. Sgoutas

Several special discussion rooms for brainstorming between members of the company's think tank have also been included - a canteen, a doctor's office, file rooms, a data center, and data recovery facilities in case of emergency. An important concern of the architectural study was the energy upgrade of the building for comfort and economy. A thermal facade is added to the existing exterior walls, and the entire building is clad with an energy shell of perforated aluminum sheets painted white. This contributes to the shading of the openings and creates ventilated façade conditions, acting as a second skin for the building.

The leaf perforation pattern is developed through thickening and thinning on a canvas of "pixels," representing the intangible cutting-edge digital technology used by the owner - group company on the building's facade. The perforated sheets are suspended on a frame attached to the loadbearing body of the building and at a distance from the facade. Overlapping perforated corridors are placed in this gap to maintain and clean the facades.

The MGO Offices building looks like it resonates with the phrase "Everything is a road." It follows and is inspired by the kinetic energy of the major avenue on which it is located, capturing it through the dynamics of the fractured surfaces. By the architectural firm Armeftis Partners.

( NEW PROJECT )

A MOTION PICTURE ON THE BOULEVARD

By Armeftis Partners

Ira Sinigalia

For Yannis Armeftis, founder of Armeftis Partners, with offices in Cyprus and Athens, MGO Offices is another example of the "conversation" between a building and its surrounding space. At the same time, it is part of how he sees the city as a synthesis of relationships and sustainability. Awarded in 2007 with the State Architecture Prize for a Young Architect's Project and with distinctions in several competitions, Yannis Armeytis has signed projects such as the Laniteia School of Limassol, the Oval Tower, the Safe Bulkers Tower, and the Blue Marine Towers. The path of architecture and the study of sustainable cities led him to the path of public service; Yannis Armeytis is a candidate mayor for the city of Limassol in the municipal elections that will take place next June.

03.9.1

Turning our lens to MGO Offices, it is a landmark office building located on the commercial axis of Spyrou Kyprianou Street in Limassol. It is a 5-story building that is part of two plots. It is developed in a horizontal direction, following the dynamics of the street. This area is a main high-speed road, so the main objective was to develop a building that would serve as a landmark for the area.

The design is based on a dynamic approach with firm contoured surfaces, emphasizing diagonal volumes intersecting each other. The goal was to design the overall facade as something that changes alongside the movement of the passersby cars. Thus, the overall facade followed the design of the fractured surface, specifically the crumpled paper. A parametric design was used to solve this, where surfaces were drawn through triangles and vertical louvers were applied to follow the original shape.

PICTURE BOULEVARD

The core of the building was placed to the north of the block, while the remaining sides are the main facades of the building, where the office spaces with views of the city are integrated.

The building consists of a ground floor, a floor with all mechanical facilities integrated, five office floors, and a roof garden.

On the south side, terraces of different sizes were proposed, which follow the dynamic shape given to the building, creating its overall final form. The above approach is reinforced and is visible through the vertical elements - wings that follow the slabs. The variation of the wings and the resulting movement in the view creates playfulness with the passerby. This is because the building is perceived very differently through movement.

The aluminum frames of the facades have been recessed from the building boundary, while terraces have been proposed in front of them, offering shading at each level. At the same time, sunlight is filtered through this within the offices during summer. The vertical elements of the facade, in addition to playfulness, also offer privacy within the offices. Finally, the entrance to the offices is created by diagonal, segmented walls of exposed concrete, which provide additional dynamics and thus contribute to the overall approach of the building.

ELLA RESORTS in Rhodes is a groundbreaking hotel complex designed with exceptional environmental sensitivity. It blends sustainable technologies with local architecture, incorporating natural materials and traditional motifs to enrich the visitor experience.

ELLA RESORTS ELISSA – HELEA

By Makridis Associates Architects

The project concerns a unique hotel complex in Rhodes designed with exceptional environmental sensitivity, making it one of the most important tourist destinations worldwide.

Realizing its importance, the project management team and designers envisioned and implemented something that would be a model for future similar developments. The project's organization's philosophy was to be timeless, environmentally sensitive, and to highlight the site's unique characteristics.

The team's vision was to create an innovative, eco-friendly hotel complex that would apply the principles of sustainable development while respecting and recalling the site's historical, artistic, and environmental value.

The harmonious connection with the existing building complex is of primary importance. The interventions respect the existing fabric while, at the same time, the solutions adopt bioclimatic and local elements that transform the existing facilities into a charming contemporary architectural ensemble. The selective use of wood and natural stones, simple, clean geometric forms, harmonious proportions of the buildings, and extensive green areas are some of the key elements that define the new proposal.

The new proposition introduces the use of natural and ecological materials, such as wood for shading, lightweight partitions, and roofing, creating a unique contemporary ambiance.

LOCALITY - PRESERVATION OF HISTORICAL MEMORY

The study team, placing Locality and Historic Memory Preservation as the main pillars of the design, attempted to analyze and integrate the unique elements of the site in particular ways. These elements include local traditional techniques, special natural dyes and styles, local materiality, respect for native flora, and local traditions and customs.

Local elements of the urban fabric, such as arches, metal partitions, Rhodian woodcarvings, and the coloring and materialities of the old town, inspire the architectural vocabulary applied in the hotel complex.

In the public spaces, the elements that are reinterpreted in a modern way are the pebbles, the Rhodian woodcarvings, the local motifs, the colors, and the materiality of the old town and the traditional living spaces.

Ceilings made of wooden beams and thatch, reminiscent of the old ceilings of Rhodian houses, are used to create a warm atmosphere in the restaurants. The floors of some restaurants are covered with the traditional paving found in the squares of the villages of Rhodes. Woodcarved surfaces in deconstructed shapes in remembrance of local Rhodian motifs are used in the lobby. Extensive arches are the element that organizes the public space and defines uses and movements. Metal linear fixtures in reminiscence of the metal lanterns of the old town give a unique atmosphere to the interiors.

The rooms' design solution is based on Rhodes's oldest and most widespread traditional residence, the rural residence (popular one-room house). The designers' main aim was to create a modern hospitality space that would draw its particular characteristics from the island's history and tradition. The room becomes a space for an experiential reading of Rhodes's historical and social context, inventing a deeper connection between the hotel and the island.

Local elements, forms, and colors are the main pillars of the new room configuration. Particular elements are the insertion of a built-in stone arch and the built-in furniture characterized by simplicity of design and functionality. The local motifs of the wooden partitions and the loom are timeless elements of traditional Rhodian architecture and society.

These elements are reinterpreted, creating a welcoming and warm atmosphere that blends with the authentic character of Rhodes. Arches separating the rooms, local motifs on room surfaces, woven partitions, and built-in seating areas are some of the elements that have been incorporated into the design of the rooms.

Promoting and enhancing local heritage provides uniqueness but also creates an unexpected and instructive cultural experience.

- ARCHITECTURAL INNOVATION AND BIOCLIMATIC DESIGN

The possibility of creating an environmentally friendly pilot-model hotel that limits emissions to a minimum and introduces innovative technologies and alternative forms of energy was a unique opportunity for our team in the effort to redefine the relationship between man and nature.

By studying the area's particular climatic conditions, the plots' orientation, and the needs of the future users, the designers created a unique architectural proposal with a contemporary character and simultaneous respect for tradition and bioclimatic architecture.

The new spaces harmoniously balance architectural innovation with new materials and modern systems with construction methods while cleverly adopting traditional techniques for proper sunlight, shading, and ventilation.

The buildings’ natural cooling was achieved by externally shading glass surfaces with wooden blinds, covering extensive outdoor areas with wicker pergolas, insulating the envelope, replacing windows with new thermal break frames, installing fans, and ensuring through-ventilation.

Use of materials with ecological characteristics, local, recyclable,

energy, or with reduced maintenance needs 

Reducing the emission of harmful pollutants to the environment as a result of the choice of both the materials of construction and the building's supporting EM systems

At the same time, the use of renewable energy systems (such as solar panels or geothermal pumps), combined with an appropriate automation and energy management system, results in significantly lower energy consumption.

The integration of sustainability principles in the design of the complex and its environmental management makes the project a "model."

To this end, provision has been made for:







Reducing the amount of waste generated by providing facilities that encourage the recycling of materials (material recycling, compost facilities, etc.)

Reducing water consumption through recycling/ natural water purification and reducing water waste. The connection to the existing biological treatment and wastewater treatment system should be considered.

Use of low consumption lamps and appliances / BMS type automation and control system

 Use of a geothermal system

 Extensive greenery, as it absorbs significant amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, creates a filter that retains microparticles and absorbs noise, increases humidity levels, and absorbs or retains rainwater. The presence of dense plantings contributes substantially to wind retardation and microclimate improvement by reducing the cooling needs of buildings and reducing temperature levels in the summer season through evaporative cooling while delaying temperature changes in the winter season.

The design of new complexes with the above ecological features ensures the environmental comfort of the users and the overall improvement of the quality of life.

03.10.5 Helea Family Beach Rεsοrt Photography ©Heinz Troll

03.10.4 Elissa Lifestyle Resort Photography ©Heinz Troll

La Bergerie Photography ©Spyros Hound

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Urbi et Orbi presents the Medius Terra collection, a captivating celebration of the Mediterranean's soul. More than just a collection, it embodies our essence – a testament to the enduring character of this remarkable region. Inspired by the Genius Loci, the spirit of the place, Medius Terra delves into the heart of the Mediterranean. It's an ode to the sun-drenched landscapes, the vibrant cultures, and the timeless traditions that weave the fabric of this cherished sea and its surrounding lands. The distinctiveness of this collection arises from the fusion of diverse perspectives brought forth by the three contributing designers: Gian Paolo Venier OTTO Studio, sotirislazoudesignstudio, and CTRLZAK.

urbietorbi.gr

DESIGN ←AMBAS SADOR

DESIGN ←AMBAS SADOR

[04.4] ESO 2024 P.240

[04.3] ARCHI TECTURE & TOURISM CHANIA P.236

The first edition of the GRAIL Awards concluded on Wednesday, January 24, 2024, in an award ceremony at the Athens Conservatory. The newly established institution of Architecture, Interiors and Lighting Awards, produced by Vassilis Bartzokas and Dimitris Fakinos, proved in practice that it aims to establish itself in the domestic creative scene, steadily and vigorously promoting the extroversion of Greek Architecture within and outside the borders.

( AWARDS )

GRAIL AWARDS 2024

The award ceremony began with announcing the awards in the Architecture / Residential category.

Following inspiration and rewarding innovation and creativity in all its forms, the GRAIL Awards shed light on Greek architectural thinking and production and connected the creative community. They gave space to those who make space: the bold, the dreamers, the poets.

The nine-member GRAIL Awards 2024 committee, consisting of Dimitris Antonakakis, Eleftheria Decaux, Lydia Kallipolitis, Tom Lindblom, Ivan Blasi, Marianthi Tatari, Aris Kafantaris, Panos Dragonas, and Florencia Vetcher, reviewed 200 works from 134 creative agencies to reach a shortlist of 56 selected works and decide for the 14 Awards and 25 Merits, which were presented at the Athens Conservatory amphitheater. The award ceremony was hosted by the journalist Antonis Fourlis.

/ RESIDENTIAL

The project La Bergerie by Mykonos Architects won a Merit. A summer house in Mykonos acquires "winter living spaces," a farm, and an orchard in an architectural design where wood ages gracefully, iron rusts naturally, and planted vegetation is smoothly integrated into the natural environment.

Melina Arvaniti-Pollatou

2

The second Merit was awarded to The Monastery House by Etsi Architects. Drawing on references from Mani towers, monastic architecture, and the Buddhist worldview, three generations of the same family are brought together in a house that acts as a symbol: a shelter and a lighthouse.

In the same section, the Jury Prize was awarded to The Inside Out House in Gonatsa by Etsi Architects. Set in the arid landscape of West Mani, on the edge of an olive grove, the house is organized with simple design lines and a mood of fusion with what we call nature. The architect's tool is the extremely strict, structured cross-shaped floor plan that moderates everyday life and relief through the view of the mountain and the sea. The inside and outside of the dwelling are merged decisively through a persistent visuality complemented by eclectic affinities in the materials of the artificial and natural terrain.

2 ARCHITECTURE / BUILDINGS

OF PUBLIC INTEREST

In the Architecture / Buildings of Public Interest category, the awards were presented as follows:

The first Merit was awarded to the Design Team of the University of Thessaly for the New Building of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of Thessaly in Volos. As the design team said, a building-ship wants to travel but remains anchored in the Thessalian land. Based on the vocabulary of Brutalism, the building incorporates rough textures and raw materials that are synthesized dialectically, with bright color tones and a formalistic façade that clings to the skin of the building like a host, creating a fascinating architectural hybrid.

The second Merit of the category was awarded to the Flux office for their Demountable Pavilions. During the summer months, a galaxy of ephemeral, prefabricated pavilion installations land on the outskirts of the Acropolis cliff in front of the Herodion to accommodate the needs of the Athens and Epidaurus Festival. Wooden blinds radiate white light, making the pavilions float on the off-white paving of the ground against the background of the characteristic arches of the Odeon's façade and the Parthenon.

The category Prize was awarded to K-studio for the LiknonMetaxa project in Samos. Set in a hundred-year-old vineyard in Vourliotes, Samos, Liknon was conceived as a spatial experience that would be a landmark for the island, connecting Metaxa to its roots: the place where the sweet grape Moschato grows, which gives the famous Greek wine its unique, distinctive identity. At Liknon, the museum experience leaves the compact, enclosed building structure and is integrated into an exploratory tour of the natural Sami landscape. Visitors wander through the vineyard, above and below ground level, learning, experientially, about the history of Metaxa through a physical, interactive experience that activates the spirit and senses. The architectural work becomes a continuation of the natural slope, reproducing the traditional system of organizing the island landscape in terraces and deconstructing the concept of the museum in a spatial labyrinth that reinvents the meaning of the threshold and attempts a contemporary interpretation of the natural and traditional element. Moving on to the Work and Commercial Spaces subcategory, the Jury Prize was awarded to Divercity Architects for the Syngrou Avenue Office Complex. Combining technological innovation with the charm of the classic, the architects delivered a bioclimatic, LEED-certified building that converses with Athenian modernism. The building's trademark is the monumental façade of marble movable blinds, which acts as a marble curtain filtering the qualities of natural light, allowing for views and offering plasticity to the massing of the eight-story building.

3

3 ARCHITECTURE / TOURIST UNITS

In the Architecture / Tourist Units subcategory, the distinctions are as follows:

A Merit was awarded to inDetail Architecture for the Hidden Ladies boutique hotel. Forms in twist and turn are organized by curves and broken lines that look like they were lifted from a Vasily Kandinsky painting. The buildings are embedded in the arid landscape as a natural continuation of a terrain that tends to evacuate to the sea.

The Jury Prize was awarded to the project Floating Cubes by Umbral Architecture. Being the firm's first implemented project, the five holiday homes on Karpathos straddle the line between vision and reality, imagination and reality. Perfect geometric volumes are clad in rough materialities and matte shades of brown and ochre in a poetic architectural ensemble that draws explicit references from the vocabulary of Louis Baragan and the verses of George Seferis.

6 INTERIOR DESIGN / RESIDENTIAL

Completing the architectural awards, the offices that were distinguished in the Interior Design / Residential subcategory are:

Architect Myrto Kiourtis won a Merit for A Jonathan Leaman Kitchen, a remarkable renovation of an apartment in Patras. Following the design approach of Syntonic Functionalism, which was introduced and studied theoretically and practically by the architect herself, the apartment is radically reconfigured, guided by anthropological, sociological, and psychoanalytical tools. Starting from a painting, Curti proposes "an architecture as a three-dimensional painting" to arrive at a dynamic experience of inhabitation that is performed, daily and uninterrupted, with generosity and libertarianism, as a performance is born and dies on a theatrical stage. Philosophizing on the ontology of dwelling, the architect becomes the director of stories of everyday madness, daring, and tenderness in a collective, unpredictable, and different house, taken from a Pedro Almodovar film set.

The second Merit in the Residential subcategory was received by the team of the en-route-architecture— firm for the project 5-shelves-3-baths-1-railing. A collection of specially designed furniture becomes a guide for renovating the 150 sq.m. apartment in Athens. Drawing on references from the De Stijl movement, geometric canvases, clean geometric shapes, and bright colors unfold in the three-dimensional space, creating a sophisticated and, at the same time, playful domestic atmosphere.

The third Merit for the Residential subcategory was awarded to Fluo Architecture and Design Studio for the ARI | Historic apartment redesign project. In the heart of Thessaloniki, a post-war apartment in a preserved neoclassical building is renovated by drawing inspiration from the whole of the arranged building façades of Aristotelous Street. The city's multicultural identity elements are incorporated into the new design, a creative hybrid of Western and Eastern references.

The first Prize in the Residential Interiors subcategory was awarded to Oblique for Example #1. One of the most interesting projects of this year, the architectural debut of the firm concerns the radical redesign of a 36 sq.m. apartment in a 1970s apartment building in the Vouliagmeni area. Envisioning an autonomous microcosm, the architects adopted the design approach of "architectural furniture" that organizes the space, combined with a pastel color palette and a monochromatic bathroom that makes the difference, offering visual qualities and a cinematic mood.

The second Jury Prize in the same subcategory was awarded to Fluo Architecture and Design Studio for the HAP | Athenian Mosaic project. A 1980s apartment in Agia Paraskevi is being redesigned to preserve its maximalist, postmodernist philosophy. The trademark pink mosaic flooring harmoniously blends with warm brown wood tones, curved lines, and pastel burgundy and pink hues. 7

Akida Studio won the Jury Prize for the creation of Moro Tech's offices on the 6th floor of a building in Omonia Square in central Athens. The design of collaboration and meeting spaces with plenty of natural light that replicate the intimacy and tranquility of the domestic atmosphere is the architects' key tool for employee well-being and increased productivity.

Έπαινο απέσπασε το έργο TH 147 office space από τους KN Group. Επανάχρηση πρώτων

8 RETAIL

Continuing in the Retail subcategory, Post Spectacular Office won a Merit for The Life of Glass optics store. Compositions of dialectical contrasts, on a practical and conceptual level, organize the space dominated by the characteristic light green hue that iron oxide gives to the glasses. The static structure of the space made of exposed concrete, exposed, is the central pole of attraction around which the new constructions organically develop.

The Jury Prize was rightly awarded to the Kora Bakery in Kolonaki by the team of en-route-architecture—, a modern project that, from its first years of operation, has managed to become a landmark of the area, radically changing its daily rhythm. Vertically divided into three distinct color zones - an earthy roof in the sunflower's yellow, a white intermediate zone, and a watery floor in the sky's blueKora is more than a modern bakery: it is a destination. The architects become directors who situate the production of bread as a spectacle, starring the worker in an attractive, original, and imaginative setting.

7 OFFICES - WORKPLACES

Continuing in the Offices - Workplaces subcategory, the jury awarded two Merits and one Prize, placing the focus, in the post-pandemic era, on creating flexible, hybrid workspaces that can accommodate a changing schedule of different needs. Recycling and reusing materials are prioritized in bioclimatic interior environments that straddle the line between office and home. Specifically:

KN Group awarded a Merit for the TH 147 office space project. Reusing raw materials, paying attention to detail, using eco-friendly materials, and using bright colors make up an inspiring work environment.

A Merit was also awarded to the Urban Soul Project for the Kaizen Campus office building. By incorporating bioclimatic design principles, curved design carvings, and a variety and combination of enclosed offices and breakout spaces, they create an inclusive work environment.

9 TOURISM UNITS

Moving on to the Tourism Units subcategory in the Interior Design category, Babatchas Agency won a Merit for The Storyteller Boutique Hotel in the unique mountainous landscape of Meteora. Drawing on references from monastic architecture combined with the earthy color palette of the site, the architects created a mystical hospitality experience based on community living and coexistence.

The Jury Prize was awarded to agarch+ architects for the Ekies All Senses Resort project. The Herbs Suite is organically integrated into the galaxy of the hotel complex in Halkidiki, aiming to immerse the visitor in the botanical garden and the surrounding network of outdoor and semi-outdoor spaces. The monolithic volume of the building is shaped internally as a modern cave with rough and natural materials that promote the tactile connection of the user with the space.

10

DINING & ENTERTAINMENT SPACES

Moving on to the subcategory of Dining & Entertainment Spaces, the awards were given as follows: Stones & Walls won a Merit for the Freud Oriental restaurant in Kifissia. Wabi-sabi design references and natural materials in dark shades compose the authentic atmosphere of Japanese aesthetics at Freud Oriental, which recognizes beauty in the imperfect, the original, and the dark.

The second Merit was awarded to the studiomateriality team for Uncle Tan's Drinking House project. Taken from a Wong Kar Wai film, Marina Zeas' bar could have been in Hong Kong harbor. Born out of urban culture, Uncle Tan's blossoms at night in the eccentric reds, blues, greens, purples, and yellows of neon lighting.

The third Merit was awarded to Taka + Partners for their Moldee restaurant. A high-end gastronomic destination, it is rendered in design as the mold that recreates the guest's taste buds: a challenging and inviting project resulting from an architect-owner collaboration.

The Jury Prize was awarded, deservedly, to the Post Spectacular Office for the Pelosof project in Thessaloniki. Within an eclectic building shell of the early 20th century, Pelosof's design vocabulary starts from the avant-garde to define the unknown. Where Rem Culhas meets Juan Miró, a meeting and focus space that functions as a "peculiar oversized cabinet de curiosités" of minimal materialities and sophisticated forms is born.

INTERIOR DESIGN / EXHIBITION SPACES

Continuing in the Interior Design / Exhibition Spaces subcategory, the distinctions are:

A Merit was awarded to FORM related to the Project Space

The Jury Prize was awarded to the Flux office for the temporary exhibition Iannis Xenakis: Sonic Odysseys at the National Museum of Contemporary Art. Incorporating references from the studio environment of an architectural office, a recording studio, or a music hall, the exhibition design offers alternative visual views of the multi-dimensional personality of the multi-faceted creator Iannis Xenakis.

In the last subcategory of the Interior Spaces section, Furniture & Object Design, Blue Cycle won a Merit for its Kavos auxiliary table. In collaboration with The New Raw architectural team, the company's new range of sustainable furniture draws raw material from recycled fishing material that is shaped using 3D robotic printing. All items in the range can be recycled and reused.

12 LIGHTING

In Lighting, the third and final main category of the GRAIL Awards 2024, Eleftheria Deko awarded the Jury Prize to Atelier AME for the project I1-45. The lighting design subtly underlines the architectural design and transforms a tiny semi-basement apartment into a contemporary microhouse with architectural qualities. Mirrors and sandblasted glass blocks compose the transitional space of darkness and light

13 GOLD ARCHITECTURE, GOLD INTERIOR, ARCHITECTURAL FIRM OF THE YEAR 2024

The GRAIL Awards 2024 ceremony concluded with the presentation of this year's three major awards: the Gold Architecture, the Gold Interior, and the Architectural Firm of the Year 2024.

K-studio won the Gold Architecture Award for the LiknonMetaxa project in Samos, which was recently included in the shortlist of 40 projects of the European Contemporary Architecture Awards - Mies van der Rohe Awards 2024.

The newly established firm Oblique won the Gold Award for Interiors for Example #1, its first completed project, setting the bar high for future expectations.

Finally, Etsi Architects was named Architectural Firm of the Year 2024. Based in Kardamyli, Messinia, and founded by architect Eleni Tsigarida, the team gathered and created an architectural family in the Southern Peloponnese with members from all corners of Greece and Europe.

Thirty teams of architects, engineers, and creators were distinguished at the first GRAIL Awards event at the Ioannis Despotopoulos Amphitheatre of the Athens Conservatory, proving that Greek architectural creation and production bear fruit and flourishes laboriously but persistently in the city and the countryside, on a small and large scale, in darkness and light.

Mies van der Rohe Awards

GRAIL AWARDS 2024

Typology Architecture

Interiors & Lighting Awards

PRODUCTION ORGANISATION

Vassilis Bartzokas (Archisearch Design Ambassador)

Dimitris Fakinos

European Design Awards European Design Festival)

Dimitris Antonakakis

Eleftheria Deko

Lydia Kallipoliti

Tom Lindblom

Ivan Blasi

Marianthi Tatari

Aris Kafantaris

Panos Dragonas

Florencia Vetcher

AWARD CEREMONY

24 January 2024

Athens Conservatory

Athens, Greece

SPONSORS

Platinum Sponsor

Europa Profil Aluminium SA

LIGHTING EXCLUSIVE

SPONSOR

Site Specific

GRAND SPONSORS

Area Domus

Evin Intzoglou

Kalotaranis

Kartell

Mock Up Spaces

Multiplo

Schneider Electric

Urbi Et Orbi

TH 147 OFFICE SPACE

MERIT

KN Group

CLIENT EDENRED Greece

CATEGORY Office over 100 sq.m.

CREDITS

PROJECT MANAGER Stratantonakis Konstantinos

PROJECT MANAGER Valia Panagiotou

INTERIOR DESIGNER Stratantonakis Konstantinos

ARCHITECTS

Kollaros Dimitris Galani Eleni

Architect Markou Olga

CUSTOM

WORKS

Papathanasiou Aristotelis

DEMOUNTABLE PAVILIONS

CATEGORY

ARI - HISTORIC APARTMENT REDESIGN

Fluo architecture and design studio

CLIENT AndreasTzortzina Politis

CATEGORY Residence over 100 sq.m.

CREDITS

PROJECT MANAGER Christina Serrou

ARCHITECTS Thalia Michail

Fei Maniati

Katia

Chalkiadaki

INTERIOR DESIGNER Christina Serrou

ATHENIAN MOSAIC HAP

AWARD

Fluo architecture and design studio

CLIENT Dimitris DemestichasNatasa Polymenakou

CATEGORY Residence over 100 sq.m.

CREDITS

PROJECT MANAGER Thalia Michail

ARCHITECTS Thalia Michail Fei Maniati

Katia Chalkiadaki

INTERIOR DESIGNER Christina Serrou

KARDAMYLI CUSTOMS HOUSE

AWARD

Etsi Architects

CLIENT Paul Varotsis Agnes Varotsis

CATEGORY Addition / Expansion on an existing building

CREDITS

ARCHITECTURAL

SURVEY Etsi Architects

ARCHITECT Eleni Tsigarida Vangelis Sideris

ARCHITECTURAL ADVICE Efi Delinikola

STRUCTURAL SURVEY

Diastylos and P. Kamarinakis

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER

Kitsa Athanasiadou Liana Katsanikou Paris Kamarinakis

MECHANICALELECTRICAL SURVEY

Melcon

Engineering and A. Bliziotis

MECHANICAL ENGINEER Pantelis Argyros Alekos Bliziotis

CONSTRUCTION Etsi Architects Mnimeiotechniki

CONSTRUCTION MANAGER Anna Kouloumvaki Kostis Tsigaridas Giorgos Koufopoulos Theofilos Koufopoulos

LANDSCAPING DESIGN Dawn Harney

FLOATING CUBES

KAVOS

UNCLE TAN'S DRINKING HOUSE

PROJECT SPACE METAPHOR CULTURAL HUB

CLIENT Giorgos Kelefis (Ozon Magazine), Michalis Argyrou (Beton7)

CATEGORY

CATEGORY

CREDITS

ARCHITECTS Theodoridis Konstantinos Papaevangelou Eleni

ASSOSIATE ARCHITECT Menia Kampouri

OFFICE SPACE IN THE HEART OF ATHENS

SYNGROU AVENUE OFFICE COMPLEX

AWARD

Divercity Architects

CLIENT DIMAND SA

CATEGORY Office complex

CREDITS

ARCHITECTS Divercity Architects and Bennetts Associates

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER PagonisPolyxronopoulos - Kinatos

SERVICES ENGINEER Insta Consulting Engineers

LIGHTING DESIGNER Lighting Architecture Studio

INTERIOR DESIGNER Building A A&M Architects Building B Divercity Architects (Floors 00-06), SPACE MATTERS (Floor 07)

LANDSCAPE DESIGNER H. Pagkalou & Associates

FIRE PROTECTION CONSULTANT B & T Pyrgiotis

Technical Office and Roussas Theofanis

ACOUSTICS CONSULTANT H. Moraitis & G. Chatzigeorgiou

LEED CONSULTANT DCarbon Traffic Engineering

CONSULTANT Dromos Consulting

DEVELOPMENT - PROJECT MANAGEMENT SERVICES DIMAND SA EBRD Prodea Investments

HIDDEN LADIES

inDetail Architecture

CLIENT Yiorgis SA

CATEGORY Small unit (Boutique hotel)

CREDITS

ARCHITECTS Antonis Dysseakis Nikos Fournaris Giannis Prosoparis

SUPERVISION inDetail Architecture

STRUCTURAL SURVEY Pantelis Diakoumakis

CONSTRUCTION Orfanoudakis SA

ALUMINUM WINDOW FRAMES Giorgos Vomvolakis Vomvolakis Innovative METAL CONSTRUCTIONS

& METAL WOODWORKING Wrightwood

THE INSIDE OUT HOUSE IN GONATSA

Etsi Architects

CLIENT Beatrix and Wolfgang Preissl

CATEGORY Detached house

CREDITS

ARCHITECTURAL

Etsi Architects

ARCHITECTS

Eleni Tsigarida Anna Kouloumvaki Maria Irida Theodorakakou

STRUCTURAL

Etsi Architects

STRUCTURAL

Nota Tsigarida

MECHANICAL - ELECTRICAL

A. Bliziotis

MECHANICAL

Alekos Bliziotis

CONSTRUCTION

Kouloumvaki

LANDSCAPING

Etsi Architects

THE MONASTERY HOUSE

MERIT

Etsi Architects

CLIENT Elisabeth Radatz -Fiebinger Alina Andriopoulos

Phillip Andriopoulos

Nick Andriopoulos

CATEGORY Detached house

CREDITS

ARCHITECTURAL SURVEY

Etsi Architects

ARCHITECTS

Eleni Tsigarida

Vangelis Sideris

Nikos

Maragoudakis

Sotiria

Mavrommati

STRUCTURAL SURVEY P. Kamarinakis

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER Paris Kamarinakis

MECHANICAL - ELECTRICAL SURVEY A. Bliziotis

MECHANICAL ENGINEER Alekos Bliziotis

CONSTRUCTION

Etsi Architects

CONSTRUCTION

MANAGER Petros Mpechrakis Kostis Tsigaridas Giannis

Giakoumelos

LANDSCAPING

IANNIS XENAKIS:

SONIC ODYSSEYS

04.1.22 Photography ©Paris Tavitian

KAIZEN CAMPUS

MERIT

Urban Soul Project

CLIENT Kaizen Gaming

CATEGORY Office over 100 sq.m.

CREDITS

INTERIOR DESIGNER

Urban Soul Project

ARCHITECT ASPA-KST

STRUCTURAL STUDY

P.Panagiotopoulos & Partners

MEP Dase Engineering

ACOUSTICS

G. Hatzigeorgiou

Acoustical and Civil engineers

Malleus & Stapes Acoustic consultants

LANDSCAPE

ARCHITECTURE E. Pagkalou & Partners

INTERIOR LIGHTING

Lighting Architecture Studio

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

Yard

Lighting Art George Tellos

FF&E Polyscape

COMMISSIONING

Vasilis Paraskevopoulos consultants

CONSULTANTS DCarbon

ART CURATION Eleni Papantonopoulou

CUSTOM ARTWORKS Dimitris Polychroniadis Theodoros Frastanlis

CONSTRUCTION

Ballian Techniki SA

OWNER @ Co-Development PRODEA Investments

AWARD

Atelier ÁME

CATEGORY

Interior space (Small scale)

CREDITS

ARCHITECT Dimitris Katsampalos

LIGHTING DESIGN

Dimitris Katsampalos

EKIES

HERBS SUITE

04.1.26 Photography ©Anima

LA BERGERIE

Mykonos Architects

CLIENT Private individual

CATEGORY Detached house

CREDITS

PROJECT MANAGER Mykonos Architects LIGHTING Mykonos Architects

CATEGORY Unimplemented Design

CREDITS

ARCHITECT Aristides Dallas Architects

PROJECT ARCHITECT Menelaos Giannopoulos

PROJECT

Photography ©Spyros Hound

Post-Spectacular

CATEGORY

FF PAVILION SKG

Post-Spectacular Office

CLIENT Future Format

CATEGORY Exhibition Spaces

CREDITS

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Dimitris Koliadimas, Semiotik Design Agency

ARCHITECTURAL

DESIGN

CONSULTANT

Dimitris

Koliadimas, Semiotik Design Agency

MERIT

Athens Creative

CLIENT Vari - Voula - Vouliagmeni Municipality

CATEGORY Urban Planning

CREDITS

IMPLEMENTATION Vari - Vould - Vouliagmeni Municipality Mayor Gr. Konstantellos

COLLABORATORS

ARCHITECTS Giorgos Tzavaras Tatiana Vassileiadou

Melina Bona

E/M STUDY

Stelios Venieris & Associates

ARCHITECTURAL

LIGHTNING Athanassios Ntaniloff

TRAFFIC STUDY

LANDSCAPE DESIGN

Anetta Roussou Petros Fevranoglou

CONSTRUCTION

ARIODimitris Protonotarios

THE STORYTELLER BOUTIQUE HOTEL

MERIT Babatchas Design Studio

CATEGORY Reception hall

CREDITS

ARCHITECT Babatchas Design Studio

WOODWORK Patavalis Carpentry

CERAMICS Maro Theodorou

LIGHTING & FURNITURE Placed

LIGHTING

DelightZefkilis Bros Co

FABRICS Interno

FURNITURE DESIGN

KountourakisMade to Order Furniture

SANITARY WARE & TILES

Varelas Home Design Baoussis

NEW BUILDING FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING

Zissis Kotionis

New building of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of Thessaly in Volos

CLIENT University of Thessaly

CATEGORY Education building CREDITS

ARCHITECTS

Zissis Kotionis

Vasso Trova

Phoebe Giannissi

PROJECT

04.1.36

Photography ©Vassilis Makris

MOLDEE

ACOUSTIC

Mitolidis

ESPERIA HOTEL

Tsolakis Architects

CATEGORY

Tourist Units

CREDITS

STRUCTURAL STUDY

Christoforos

Kolyvas

E/M STUDY

Manos Agapakis

INTERIOR DESIGN

Tatiana Violari

AWARD

Makridis Associates

CLIENT Stavros Niarchos Foundation / Municipality of Thessaloniki

CATEGORY

Landscape DesignUrban Planning

REVELATION AND HIGHLIGHTING OF THESSALONIKI'S MONUMENTAL AXIS

HOTEL EXPERIENCE

Thus, the design of the exhibition stages the visitor's encounter with an otherworldly ambiance that encapsulates the phantasmagoria of the cinematic aesthetic. The commercial pavilions are transformed into hotel rooms, while the other spaces of the exhibition refer to typical hospitality venues such as the Reception, Foyer, Pool, and Elevator, alluding to an atmospheric hotel with cinematic references.

The exhibition's starting point is the Reception, a welcoming area for guests with a corresponding cinematic reference, which introduces them directly to the delicate atmosphere of the hotel. The Reception, as well as the two staircases that surround it, are connected to the large lounge, where the main part of the pavilions are located. The Foyer's large lounge constitutes the exhibition's central space, meeting point, and seating area. On either side of the extended corridor of the Foyer, covered with carpeting that references Kubrick's classic "The Shining," are shared pavilions - hotel rooms. The incorporation of neon signs, often found at the entrances of hotels in particular, creates visual horizons and intensifies the theatrical atmosphere of the space. The exhibition route continues through the central foyer to Space B (Black Box), where visitors are invited to explore the interior of the other rooms-guesthouses.

The Athens Conservatory is the birthplace of an atmospheric Hotel Universe on the occasion of the Hotel Experience. The exhibition, curated by Design Ambassador in collaboration with Aris Marinakis (Architectural Editions) and the multi-talented architect and set designer Eva Manidaki, is inspired by hotel atmospheres found in iconic film works such as Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" (1980), Wong Kar-Wai's "In the Mood for Love" (2000) and Wes Anderson's "The Grand Budapest Hotel" from 2014.

EXPERIENCE

"The initial conception came from the desire to create an environment where architects could take in the possibilities of material applications with all their senses. An environment where materials could be presented outside the typical branded context that was more suited to bygone eras. Today, we live in the age of narratives. People participate in them equally physically, digitally, and imaginatively. The Hotel Experience is an exhibition that unleashes imagination and creativity. Artistic curation can even help the exhibitor build a stronger brand image while increasing its commercial reach by exposing its solutions to a wider audience beyond the usual exhibition visitors," Vassilis Bartzokas states.

The exhibition will take place at the Athens Conservatory from 5 to 6 October.

WWW.HOTELEXPERIENCE.GR

04.2.1

The Architecture and Tourism Conference was held with great success and broad participation on 1-3 December 2023 at the Great Arsenal in Chania. It was organized by Vassilios Bartzokas and the Design Ambassador along with the Center for Mediterranean Architecture and Dr. Andreas Theodoridis.

ARCHITECTURE & TOURISM CONFERENCE IN

by

Design Ambassador and the Center for Mediterranean Architecture

Leading architects, engineers, institutional players, journalists, and Greek tourism professionals were present at the country's only sectoral Conference on Architecture and Tourism. The tremendous response of the participants, professionals, and stakeholders from the Hotel and Engineering sectors at the local, national, and global levels, combined with the exemplary organization, contributed to discussions that laid the foundations for proposals on topical issues concerning both sectors.

� 4 Κeynote speeches and two fireside chats � 35 speakers and moderators

participants

Under the auspices

OPENING – WELCOME REMARKS

Στο Συνέδριο απεύθυναν χαιρετισμό οι κ.κ. Άντζελα Γκερέκου (Πρόεδρος ΕΟΤ), Νικόλαος Καλογεράς (Αντιπεριφερειάρχης Περιφερειακής Ενότητας Χανίων), Παναγιώτης Σημανδηράκης (Δήμαρχος Δήμου Χανίων), Κυριάκος Γ. Κώτσογλου (Αντιπεριφερειάρχης Τουρισμού & Ηλεκτρονικής Διακυβέρνησης Περιφέρειας

The Conference was addressed by Angela Gerekou (President of the Greek National Tourism Organisation), Nikolaos Kalogeras (Vice-Regional Governor of the Regional Unit of Chania), Panagiotis Simandirakis (Mayor of the Municipality of Chania), Kyriakos G. Kotsoglou (Deputy Mayor of Tourism & e-Government of the Region of Crete), Nektarios Psaroudakis (Deputy Mayor of Tourism of Chania), Yannis Giannakis (President KAM-Deputy Mayor of Culture of Chania), Manolis Giannoulis (President of the Board of Directors of the Association of Hoteliers of Chania and Vice President of Finance of SETE), Alexandros Angelopoulos (Vice President of the Association of Hoteliers of Heraklion) and Konstantina Svynou (President of the Institute of Tourism Research).

KEYNOTE SPEECHES

At the Architecture and Tourism Conference, renowned professionals from the fields of Architecture and Tourism explored proposals and solutions through fruitful discussions on issues of concern to both sectors: climate change, in which destinations over-tourism is a problem or an opportunity, land use change, infrastructure, hyper-local challenges, public spaces and their impact on the wellbeing of tourists and residents. In a country that by 2030 will have 50 million visitors and €35 billion in revenue, how well equipped with modern tools are tourism service providers - including architects, with design as the cornerstone of overall delivery - to offer the optimal experience to the traveler? This was the question posed by the first keynote speaker, AQ Strategy CEO Yannis Tsakalos.

CONFERENCE CHANIA

Konstantina Svynou, the conference’s second keynote speaker, discussed the results of ITEP's survey of Greek hotels. The survey showed that Greek hoteliers love innovation (BMS for energy efficiency), and 80% would like to have an affordable certification for sustainable building operations. Also, 28% of hoteliers are implementing some energy efficiency measures in their hotels, while 6% have just taken advantage of financing schemes for upgrading their hotels. The a.m. conclusions lead to pathways for adopting specific policies in the built environment of tourism in Greece.

The 1st Panel, Infrastructure For Sustainable And Enjoyable Cities_ A Conversation On Scale And Impact, was moderated by Konstantinos Deriziotis (Money & Tourism Magazine). The panelists were George Kalligeris (Member of CAM-Sarcha), Konstantina Svynou (President of the Institute of Tourism Research), Kyriakos G. Kotsoglou (Deputy Regional Minister of Tourism & e-Governance of the Region of Crete) and Thomas Doxiadis (CEO-Founder, Doxiadis+). The talk was about hoteliers' investment in infrastructure, superstructures, energy, sustainability, and technology, as well as the need for regulatory changes and social sustainability - all in a time of urgency, as Thomas Doxiadis outlined.

Extending The Tourist Season_ A “Glocal” Challenge

(Money & Tourism Magazine),

Leon Avigad (CEO-Co Founder, Brown Hotels), Tom Lindblom (UK Director, CSL Design),

The 2nd Panel, Extending The Tourist Season_ A "Glocal" Challenge, was moderated by Konstantinos Deriziotis (Money & Tourism Magazine), where Leon Avigad (CEO-Co Founder, Brown Hotels), Tom Lindblom (UK Director, CSL Design), Manolis Giannoulis (Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chania Hoteliers Association and Vice President of Finance of SETE) and Giorgos Pelekanakis (President of the Panhellenic Federation of Hotel Managers), stressed that special conditions need to be in place to extend the tourist season, given that no matter how many efforts are made, the market dynamics in a challenging competitive environment are not always favorable. Therefore, there is a need for harmonization of regulatory frameworks and architectural design infrastructure, as well as the application of circular economy and technology integration, strengthening of the labor regime, and support from the state for 12-month operations in non-metropolitan destinations. Tom Lindblom presented one of the solutions to this issue: building a staff housing unit in a destination with a 12-month operation and integrating it into the hotel's life.

Στο 4ο Πάνελ

The 3rd Panel, Reimagining Public Spaces_ Best Practices for Enhanced Living, was moderated by Andreas Theodoridis (NY Institute of Technology & Columbia GSAPP Assistant Professor), where Mr. Ivan Blasi (Mies Van Der Rohe Award Curator), Tom Lindblom (Hospitality Leader and Studio Director - Gensler London Office), Panagiotis Simandirakis (Mayor of the Municipality of Chania) and Maria Kaltsa (Founder, Arc Nest), spoke about the value of quality public space and its meaningful contribution to any building project (Maria Kaltsa), with Ivan Blasi not distinguishing between public and private in terms of public space, but the purpose for which it is designed, commercial or not, which should enhance the cultural footprint of the space.

τίτλο Beyond Greenwashing_ Exploring the fundamentals of sustainability in tourism and architecture

(Design Ambassador)

(NΥ Institute of Technology & Columbia GSAPP Assistant Professor),

(Managing Director, Angelopoulos Aldemar Hotels),

(Founder, Arc Nest) και

(Mediterranean Region Director, Global Sustainable Tourism Council CEO & Founder, Green Evolution ΑΕ)

The 4th Panel, Beyond Greenwashing_ Exploring the fundamentals of sustainability in tourism and architecture, was moderated by Danai Makri (Design Ambassador), where Andreas Theodoridis (NY Institute of Technology & Columbia GSAPP Assistant Professor), Alexandros Angelopoulos (Managing Director, Angelopoulos Aldemar Hotels), Maria Kaltsa (Founder, Arc Nest) and Ioannis Pappas (Mediterranean Region Director, Global Sustainable Tourism Council CEO & Founder, Green Evolution SA) spoke about the aspect of sustainability which refers to the ability of nature to reproduce at zero cost, with concrete steps. First, we should save energy, especially considering the cost of electricity to power the buildings, and then be green. The opposite would be wrong, in the sense that the greenest energy is the energy that was never consumed.

Στο 5ο Πάνελ με τίτλο Financially Sustainable_ A conversation on the role of architecture

(Design Ambassador)

AMCHAM Greece), Γιάννη

The 5th Panel, Financially sustainable_ A conversation on the role of architecture, was moderated by Danai Makri (Design Ambassador) with Mr. Alexandros Kostopoulos (Secretary General, AMCHAM Greece), Yannis Tsakalos (CEO, AQ Strategy), Maria Tsavtaris (Design Director - Partner, Urban Soul Project) and Thomas Doxiadis, (CEO-Founder, Doxiadis+). Its topic was the importance of marketing tools to avoid construction costs and technical tools for energy efficiency, choice of building materials, and carbon footprint. At the same time, the exportability of Greek architectural design potential, based on the quality of tourist accommodation, was noted.

and local authorities_

The 6th Panel, Leisure built environment, and local authorities_ A new horizon for mutual benefit, was moderated by Konstantinos Deriziotis (Money & Tourism Magazine) with an introductory speech by Ms. Vangelis Stylianidis (Vaggelis Stylianidis Architects), where Giorgos Vassilakis (On Project Photo & Title) and Katerina Xekalou (Rethymno Hoteliers Association) spoke about the relationship of tourist accommodation with the metropolitan or outdoor context where they are located, the need for DMOs to highlight this relationship, hoteliers and OTAs. At this point, it was revealed by Mr. Deriziotis that the inspiration for the Digital Nomads campaign in Greece was provided by Mr. Steve Vranakis, who, in his conversation with the Secretary General of AMCHAM Greece Alexandros Kostopoulos, stressed the importance of sustainable tourism operations in Greece and the need to harmonize these operations with nature in each destination as an asset for tourism development.

GOLD SPONSOR

Vernolin Deftereos

SILVER SPONSOR

Europa Profil

Aluminium SA

BRONZE SPONSOR

ΝΕΟΚΕΜ

GRAND

SPONSORS

Orama Minimal

Frames, Vimar

Hellas, Wood Home, Apivita

STAGE DESIGN

SPONSOR Kartell Greece

Area Domus

AUDIENCE GIFT

SPONSOR

Anassa Organics & Apivita

Στο 7ο Πάνελ με τίτλο Transforming Communities_ Short-Term Rentals, Architecture, and the Shifting Landscape of Residential Areas

(Design Ambassador) οι

Ivan Blasi (Mies Van Der Rohe Award Curator),

(CEO-Founder, Doxiadis+),

(Managing Director, Angelopoulos Aldemar Hotels)

(Co-Founder, Micromega)

The 7th Panel, Transforming Communities_ Short-Term Rentals, Architecture, and the Shifting Landscape of Residential Areas, was moderated by Danai Makri (Design Ambassador), where Mr. Ivan Blasi (Mies Van Der Rohe Award Curator), Thomas Doxiadis, (CEO-Founder, Doxiadis+), Alexandros Angelopoulos (Managing Director, Angelopoulos Aldemar Hotels) and Mara Papavasiliou (Co-Founder, Micromega) discussed the need to include in the impact of overtourism the concept of exceeding the carrying capacity of a destination - e.g., Barcelona or Ljubljana - and the urgent need for sustainable management of its natural resources. In his intervention, Mr. Kokkotos spoke about the do's and don'ts and take away lessons in the application of the principles of circular economy, natural resources, reuse and recycling, the need to integrate the local community in the same principles, as well as the training of staff in the operation of a hotel.

Στο 8ο Πάνελ με τίτλο Innovative Tourism Experiences_ Themed Hotels, Architectural Design, and Sustainable Seasonal Extension με συντονιστή τον Γιάννη Τσάκαλο (CEO, AQ Strategy),, οι κ.κ. Δημήτρης Μιχελογιάννης (Ειδικός Σύμβουλος Ανάπτυξης Περιφέρειας Κρήτης), Αλεξάνδρα Μανουσάκη (Επιχειρηματίας, Ιδιοκτήτρια Manousakis Winery-Maimi-Salis), Μιχαήλ Μαυρολέων

The 8th Panel, Innovative Tourism Experiences_ Themed Hotels, Architectural Design, and Sustainable Seasonal Extension, was moderated by Yannis Tsakalos (CEO, AQ Strategy), where Mr. Dimitris Michelogiannis (Special Advisor for Development of the Region of Crete), Alexandra Manousaki (Entrepreneur, Owner Manousakis Winery-Maimi-Salis), Michael Mavroleon (CEO-Founder, A&M Architects) and Alexandros Zomas (Co-Founder, Micromega) emphasized the need for tourist information on the innovative products offered by a destination and the connection of promotion with its brand, as well as the relationship between local architecture and the revival of the authenticity of destinations as a tourist USP.

The future of experience design_ Extreme personalization through data

(NΥ Institute of Technology & Columbia GSAPP Assistant Professor),

(CEO-Founder, A&M Architects)

The final 9th Panel, The future of experience design_ Extreme personalization through data, was moderated by Andreas Theodoridis (NY Institute of Technology & Columbia GSAPP Assistant Professor), where Konstantina Svynou (President of the Institute of Tourism Research), Georges Batzios (Founder, Georges Batzios Architects), Yannis Tsakalos (CEO, AQ Strategy), and Michael Mavroleon (CEO-Founder, A&M Architects) discussed technology and AI in the convergence of Architecture and Tourism, and where tools can contribute to the evolution of both industries, sustainability and social sustainability. Mr. Mavroleon spoke about the inevitable evolution of technology, Architecture, and Tourism, with the human factor always having exclusivity on two issues: emotion and the resulting decision, which will always be human-made. The hotel of the future will then have an added value while also highlighting the irreplaceable dominance of the human factor.

The ESO Conference for Architecture & Design returned to Athens Concert Hall on May 22nd, 2024, under the theme

Interior Design & Architecture Conference, Athens

SUSTAINABILITY NATURE, MATERIALS,

"Down to Earth",

This year’s ESO Conference theme, “Down to Earth,” initiates a dialogue on the climate crisis and political ecology, intersecting Art and Architecture.

This theme underscores the synergy between construction, fabrication, and design as catalysts for a healthier planet. This year,

globally acclaimed speakers who are at the forefront of ecological design and architectural innovation, conjugating tradition with technology and craftsmanship with digital precision.

THE THEMES

Towards Carbon-Negative Architecture

The built environment contributes to nearly 40% of global carbon emissions. Traditionally, the focus has been on reducing operational energy and carbon footprint. However, the concept of whole-life carbon is now pivotal in building design, construction, and renovation.

The New Design Possibilities

While integrating nature into construction is not novel, "Down to Earth" challenges its sufficiency. This conference wonders around innovative organic-derived materials, high-profile

Megaron the Athens Concert Hall May 22, 2024

MATERIALS,

& AI

wooden skyscrapers, biomaterials, zero-carbon blocks for CO2 emission reduction, circular economy principles, regenerative design, and structural efficiency. A key question we pose is: How can we mainstream the use of materials like algae bricks?

PLATINUM SPONSOR

GLM Outdoor Solutions

GOLD SPONSOR Orama Minimal Frames

SILVER SPONSOR Europa

BRONZE SPONSOR Elvial

DISTINCTIVE

SPONSOR Lafarge

GRAND SPONSORS

Eltop, ΚΕΒΕ, Textures & Tiles, Sifakis Glass Constructions, Kypriotis, Kimisoo, Franke, Sto International, Bratti, Vernolin Deftereos, Architexture, Benjamin Moore, Neokem, Furniture Gallery, Gruppo Cucine, Isomat, Marmouris, Sato, Stormy SΑ, Nafpliotis Glass, Urbi Et Orbi, Moleskine, AVE, Technogym, ETHIMO, Kleemann, Kalotaranis

practices? What defines "traditional" in modern architecture and design? This segment explores how traditional knowledge, in sync with nature, can be a resource for future innovations.

Erieta Attali, Andreas Fies

Herzog & de Meuron, Ryan Neheiser,

Olga Tourlomousi, onsite representative of Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) in Greece

The Critical Role of Data in Architecture Technology, particularly AI and ML, plays an instrumental role in architecture, enhancing our ability to effectively design and manage the built environment. We will examine the potential and pitfalls of AI's pervasive use in architecture. Can an over-reliance on AI compromise the spontaneity and unpredictability that often bring joy to architectural spaces?

Olaf de Noover

Renzo Piano Building Workshop

Jette Cathrin Hopp

Snøhetta.

Redefining Craftsmanship in the Post-Digital Age Is it possible for traditional building crafts to address the climate crisis? Craftsmanship is a legacy of encoded knowledge and a dynamic process of creating high-quality objects with technical expertise. We also probe the concept of digital craft: How can we merge historical knowledge and craftsmanship with contemporary

ESO's featured speakers were Areti Markopoulou, Stella Pieri, Panos Dragonas, Konstantinos Pantazis, Erieta Attali, Andreas Fies from Herzog & de Meuron, Ryan Neheiser, Dimitris Papanikolaou, Olga Tourlomousi, an on-site representative of Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) in Greece, Olaf de Noover from Renzo Piano Building Workshop, and Jette Cathrin Hopp from Snøhetta. During the Lifetime Achievement Awards, Panagiotis Pangalos will present honors to Tassos Biris, Manolis Korres, and Eleni Vernardaki.

As we conclude this issue, allow me to tease the content of our next edition, which will feature highlights from the ESO conference presentations among other topics.

τεχνολογία, η καινοτομία, τα υλικά, οι διαφορετικές τάσεις συνδυάζοντας τη λειτουργικότητα, το σωστό φωτισμό σε ποιότητα και

Στα 24 χρόνια πορείας και βαθιάς γνώσης έχουν

Freedom Bioclimatic Pergola

YOUNG & UP COMI NG

YOUNG UP COMI NG

The observation of Giali’s landscape, which was drastically transformed by anthropogenic factors, was the triggering point of this thesis. This uninhabited volcanic island belongs administratively to Nisyros, and two mining companies operate in its northeastern and southwestern parts. They have extensively affected the landscape, causing many environmental and social effects.

RE-MINING GIALI

Dimitris Mitsimponas

The leasing of the lands to those companies is the most important source of revenue for the Municipality of Nisyros. A part from the tree planting scheme imposed by the legislation to reclaim the open-pit mine, no other plan has been proposed regarding the Giali’s development after the completion of the mining activities, which have a fixed time horizon.

On the southwestern part of the island, the gradual merging of the manufactured with the natural landscape looks like a living canvas that depicts man’s imposition on nature. A primary concern in the conceptual design phase was how different programs could be introduced to Giali sustainably, so creating a new scenario was deemed appropriate. It is proposed to utilize its geothermal energy through an architectural program in which the energy production and the bathing element have the leading roles.

Geothermal energy is a renewable energy source in the form of heat generated inside the earth. Due to its minimal environmental footprint, it can contribute to a region's energy autonomy and security. Giali’s geothermal field is of high temperature, suitable for electricity generation through the installation of a "Binary Cycle Power Plant." That is the preferred plant type since its volcano does not have new magma to affect the hydrothermal system.

The geothermal power plant is a heat hub that produces electricity for Nisyros, meeting its needs. The waste energy of this geothermal station is consumed directly at Giali’s bathing facilities, just as geothermal sources are used by different cultures for purification and relaxation. The proposal differs from the standard techniques for reclaiming mining sites and explores the connection of the plant’s industrial character with the stimulating aura exuded by the baths. It is also in harmony with the "genius loci," highlighting the site’s distinctive atmosphere.

05.1.2

PROJECT TITLE

Re-mining Giali: a new scenario for the manufactured landscape _ baths and a power production facility

PROJECT TYPE Diploma thesis

STUDENT Dimitris Mitsimponas

SUPERVISOR Gavrilou Evelyn

UNIVERSITY Department of Architecture University of Thessaly

DATE 2022

In 1970 Sigfried Giedion mentioned in his book "Mechanization Takes Command" that the purposes of the bath have had different meanings for different time periods. The way a civilization integrates bathing within its everyday life and the bathing type it prefers, provides an insight into the period’s inner nature. Correspondingly, the design of the baths in the industrial landscape of Giali and their proximity to the geothermal power plant constitutes a new challenge that piques the visitors' interest and encourages them to learn about energy production and consumption, to reflect on this topic and to relax. In addition, changes in light or temperature and the body’s contact with water, materials and textures provoke different emotions. The building belongs to a typology of constructions that explores the relation between energy production infrastructure and recreational facilities, and it is a hybrid where all the senses are stimulated.

Live your myth death in Greece is a constructed scenario, a translation of a survey that explores the complex sociopolitical environment of the Aegean region in Greece.

Evangelos Evangelou ( THESIS 02 )

LIVE YOUR MYTH DEATH IN GREECE

In the year 2030, the refugee crisis is still on, stronger than ever, while tourists have become empathy-free, thirsty for drama and blood and hungry for new, surprising experiences. The global pressures lead the state of Greece to create a new kind of touristic experience, a contemporary version of the bloody shows of the ancient Romans, a live-action reality show that shares a glimpse into the refugee drama.

DEATH

Driven by their will to obtain their visa document, the incoming refugees are relocated to the Archipelago of Dipsa, an island that served as a place of exile in the antiquity, where they become the protagonists of a bloody show, a spectacle which becomes the grand attraction for the new generation of tourism.

The Aegean archipelago is a territory of co-existence between the refugees who cross the maritime borders, seeking for shelter, and the large-scale touristic crowd that takes over the islands, seeking for pleasure and euphoria. A part of those islands used to be a place of isolation and death since the ancient times; ancient Greeks and Romans were exiling citizens to certain islands of the Aegean. During the 20th century, political prisoners, physically and mentally diseased people, as well as refugees were displaced and isolated to the islands.

In the case of the Aegean, the archipelago is an ideal example of the coexistence of contrasting conditions in close proximity to each other but without their interaction and contact. Depending on its narrative, each Aegean island appeals to a different category of visitors/people, and islands with a common narrative are linked to each other through island hopping. This creates sub-networks of intertwined islands that do not influence each other. In this way, every summer, tourists flock to Mykonos at the same time as migrants wash up dead on the beaches or are enclosed in overcrowded detention centers in Lesvos. The Aegean Archipelago has come to function as an extensive network of idyllic resorts intertwined with a network of detention centers and 'killer' beaches.

The case of the archipelago is conceived as the spatial condition that allows a controlled interaction and an effective division among its islands. In that manner, a complex of mega-structures is constructed around Dipsa island in a way to mimic the case of the archipelago. These structures shall interact with each other only under controlled circumstances during the day and the distance between them will ensure the complete isolation of each particle when needed. Each week, a ritual is connecting the two conflicting worlds, allowing their controlled interference. Dipsa archipelago tests consistently the balance between the two worlds, blurring the limits, challenging the ethics, and questioning the standards of the human civilization.

PROJECT TITLE Live your myth death in Greece

PROJECT TYPE Diploma thesis

STUDENT Evangelos Evangelou

SUPERVISOR Katerina Kotzia

UNIVERSITY Department of Architecture, University of Ioannina

DATE 2022

AtPE (MAY) 2024