An Interview With The Architect Yiorgos Hadjichristou

With the architect Yiorgos Hadjichristou

INTERVIEW A N

By Vasilis Panayides

This is an interview from the architect Yiorgos Hadjichristou. I chose to do this interview with Mr Hadjichristou because I find his work very inspiring. He focuses on the sustainability, so I find it very helpful for my work to talk with him. Yiorgos Hadjichristou architects focus on sustainable designs because they want their buildings to be environmentally friendly. He uses reusable and recycling materials as much as possible and he uses a bioclimatic approach.

Background

Yiorgos Hadjichristou studied architecture in the Soviet Union. Studying architecture was difficult and there were times that he considered to quit. There were however other experiences apart from his studies to help him develop into the architect he is today. He believes his travels that allow him to come in contact with other countries and cultures as well as his participation in many short courses the most important part of his

education. During all the experiences he gained, he manages to establish his interest in local cultures and their importance in architectural design.

Projects

One of Mr Hadjichristou’s favorite projects is his house. It is a renovating project that represents the extension of a traditional house which is based on the main strategies of bioclimatic approach. The project specifically focuses on conditions that were developed through traditions such as the spaces that enjoy south orientation with various ways of shading and ensure cross air ventilation.

Another valuable project is the ‘Smalto’ building which also received the National award for outstanding architecture. Smalto is a dental Clinique that has a very position in the city. The plots of the avenue block the city from the greenery as they usually accommodate expensive how rooms on the ground. The building is raised up freeing the ground floor, so the city is reconnected with the green urban recreational area. The ascending is proposed as sets of stairs and platforms that offer a continuation of the park thematic into the belly of the building. The vertical circulation is interwoven with the spaces facilitating social informal interactions, and thus triggering vivid momentums of diverse interior and exterior contacts. A final interesting project is the extension of one bedroom in Dala, Paphos for 1.5m only and ‘I like it because, as the clients admitted, it changed their life since it is open to nature, it was a Leptos From his experience, it is difficult to know whether or not the clients are satisfied with the work. Of course, satisfying the client is important but every architect has to keep his own standards, as Mr development. I find that an outstanding project.’ Hadjichristou supports. Usually there is a conflict whether or not the client is satisfied, or they find defects in the architecture. As an architect =, Mr Hadjichristou likes to have a good relationship with the clients. If there is no communication and things do not work, he quits the job. There were jobs, especially the big ones, that he quits.

Social aspects

The bioclimatic approach is the beginning of every project. Yiorgos Hadjichristou likes to start with the orientation, insulation, topography. That is why his house is chosen from Europe in terms of bioclimatic architecture. It is important to keep the most essential parameters from the beginning, for example orientation to the South with shading devices, cross-ventilation, thermal insulation. With social sustainability you have to generate an

The relation with clients environment where people are inspired.

The use ofmaterials The materials he is using are used commonly, but he would love to use other materials as well, such as adobe, or more experimental materials. But at the moment he uses concrete, which he started thinking about the impact it has on the environment, as well as bricks, dry walls, gypsum-boards, steal. SUSTAINABLE DESINGS: THEN VS NOW As Yiorgos Hadjichristou supports, it is good the EU enforced all those regulations that comply about strategies and sustainability about energy. In the past people did it anyway because people didn’t want to feel cold in the winter or hot in the summer. He feels that the modernization left these parameters a little bit on the site and now it’s time to revisit them in a more creative way but most importantly they are very urgent because we cannot survive without them. Regarding Mr Hadjichristou’s designs, he manages to integrate the strategy of sustainable designs by attending seminars as well as individual research, since as soon as he finished with his degree he didn’t know much about sustainability. Of course, all the experience and knowledge that he gained through the years helped him to improve the sustainability. Now, Mr Hadjichristou’s practice facilitates between architecture practice, his activistic work and with academy. He supports that everywhere the social environmental sustainability is what is driving any action taken by me.

Conclusion

Yiorgos understands sustainability as an equilibrium between adaption to the place, the climate, as well as the needs of the users. He understands sustainable architecture as a practice to cover social needs but also an activist way to address social problems. My opinion about sustainable design