Introduction One of the most important examples of landscape architecture in Greece is the landscaping of the areas near the hill of the Acropolis and the adjacent hills of Pnyx and Philopappou by the Greek architect Dimitris Pikionis in 1954. Within the concept of a general improvement plan for the city centre of Athens, it was decided to give some order to the archaeological site surrounding the Acropolis, as at that time, most of the area had fallen into total neglect (Pikionis, 1991).
Historic and biographic information However, in order to understand better this project we have to be aware not only of the social and political situation of Greece but also who was Dimitris Pikionis and which were his principles, as they are totally connected to the intervention around the hill of the Acropolis. In particular, in the 50s Greece faces social and political problems as the country is right after the World War II and the Greek Civil War. After the civil war, Greece joins the Western democracies, whereas at the same time needs to clarify ideas such as "Hellenism" as regards its nation and identity. Especially for a newly formed country, it is natural to try to enhance its identity by reconstructing its past. The influences were many, such as the Byzantine Empire, the European Romantic movement etc. For this reason there were attempts to put an end to this confusion and promote modernization under the common ground of the Greek language. At that time intellectuals, influenced by the ideas of Hipplyte Taine, Friedrich Nietzsche and Auguste Barres attempted their own approaches to the new "Greekness". Pericles Yannopoulos formed this idea through aesthetics by idealizing the Greek landscape; Ion Dragoumis expressed through it his hopes for national regeneration and the poet Anghelos Sikelianos gave it a mystical dimension by arousing the cosmic and eternal sides of Hellenism. In architecture, neo-classical style was the dominant arcitectural style in Greece until 1920, as it offered models capable to organise the public space and it was obviously "Greek". However, in early twenties two Greek architects got inspired from the folk tradition. The one was Aristotelis Zachos, who mixed vernacular elements with a neo-Byzantine style and the other one was Dimitris Pikionis, who emerged as the most eloquent proponent of "Greekness". (Condaratos, 1990) Dimitris Pikionis studied civil engineering at the Polytecnic of Athens and he continued his education in Munich studying painting. After seeing Cezanne's work, he was so impressed that he decided to go to Paris to continue studying first painting and then, architecture. Thus he had the opportunity to come across with the western arts and ideas. As a result he started acute comparisons between western and eastern art and tradition. He saw a significant difference between the two: the West was distinguished by rationalism and achievements that proved its knowledge and ability to lead, while the East, which for Pikionis extended from Japan and Tibet to the Balkans, excelled in spirituality. He also believed that each tradition deserves the utmost respect, as it constitutes the genuine expression of the soul of a particular nationhood. Furthermore, he was stringently against
the use of Western forms which are more representative of science and technology, and more tolerant of Eastern forms which are closely related to the ideals of a spiritual world. Thus, "Pikionis considered that the 'dogmas of contemporary mechanical proposals' are merely justifications for our own psychical lacks, and arrived at the conclusion that "we must examine the solutions offered us by the West with greater prudence" (Mantziaras, 1991, p. 102). Greek art was seen to hold a privileged position within the eastern tradition, for its pure character and truth of forms. The seeds of these virtues, Pikionis insisted, were not lost but still lived especially within simple people. For that reason in folk art, the forms maintained the essence of ancient virtues and at the same time were the catalyst for any regeneration. Also, he believed that the local and the universal met in peasant, vernacular architecture. (Popescu, 2011) In addition, Pikionis was known for his professionally heterodox attitudes. Despite the fact that he belonged to the same generation as Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Asplund, Lewerentz and other leading architects of the Modern Movement, his own views and work lay outside the limits of conventional Modernism (Condaratos, 1990). Thus his work on the Acropolis, towards the end of his life, offered him the ideal opportunity to materialise ideas and principles he had been brewing for more than fifty years (Mantziaras, 1991).
The Landscaping of the Precincts of the Acropolis and Philopappou Hill As it was mentioned above, this project is one of the most significant projects in postwar Greece and one of the first attempts to deal with the landscape generally and in particular with the historic one (Giannakis, 2004). In 1954 it was decided to impose order on the archaeological site surrounding the Acropolis of Athens as part of a general plan of improvements to the central area of the capital. The plan included the prerequisite to link the site with the Roman Agora and the Kerameikos. The task assigned to Pikionis in 1954 consisted in planning the restructuration of the landscape in the whole area surrounding the Acropolis, the Hill of the Muses (also known as the Hill of Philopappou) and the Hill of the Nymphs (the Hill of the Observatory). The project included the design and construction of the pavilion adjacent to the small church of St. Dimitrios Loumbardiaris, as well as improvements to the parish priest's house and to the church itself (Pikionis, 1991). Although he was schooled in classicism and steeped in Greek history, he was aware of international design alternatives. The fact that he travelled a lot to the mountainous regions of northern Greece and he studied art and architecture next to the metaphysical painter Giorgio de Chirico prepared him to complete the basic work on the Acropolis of Athens (Antoniades, 1977). He considers the Attic landscape in its entirety, as well as its imaginary link with the history and the mythology of the place. In addition, "Pikionis searched for a catalyst that would place contemporary creation in harmony with the idea of nature, and he was to find it in the concept of Tradition: the atavistic survival of styles within a single,
indivisible current of forms with common roots in an almost universal plastic language, beyond the typology and morphology of a specific period. In this sense, no external imitation of historical forms is therefore capable of replacing tradition's 'innermost essence'." (Mantziaras, 1991, p. 101). Thus, the architect proposed a topographic continuum, a stone carpet, a mosaic of irregular pavers, sporadic seats and iconic signs, experienced as much by the body as by the eyes. Collaged rather than designed, it integrates forms and materials from the ancient Greek, the Byzantine and the folk tradition. (Frampton, 1995).
1. The proposed paths (Antoniades, 1977)
One of his primary decisions was to clean the surrounding area to the Acropolis, demolishing all the existing tourist facilities which were a lamentable encroachment upon the character of the site. During the following period, Pikionis threw himself body and soul into the Acropolis project, occupying his working days, which had as a result to lead him to the exclusion of everything else. During the following months, he would go to the site every morning, experiment in situ and try out alternative solutions in collaboration with craftsmen
and workers. (Pikionis, 1991). According to his point of view, only this kind of practical and fundamentally active supervision is capable of producing a sensitive and living (landscape) architecture instead of a dull, unimaginative work. The final result of the Acropolis paths emerged totally from within this process. The project was completed in 1958 after four hardworking years (Pikionis, 1991). "Observers had the sensation that the improvements and complements introduced had always been there, as an integral part of the site: timeless and accessible to everyone, which is just how Pikionis had conceived them. No more or less than they should be" (Pikionis, 1991, p. 79). In this way he wanted to express the historical and cultural continuity of Hellenism, showing a unique sensitivity in the way he treats the space by using means of an infirm and "irrational" imagination creating the links between the collective memory and the ancient world, a fabric in which time (history) and space are interwoven (Geest, 1991). One of the main aims of Pikionis was to ensure the visual and emotional relationship between the visitor and the historic landscape. The visual incorporation of the monuments, the rocks and the green layer, determines both the design of the final route and the selection of the resting areas and viewing spots. The intervention of the architect determines which are the main sights, and how these are offered to the visitors, both individually (when the user stands and enjoy the view) and as subsequent scenes (when the user walks) (Giannakis, 2000). Pikionis imagined paths as a stream, from which the visitor has the opportunity to enjoy different views of the same landscape (Geest, 1991).
2. The view to the Acropolis
Designing the paths was not a studio procedure in front of a topographic plan but an everyday continuous work made on site. The final paths are a result of an experiential approach by the architect depended on the footprint of the antiquity, the existing sculpturing on the rocks and the views provided from different areas of the site (Iliakis, 2011). "Paths offer a changing image situated before the very eyes of the walker. The project is based on the principle of observation in movement or, in other words, active observation: 'The interminable interaction between the dimensions we encounter at every step'." (Geest, 1991, p. 83). The hill can be approached either by car or on foot. The total proposal supports both cars' and pedestrians' ways but treated in different ways as regards the scale of the elements used and the textures of the materials. Granite stones in combination with large patches of textured concrete have been chosen for the vehicle's path, due to their durability. The paving patterns are larger in size than those of the narrower pedestrian walks (Antoniades, 1977). For Pikionis, landscape and history are two interlinked ideas, that the one define and interpret the other. For this reason he considers the planting and the protection of the natural environment equally as important as the conservation of antiquities. Furthermore, he believes that the ancient monuments are not just framed by the planting but they belong in a landscape, the identity of which the artist, architect or landscape architect has to understand and protect (Giannakis, 2004). Thus, alongside the pavement, non native plants were removed giving their position to olive trees and other varieties historically and symbolically related to the sacred sites of ancient Athens (Adams, 2000).
3. A part of the pedestrian path (www.oldgardens.net)
More specifically, the vegetation along the car ride is larger than that along the pedestrian roads. In the first case cypress trees, pine trees and olive trees are the dominant plants of the landscape, whereas along the pedestrian paths we can identify thyme, laurel, oleander and other numerous shrubs, typical of the Attic landscape (Antoniades, 1977). As regards the seating arrangements, they provide an integration of stones with shrubs and benches with tree trucks. "A stone is cut with a hole which allows a tree trunk or a tree root to go underneath, thus all survive in harmony" (Antoniades, 1977, pp 150-153).
4. The arrangement of the paving (www.buildinggreen.gr)
The arrangement of the paving on the paths forms a layer of signals that indicate to the walker different spots and directions (Geest, 1991). "The worn down flagstones evoke the recycled ruins of an older culture" (Geest, 1991, p. 82). The choice of the materials hardly deviates from the primordial characteristic of the rocky Greek landscape and the cultural remains that have lain buried in the surroundings. Despite the fact that each stone has been placed anew, it visually evokes the ruins, as if these stones had been structured according to a perfect, ideal model (Geest, 1991). Also, the stones are actually recycled as they were gathered from the lapidary museum of the Acropolis as well as local quarry sites (Adams, 2000).
5. The plan of the path towards the Acropolis (andreasangelidakis.blogspot.gr)
In addition to this, there are numerous designs on the paved pedestrian walks, which are inventive and universal. A wide range of symbols and metaphysical concepts, such as geometrical shapes, letters, a child, a woman, a sun etc are composed of stones, tiles and little pieces of gravel, in order to help man on his way up to the hill, entertain the spirit (Antoniades, 1977), and restore the sacred aspect of the place. The result is a unity achieved
stone by stone that does not fit into the logical process of a description made in a fragmentary way (Mantziaras, 1991).
6. The special paving arangements (www.themilanese.com)
7. The symbols on the paths
Conclusion To sum up, the work of Pikionis on the Acropolis and the surrounding areas is a project which provides solutions in multiple levels. As we realise from the analysis above, it was a successful project in different levels. First of all, in a post-war period when Greece tried to find its identity this extent project provided the character of Hellenism by making a radical break to the conventional modernism with local and historical circumstances.. As regards the way that Pikionis' work deals with the archeological site, it is impressive how harmonically the site and the intervention survive. His proposal can be seen as a natural conformation, a structural concept that almost disappears beneath the shadow of the Parthenon. In addition to this, the proposal constitutes a great example of finding the balance between the architecture and the landscape (landform and vegetation). Based on everyday work on site the proposed paths on the attic hills are not dominant in the landscape but Nowadays are considered to be an essential ingredient of the landscape. Architecture and landscape are considered as one thing and not separately. Last but not least, Pikionis achieved through this work to deal with other ideas such as the memory and the metaphysical aspect of the universe, ideas that go beyond the conventional way that we approach and understand the world and give the project a timeless value. As regards the architect himself, we should learn from his virtues and his principles generally, but more specifically we should take into account the respect he shows to the natural environment and the way he approaches the site through his experiential work on site.
"I crouch down and pick up a stone. I caress it with my gaze, with my fingers. It is a piece of limestone. Fire forged its divine form, water sculpted it and endowed it with a fine coat of clay with alternate patches of white and reddish ferruginous yellow. I turn it over in my hands and study the harmony of its contours. I delight in the way its hollows and protrusions, the light and the shadow, are balanced on the surface. I feel it grow, expand in my imagination" (Pikionis, 1991)
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Image References 1. Antoniades, A. C. (1977), Dimitrios Pikionis: His work lies underfoot on Athens' hills. Landscape Architecture, March, 1977, p. 151. 2. Bakali, K. (2014), Personal Archive. 3. Old Gardens website. (2013). Available from: http://oldgardens.net/2013/01/22/walkpath-to-the-acropolis-athens-greece/alberto-ferlenga-dimitris-pikionis-1887-1968-8/ [Accessed 21st May 2013] 4. Iliakis, M. (2011), The synthetic tools of D. Pikionis on the landscaping of Philopappou hill. [online]. Athens. Available from: http://buildinggreen.gr/wordpress/wpcontent/uploads/2011/07/BG-17_720x495_ILIAKIS-pikionis-1.jpg [Accessed 19th May 2013]. 5. Angelidakis, A. (2010), The Scientific Folklore Hallucinations of Dimitris Pikionis. [online]. Available from: http://andreasangelidakis.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/scientific-folklorehallucinations-of.html [Accessed 20th May 2013] 6. The Milanese website. (2012) Available from: http://www.themilanese.com/?p=2538 [Accessed 21st May 2013] 7. Bakali, K. (2014), Personal Archive.