‘This Research-led-Design Dissertation is presented to the School of Architecture, Oxford Brookes University in part fulfilment of the regulations for the Master in Architectural Design. ’
‘Statement of Originality This Research-led-Design Project is an original piece of work which is made available for copying with permission of the Head of the School of Architecture.’
Signed
To my beloved mother...
I would like to thank my tutors Nick Beech and Igea Troiani for their valuable support and understanding.
The dissertation
A TRAVELOGUE IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ARIS KONSTANTINIDIS
Oxford Brookes University Research Led Design 14/02/2013 Konstantinos Papaoikonomou 12083992
“Architecture is not an art, it is a natural function. It grows out of the ground, like animals and plants. Or [it grows] like a tree, that unfold and develops, so long as the man who planted tends it with proper care. That genuine buildings always look as if they are rooted in the landscape� Aris Konstantinidis (1975) Elements of Self-knoledge. Towards a real Architecture
1.Weekend house Anavyssos (1962) Aris Konstantinidis
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Contents
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Introduction
Chapter one:
Aris Konstantinidis
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1.1 Architect and Photographer
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1.2 God-built
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1.3 Vessels of life
Chapter two:
Xenia
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2.1 Branding Greek Tourism
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2.2 Xenia Hotels history
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2.3 Xenia Hotels today
Chapter three: In the footsteps of Aris Konstantinidis 74
A photographic essay
Chapter four:
Xenia ReLoaDed
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Seeking design proposals
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Minor project
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Major project
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Conclusion
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List of figures
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Bibliography
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Online references and videos
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Introduction
“Architecture grows up from the earth surrounding it, architecture is directly related to the earth in the same way a tree or a shrub is.” Aris Konstantinidis (1972) ‘Για την Αρχιτεκτονική’ For Architecture (p.181)
The work of Aris Konstantinidis is a reference point in post-war Greek architecture. Throughout his career, and in his quest for architectural “truth”, Konstantinidis focused on an ordinary and essential element of architecture: the relationship between the building and its surroundings. This dissertation will present, through an exploration of Aris Konstantinidis’s architectural theories and practice, in particular as evident in his Xenia Hotels, the contributing factors that influenced his work. The dissertation discusses the importance of Xenia Hotels for modern Greek architectural history, and assesses their current —often dilapidated— condition. A problem is identified for any projected restoration of the Xenia hotels, and an argument for a particular methodology —derived from Konstantinidis’s own practice— is presented. ‘What are the principles of Konstantinidis’ work that are expressed through Xenia hotels and what could be the methodology to revive them in future interventions?’ The methodology developed in response follows the structure of the work in the travelogue approach. This is the same approach used by Konstandinidis himself, as applied in his own research vernacular and ‘anonymous architecture’(Old Athenian Houses, 1950) (Two villages of Myconos, 1953) in order to interpret the spatial characteristics of Greece. The travelogue uses photography in order to study, classify and present what is preserved of the distinctive architectural features of the country, which are “an essential part of everyday life: the shed, the sun shade, the garden wall and the billboard.” (Konstantinidis A. , 1950) A key question raised during research on Konstandinidis’ work concerns how the integration of traditional and modern architecture can create functional spaces that cover contemporary needs whilst retaining and focusing attention on already given natural surroundings. This is responded to through the Travelogue, which aims to investigate the way Konstandinidis’ work was influenced by features of traditional Greek countryside, and to study and assess how these features were incorporated into a modern, functionality-oriented architectural approach.
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Konstandinidis’ reconciliatory and integrative approach between everyday tradition and modern architecture is considered as of central importance, providing the basis for the reinvention and reutilisation of spaces and venues that have become exhausted. To project a future architecture which is sensitive to ordinary Greek traditions which is at the same time transformative. For these reasons, the Travelogue forms an integral part to both the historical study of the Xenia hotels and Konstantinidis’s architecture, and forms the basis of a design practice. Konstandinidis travelled extensively in every part of Greece and diligently studied the distinctive architectural features of the countryside (Old Athenian Houses, 1950) (Two villages of Myconos, 1953) (Elements of Self-knowledge, 1975) ( Godbuilt, 1994). In doing so, he incorporated aspects of anonymous and traditional architecture in his work, treated as elements and ideas for future architectures. In line with his prompt to “see and experience” (Konstantinidis, 1981, p.262) I made a travelogue across Greece, studying six of his Xenia hotels. Through my camera I captured his architecture and the diverse landscapes in which it is situated, to understand what led him to his design decisions each time. 16
The travelogue realises and presents Aris Konstantinidis methodology and the use of specific architectural elements in his design: standardization and the grid; site integration and colour; the organic whole that defines the inside in relation to the outside and the importance of intermediate and semi-open spaces; visual surprise and comfort that translates into spaces that do not consume and tire the inhabitant; the use of atriums; the frame and the view. The dissertation is given in four chapters. Chapter one gives an outline and context of Konstantinidis’s architectural practice and theories. Chapter two explores the history of the Xenia hotels, their original programmatic intention and their eventual decline. Chapter three focuses in depth on a particular site—the Xenia Motel in Paliouri—one of Konstantinidis’s hotel designs that has fallen into some disrepair. The final chapter presents and reflects on a a possible contemporary design interpretation of Konstantinidis’s methodology. In chapter one the architect is presented to the reader in light of his multidisciplinary personal history, as an architect, a photographer, and a writer. The attention then shifts towards his concept of ‘God-built’, his notion that timeless, universal architecture is rooted to its environment as if it had always been there, creating an unbreakable bond between the building and the country. This coexistence of international and local characteristics has led some scholars to classify his work under the term critical regionalism (Tzonis – Lefaivre, 1981) (Frampton, 1983). This interpretation is discussed in regards to its meaning and its relation to the architect. The final part of the chapter contains a brief analysis of a house in Anavyssos, that Konstantinidis calls the ‘Vessels of life’, a building that he created ‘through reflection and dreams’ (Solomos ,1844), that will define and outline his future
course in architecture. In chapter two the context of Konstantinidis’ work is presented by considering the general image of the Greek countryside and, in particular, the way that commercial strategy and branding of the Tourist industry developed in the Konstantinidis era. This is followed by the history of the Xenia Project and concludes with a review of the Xenia hotels today and the various futures in store for them. Chapter three, which focuses on the Travelogue -part of is representing here as ‘photographic essay’- following in the footsteps of Aris Konstantinidis, uses photography and observation as a means to trace and reflect on a journey through contemporary Greek landscapes. Framed through the camera, rural Greek traditions, modern architectures and infrastructures, and post-industrial commercial developments are each juxtaposed with one another and etched into the topography. This leads to a comprehension of the bond between nature and building in a clearer fashion. Chapter four presents design-oriented propositions, first a minor project for the creative use of clusters of rocks in Meteora, second a major project that integrates a restored and reconfigured existing Xenia Motel in Paliouri, into a larger redevelopment of the whole Paliouri Bay. The proposition of the Minor Project calls for the creation of an outdoor (semi-open) Gallery space in Meteora that frames the landscape through the gallery and the works of art, making the surrounding nature an object of contemplation (God’s art, or ‘God-built’). The Major project in Paliouri is a solitude for artists, an arts and culture resort proposal. A venue dedicated to cultural and artistic production, through the reinvention and rejuvenation of an abandoned Motel. The programme integrates facilities for artists and people interested in the arts, who can socialise in ways quite different from typical commercial models (such as ‘boutique’ hotels), in a communal atmosphere generated by the architecture. This architecture allows for multiple activities in the landscape through framing devices, the grid, the integration of interior and exterior and the use of specific materials. The architecture of Aris Konstantinidis provides a clear architectural language, celebrating comfort and functionality, rational layout of floor plans, integration of environment and structure, and enhancement of each particular building material. Regrettably, contemporary Greek architects have lost the thread that connects their buildings to their context. Their quest is an attempt to imitate foreign trends or, more commonly, disregard architecture altogether and simply respond to the spatial and economic demands of the client. The aim of this dissertation is, therefore, to redefine and chart a course, retracing the footsteps of Konstantinidis, in order to discover the identity of Greek architectural and constructional culture and to recreate what ‘true’ architecture is all about.
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Chapter one:
Aris Konstantinidis
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1.1 Architect and Photographer
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The architect and photographer Aris Konstantinidis
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Family house, Filothei, Athens (1957) Designed and photographed by Aris Konstantinidis
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Aris Konstandinidis (fig.1) was born in Athens and studied architecture at the Technical University of Munich from 1931 to 1936, where he came into direct contact with the architectural concept of the Modern Movement. Upon his return to Greece in 1936 he worked for the Town Planning Department of the city of Athens and for the Ministry of Public Works. In 1955 he was appointed head of the Workers Housing Organization until 1975 and also the head of the Technical Service of the Greek National Tourism Organization from 1957 to 1967, where he planned and oversaw the construction of a series of workers’ houses and Xenia hotels. At the same time, Konstantinidis planned and realized several private projects. He studied extensively the anonymous architecture of Greece and published three books, from 1947 to 1953, “Two villages in Mykonos” (1947) , “Old Athenian Houses” (1950), “Country churches of Mykonos” (1953), in which he examined particular examples of this type of architecture. Furthermore, in 1975 he published a comprehensive book concerning the anonymous architecture of Greece, entitled “Elements of Self-knowledge-Towards a true architecture”. It is there that one can see how much Aris Konstantinidis was influenced by the architectural tradition of his homeland and how he drew lessons from the past to develop his Architecture. (Konstantinidis, 1981, p.258) Konstadinidis is using light and shadows within his architecture and it is these very qualities that also make his photographs to stand (fig.2). In an article for the magazine ‘Hellenic Photography’ (issue 3 March 1955) Konstadinidis states: “Contemporary photography has to offer a new vision, lucent and shiny as lucent and shiny the objects stand under the light of the sky, things like a wall, a stone , a face, a bush, the sea and the waves, the nearby or faraway mountains.” (Konstantinidis,1987,p.123)
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Greek anonymous architecture from God-Built Photographs from his travelogues, Aris Konstantinidis
9. - 12. Greek Landscape from God-Built Photographs from his travelogues, Aris Konstantinidis
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In his last book, entitled “Θεόκτιστα” (Godbuilt) in 1992, the architect once again underlined his belief that anonymous architecture (fig. 4-8) as well as the landscape of Greece itself (fig. 9-12), constituted the foundations on which modern architectural practice could and should be grounded: ”So every building, small or large, blooms on a particular site like an indigenous natural feature, to live with man and to have stature, meaning and soul... A work that is not a harmonious part of the landscape, cannot be architecture… It is also necessary for the architect to belong to a particular geographic and historical place, if he wants to make something that will have life and durability. True architecture, like any true art, has to be indigenous not international.” (Konstantinidis, 1981, p.276) Konstandinidis’ books rely on photographs to convey the inner meaning of his convictions regarding Man and Nature, manmade building and god-build nature, as he would say. In one of his latter books, God-build, he addresses the point of timelessness in architecture; he often puts it like the feeling as if it was always there: “some photographs, taken at various times between 1945 and 1980, which attempt to show that those manifestations of truth, wisdom and beauty in landscape and building are not irrevocably gone, they can still be seen to this very day, in the land of Greece, provided one wishes -and seeks- to see them with one’s entire soul; for however old, indeed ancient, they may be, these manifestations of truth, wisdom and beauty will stand fast, radiantly new, in the age of a resurgent
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13. Family house Penteli, Athens (1974) Designed and photographed by Aris Konstantinidis 14. Hotel Triton, Andros (1958) Designed and photographed by Aris Konstantinidis 15. Motel Xenia, Larissa (1959) Designed and photographed by Aris Konstantinidis 16. Family house Philothei, Athens (1974) Designed and photographed by Aris Konstantinidis
optimism.” These are the very core of Konstantinidis’ convictions. His quest to find the balance of measure scale and simplicity was informed by the land itself “For it is because we are dealing here with landscapes and houses that look as they were made not only by human hands, but by gods as well. Therefore GOD-BUILT, since time immemorial and for all eternity; well-wrought, well-balanced, well-poised; uncluttered, austere, simple; and self-evident. (Konstantinidis, 1992, p.7-8). The book Godbuild epitomizes all of his research and work; it is like a conclusion to his philosophy as an architect, photographer and writer. Apart from his books that heavily rely on photography, he used travelogues to help define a methodology through honest and simple structures, inspired from anonymous architecture and transmitted through photography into creating those theories described above. Consequently, he fought passionately for a true modern architecture that emerges from the needs of the country and its climate. In his quest to focus on details and qualities, his photography helped to investigate those qualities and put them in the context of the landscape and topography. Traditional Greek architecture principles, investigated from his photographs, filtered through and repeatedly used in his architecture, as oppissed to the white architecture of Rationalism, the use of stone & brick (fig.13) and color on reinforced concrete (fig. 14-16), which are typical of his work, are statements of a new kind of expressiveness associated not only with anonymity, but also with Ancient tradition. (Cofano, 2010) Konstandinidis has, thus, created a methodology based on observation and critical analysis of his imagery. His research was to find the ‘Truth’, the truth of the materials, the truth in the function of his buildings, the truth one senses in reading Aris Konstantinidis’ books on Greek architecture, written sixty years ago. In this emblematic triad of photobooks: “Two Villages from Mykonos” (1947), “The old Athenian houses” (1950), and the “Chapels of Mykonos” (1953), the reality of a project in construction is presented, “like a human being who thrives in a particular territory (landscape), in accordance with the same laws that conjure up a plant, or an animal” (Konstantinidis, 1950, p.53)
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What Konstantinidis called “old” Athenian Houses dated from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the period just before Greek Independence in 1821. Studying them carefully with photographs (fig.17&18) and sketches(fig.19), Konstantinidis found out that these houses were always composed of a courtyard and a series of rooms of one or two stories, placed around it. (Theocharopoulou, 2010,p.124) Himself a builder of stone buildings, that are not competing with topography, but become part of it , he believes that the “romantic notion of Greece”, so common in public Athenian buildings of the 19th century, is a curse and one should look at the humble houses that utilize the sun and the wind, to create the optimum conditions for the inhabitants, rather than form: “Formal architecture through a purely romantic mood, sets up and places a stage design that immixes images of Europe ... really one has to ask where are all these ancient classical pediments and columns come from in contemporary Greece?” ... and how do they justify their form, the classical, as they call them buildings, where stories of nostalgic appearance are narrated even in the smallest classic morphological element?” The answer to that question perhaps lies in the fact that the architects of that era have not heard the voice of a Modern Greek narrative and the modern Greek breath, but instead, deaf and blind, in a barren territory, searched with their aging fingers over the embossed alphabet of the dead morphological details of the past.” Thus, “the real” Greek architecture vocabulary was forming elsewhere, in the small and modest and unassuming folk architecture”. (Konstantinidis, 1950). The unpleasant conclusion - that led Konstantinidis to depression towards the latter stages of his life - was that modern day Greek architects lost the thread that connects their buildings with the context of their surroundings, as more and more people care about things of temporary significance, more and more people try to imitate foreign trends or, even worse, forget about architecture altogether and just provide the spatial demands of the client.
17. Old Athenian house, Thoukididou 13 (1950) Photograph by Aris Konstantinidis 18. Old Athenian house, Thoukididou 13 (1950) Photograph by Aris Konstantinidis 19. Old Athenian house, Thoukididou 13 (1950) Plan by Aris Konstantinidis
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1.2 Godbuild (Konstandinidis & critical regionalism)
20. Dimitris Pikionis Portrait 1955 21.
Elementary School, Lycabettus Hill Athens (1933) A school designed by D. Pikionis, one of the most important ‘Modern schools’ of the school programme of 1930’s, after which he rejected Modern movement.
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After World War II and the ensuing civil war, Greece was in ruins. A new beginning had to be made, in which architectural thinking shifted again towards popular tradition, where the only fixed points were the local architectural heritage and the restoration of the ‘question of Greekness’. This critical attitude towards international modernism will determine the directions of the two architects who defined the period, Dimitris Pikionis (fig.20) and Aris Konstantinidis. Both of them will deny the model of the contemporary city and will study traditional Greek architecture, in search of timeless forms. Greek nature will provide the unsurpassed beauty standard, while the Greek spirit could only be approached through the timeless works of traditional anonymous architecture. On the one hand Pikionis, although acknowledging the purity and simplicity of the forms of modern elements of truth and honesty (fig.21), ultimately rejected it as too abstract and cold and focused his architectural quest to the forms and typological elements of the long Greek tradition. On the other hand, the younger Konstantinidis tried to reconcile the past with the future, giving moral dimensions in his architectural work, especially on the honesty of form and space as presented above. Although opposed to the purely decorative and morphological character of Pikionis’ “Greekness”, he is trying to link the Doric simplicity of modernism with the ancient, or folk architecture of the Greek islands, or that of the Athenian houses. He also vehemently opposed Neoclassicism and Art Deco, - dominant styles at the time - claiming that the austere Modernism is mostly “Greek” as the traditional Athenian homes (see chapter 1.1), simply because they adapted to the climate, the light, the place, and ultimately to the humans, without forcing them to be holed
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One room house in Mykonos (1947) Perspective sketch by Aris Konstantinidis
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One room house in Mykonos (1947) Plan sketch by Aris Konstantinidis
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House with elevated terrace for sleeping, Plaka (1938) Sketch by Aris Konstantinidis
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House with elevated terrace for sleeping, Plaka (1938) Photograph by Aris Konstantinidis
up in boxes with foreign “wrapper”. He utilizes the new structural possibilities of concrete (beams on columns, domino plan), in conjunction with local materials, components and typologies encountered while travelling throughout Greece, especially the islands of the Aegean (Delos, Mykonos) (fig. 22 & 23) and that of the refugee settlements that he sketched and photographed (fig.24 & 25), in order to form the “true” or “correct” (as he called it) architecture, that expresses the “common and the main” and the “true essence.” Andreas Giakoumakatos notes that: “The motivation behind Pikionis and Konstantinidis is common, in the sense of reducing the project to the archetypal cultural values, based on the spirit of the place. Nature is approached as an ontological category and ethics becomes a spatial request. The robust realism however of Konstandinidis’ “shelters” opposes to the selective ambiguity of Pikionis, because it abandons the search for “universal shape” in favour of a design vocalization coding experience of the tradition, in accordance with an uncompromising typological and structural logic. He did not for a moment break away from the congenital preconditions of the modern movement, but in the same time he constructs a criticism to the original decommissioned conventionality of international style ... as aptly S. Kontaratos notes: “to bridge the modern with the primitive, Konstantinidis skips history and in doing this, he becomes a true rationalist, an authentic representative of the Athenian architect, someone between “modernity, tradition and identity”, that should be among the most valuable internationally, in the field of modern regionalism, while Konstantinidis emerges as the most important Greek architect of the 20th century.” (Kontaratos 2000, Giakoumakatos 2003)
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Country residence Eleusina (1938) Designed and photographed by Aris Konstantinidis
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Garden Exhibition Kifissia, Athens (1940) Designed and photographed by Aris Konstantinidis
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Landscaping of Acropolis surrounding area, Athens, Greece(1954-1957) Designed by Dimitris Pikionis, Photography by Helene Binet
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Landscaping of Acropolis surrounding area, Athens, Greece(1954-1957) Designed by Dimitris Pikionis, Photography by Erieta Attali
As Konstantinidis’ and Pikionis’ work appears to balance between the international conformity of the untreated reinforced concrete frame and the territorial qualities of the local stone and masonry, Konstantinidis uses walls as an attempt to assort and categorize his work in the international context by the article “The grid and the pathway’. An introduction to the work of Dimitris and Suzana Antonakakis” written in 1981 by Alexander Tzonis and Liaine Lefaivre and published in ‘Architecture in Greece’ magazine n.5, also prefaced their monograph edited by Kenneth Frampton (1985). Tzonis and Lefaivre point out that critical regionalism began in Greece with the thirties projects of Aris Konstandinidis and Dimitri Pikionis, particurarly in the former’s Eleusina house (1938) (fig.26) and his garden exhibition built in Kifissia (1940) (fig.27).
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In 1957 Dimitris Pikionis designed a pedestrian route for the Philopappus Hill, on a site near the Acropolis in Athens (fig.28). On this work, Tzonis - Lefaivre note: “Pikionis proceeds to make a work of architecture free from technological exhibitionism and compositional conceit, a stark naked object almost dematerialized,.... There are platforms to be used in an everyday sense (fig.29) but to supply, in the context of contemporary architecture, everyday life does not. The investigation of the local is the condition for reaching the concrete and the real, and for re-humanizing architecture.� (Tzonis - Lefaivre, 1981, p.178)
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Archaelogical Museum of Chios (1965) Dimitris and Suzana Antonakakis, Atelier 66
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Housing settlement at Distomon (1969) Dimitris and Suzana Antonakakis, Atelier 66
Dimitris Antonakakis and his wife, Suzana Antonakakis, co-founded the architectural partnership Atelier 66. Their work was influenced by Aris Konstantinidis’ interpretation of vernacular forms through a rigid grid system and modern construction, as seen in most of their projects, most notably in the Archaeological Museum of Chios (1965) (fig.30) and the housing settlement at Distomon (1969) (fig.31). Here the grid is transformed into a zoning scheme that regulates the allocation of domestic and public activities. Their debt to Dimitris Pikionis is also evident in the emphasis given to movement within built space, the creation of path-like networks of spaces and the treatment of the courtyard as a selective collector of activities, as in two vacation houses (1973, 1977) at Oxylithos, Evvoia, as well as in the Archaeological Museum of Chios. They transformed the influences of Konstantinidis and Pikionis into a complex system, gradually moving towards a more fragmented composition of volumes, as seen in a vacation house (1981-5) near Perdhika, Aigina. In “The grid and the pathway. An introduction to the work of Dimitris and Suzana Antonakakis”, they used the term “Critical Regionalism” for the first time, in order to classify the work of Dimitris and Suzanna Antonakakis and to trace it back to its origins in relation to the history and culture of Modern Greek architecture, particularly through a comparative review of Konstandinidis and Pikionis. Besides, Kenneth Frampton was the one who popularized the term ‘Critical Regionalism’. Regionalism, and in particular Konstantinidis’ brand of it, is not a style in itself nor can it come under any major general categorization, for it is not governed by any international rules. A more contemporary definition can be that “critical regionalism” still implies and defends an approach that “recognizes the value of the singular, circumscribes projects within the physical, social, and constraints of the particular, aiming at sustaining diversity while benefiting from universality” (Tzonis, 2003, p. 20). It is exactly on this diversity versus universality issue that Konstantinidis thrives: for having absorbed all internationalism through his architectural training in Germany in the midst of modernism, he found the sense to revert to his origin. According to Kenneth Frampton, Paul Ricoeur addresses this by saying “It is a fact : every culture cannot sustain and absorb the shock of modern civilization. There is the paradox: how to become modern and to return to sources; how to revive an old, dormant civilization and take part in universal civilization…” in the light of which Konstantinidis’ “to be traditional is to be modern”, became more apparent. (Paul Ricoeur 1961, Frampton 1983, p.148)
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The ‘portico’ Xenia Hotel in Mykonos (1962) Aris Konstantinidis
Although Frampton, in his book “Modern architecture. A critical history” is not referring specifically to Konstantinidis, he reflects the very characteristic qualities of his oeuvre: “It may be claimed that Critical Regionalism is regional to the degree that invariably stresses certain site-specific factors, ranging from topography, considered as a three dimensional matrix, into which structure is fitted, to the varying play of local light across the structure. Light is invariably understood as the primary agent by which the volume and the tectonic value (fig.π) of the work are revealed.”(Frampton, 1980, pp. 326-327) Konstantinidis shaped the trajectory of his thinking very early on. It was a struggle against all odds, contrary to the mimic, counterfeit and grand-scale western architecture, concentrating on a dual purpose: to strive for true contemporary architecture, free of the formalistic burden of the past and the morphoplastic expressions of classicism, but also free of the egoistic manifestations of the international Movement, and to make true of his conviction that as an architect, he practices apart from architecture, a philosophy of materials and that he is a composer of the construction, who works with the consciousness of ‘causes of what is being done’, and who fulfils the mission of “building temporary vessels for life”. (Konstantinidis, 1978, p.20-21) “These focal points of Konstantinidis’ philosophy were due to his realisation of a truth that educated architects are not usually aware of: “In contrast with the West, which favours historicism and mannerism and eclecticism, the East has no ‘styles’ or ‘stylistic features’ to be copied, nor ‘-isms’ for ‘easy consumption’. Greece in particular, which is situated between East and West, has a vernacular architectural tradition that is replete with quality and artistic restraint.” (Konstantinidis, 1987, p.25) What really sets the architecture of Konstantinidis apart though, is his ability to stand above the restrains of East and West. From his high vantage intellectual point, he is able to see and recognize the truth, beyond the reaction of any preceding or subsequent debates. As Helen Fessas-Emanouil states: “His priority was to tender for the “true” human needs, the values of the anonymous tradition, construction or “poetic” dimension of his art and its most constant elements, landscape, climate, and human scale, and to the intellectual cultivation and social togetherness, with his disciplined freedom in composing and shaping forms, a rich body of precepts for designing buildings for the many, rather than just for the hold power or authority.” (Fessas -Emmanouil, 2001, p116)
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1.3 Vessels of life
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1.Weekend house Anavyssos (1962) Aris Konstantinidis
Aris Konstantinidis throughout his work gave all his attention to the “traditional” architecture of the old Athenian houses and the traditional houses of the Aegean: in the small “containers” of life or “Vessels of Life” as he called them, buildings that combine the robust with the delicate, a stone wall with a wooden porch. The traditional craftsmen playing intuitively with the closed internal room and the open hall overlooking an interior courtyard. This is the form that houses in Athens had until 1950’s, on the streets of the center such as Solon, Akominatou, Trikoupi, Menander, and Michail Voda, as seen in the design and photographic impressions in his book “The old Athenian houses” (1950). His constructional and design honesty governs his work and his life too. His passion for anonymous architecture came because these buildings emerged from the logic on which all successful anonymous architecture has, to build for a good life: The “Vessels of Life”, was what he considers to be “real” architecture, which manifested with his weekend house in Anavyssos (fig.1), near Athens. The house is a seaside vacation home. It is the most frequently published work by Aris Konstantinidis, in Greek and foreign press, which, as he said in the interview, was always “ in his heart.” One could say that the house in Anavyssos has formed the manifesto, which sets as the primary purpose of architecture the creation of “vessels of life”.
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Weekend house Anavyssos (1962) South elevation looking the seaside
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Weekend house Anavyssos (1962) Extending the slab creates the portico at north-west elevation
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Weekend house Anavyssos (1962) Plan and programme of the house (edited by author)
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Weekend house Anavyssos (1962) Semi-open space forms a gallery with rythmic openings
semi-open space
kitchen
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dinning room
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semi-open space
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living room
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Weekend house Anavyssos (1962) Centrally located fire-place All photos and plan by Aris Konstantinidis
The main body consists of load bearing stone-walls on the grid, while the slab is out of reinforced concrete. Internally, the non-load-bearing walls are made out of bricks. The construction principles of the building are the clear separation of the structure and the walls (bearing/load) and the use of a rhythmic grid that constitutes a whole container, alternating solid and void. The typology of the plan refers to that of houses on the islands of the Aegean. The accommodations are simple rectangles that are arranged according to the orientation of this unassuming stone ‘box’ to a grid of 4x5m and 4x6m. The space is arranged through a see-through living room in the north - south axis, with large openings in the south to the seaside (fig.32). The fireplace is centrally located and provides a smoother transition to the more private areas of the house (fig.36). The kitchen is positioned northeast, with its own semi-outdoor space, which enters the main body of the building, while the bathroom and sleeping area are positioned southeast. The semi-open spaces play a key role in the synthesis. Extending on both sides of the rectangle, the south and west, they occupy almost the same area as enclosed living spaces, and combined with the walls, they create a gallery with rhythmic openings (fig.35). Absolute harmonization of the residence with the Greek climate is provided by an extension of the slab (portico) (fig.34) for shading the interior during the summer months in the ‘warm’ orientations, limited openings in the North, large (but protected) exposures to the south, isolation of the area of sleep, and penetration of semi-open kitchen in the east. Disciplined composition with reduced size and Doric simplicity. The brutalistic use of indigenous stone and reinforced concrete, make the building fit perfectly into the landscape, making it part of it. The denial of any picturesque elements and the absence of historic data make the building timeless. The simplicity of form, rational and honest use of any material and substantial response to human needs, is a clear reference to the modern idiom, and not only they comply with the essence of the tradition and spirit of the place, but also help one reconcile locality and internationalism. This building also expresses the fundamental principles of the Modem Movement: such as the emphasis on the social factor and standardization in composition and construction. Konstandinidis himself states in his book “For Architecture”: “The true architectural work stands out over the ephemeral and the temporary and lends form to man’s most profound psychological and emotional states, according to the operating facts of every age and according to the intellectual climate of every place. There is always a building problem that has to be solved, in tune with social aims, artistic criteria and the economy... And as long as the building is contemporary - of its own time - from the point of view of technology (economy, sanitation, construction. etc), it will also be eternal from the point of view of its artistic quality.” (Konstantinidis, 1964, p.163)
41
42
37.
37.
Grids of standardization in construction The grids of “vessels of life� by Aris Konstantinidis (1938-1975)
Konstantinidis had the resources to fight inventively against the academic principles of monumentality and functionalism of urban architecture. He sought his criteria in the techniques and social capabilities of his time, in the true, anonymous architecture of Greece, and in what he called its “God-built” landscapes. But his world theory of construction, with its upgraded role for the architect, demanding rules and disciplined freedom could not be the key to all doors. The “vessels of life” created by Konstantinidis from 1938 to 1975 (fig.37), in conjunction with his theoretical texts, constitute a solid measure of his treatment of essential issues in architecture, such as harmonizing buildings and nature, the relationship between function, construction and form, concerns about rules and freedom. (FessasEmanouil, 2001) Reconciliation of the basic principles of the Modem Movement with the values of anonymous Greek architecture was the core of Aris Konstantinidis’ buildings. From the lengthy and universal tradition of Greece, he learned harmonious co-existence between buildings and nature, to love beauty with functionality and adaptability of its building types and their inviolable diversity. Refusing to compromise with the laws of the Cold War period, Konstantinidis showed resistance to the “retail” and formdominated modernization of Greece, as well as to the defensive sentimentality of regionalism. The result of his radical work was constructed, theoretical and critical. The temporary retreats of life that he created “through reflection and dreams” (D. Solomos) within a common articulation, stand out indigenously in the landscapes in which they have been destined to adorn.
43
44
Chapter two:
Xenia
45
46
2.1 Branding Greek Tourism
The enormous economic potential, which the development of the tourist industry could generate, to the otherwise frail Greek economy, was understood since the very early days of the 20th century. Since 1914, tourism bureaus were founded in many different forms, followed by the establishment of the primary form of the Greek National Tourist Organisation (GNTO) in 1929. The General Secretariat of Tourism was formed in 1945, despite the political turmoil and the after-effects of World War II, in the midst of a civil war that followed and postponed the reconstruction of Greece untill the early 50s. The losses of those wars were incalculable: human lives, infrastructures, economy etc., while the State was broke. Under those conditions many people decided to migrate to urban places or abroad for economical or political reasons. When political disputes settled, the State had to regenerate the economic strategy of the country. Main axes of the national economy were: industry to increase exports, tourism to import foreign exchange, construction to rebuild the ruins of the wars and produce housing for the internal immigrants. That era coincided with the beginning of the Cold War (some historians consider the Greek civil war as the first act of the Cold War). Under those circumstances, Greece, the only non-communist Balkan country, was included in the Marshall Plan (1948-1951), which offered financial aid to non-communist European countries, to rebuild their economies following the model of capitalism. The era of reconstruction was terminated by another political event: the Dictatorship of 1967.
47
48
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
38-40. Promotional posters of GNTO Decade 1930-1939 41-43. Promotional posters of GNTO Decade 1940-1949 44-46. Promotional posters of GNTO Decade 1960-1969
In the early 50’s, as tourism became a basic axis of the national economy, the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) in its final form was founded. The new structure of the Organization provided flexibility compared to other public services. For the GNTO, tourism aimed to import foreign exchange and to promote the international ‘icon’ of Greece as a ‘cultural product’. The Directorate of Promotion had the responsibility for this promotion and came up with a strategy that was both vibrant and productive. The creativity of the Promotion department of the GNTO, was paired with the Directorate of Planning, Design and Construction, which was burdened with the production of novel tourist infrastructure. Instead, the Directorate of Promotion was responsible mainly for the design and circulation of printed advertisements about popular tourist locations (the port of Kastella in Athens; the islands of Corfu, Rhodes, Mykonos, Andros; the archaeological sites of Mycenae and Knossos; the spa at Loutraki; the monasteries of Mount Athos; Athens and Epidaurus Festival; etc.) in the form of posters and brochures, in Greek, English, French and German. Surviving examples from the remarkable output of the times demonstrate a significant break from the artistic explorations of the past. This included colorful style graphic design posters with representational compositional elements - mainly stylized ancient monuments and idyllic landscapes. The task of the Organization was to manage the hotels, owned by the State, to invest in building hotels, pavilions, highway stations etc, mainly in places that lacked private investments, to organize festivals, tours, cruises, advertising and other commercial activities - a risk that private investors avoided taking.
49
47.
Modern Housing for Asia Minor Refugees, Athens (1933-1936) Architects: D. Kyriakos & K. Laskaris
48.
Sanatorium Sotiria, Mesogeion Avenue, Athens (1932) Architect: John Despotooulos
49.
Primary School on Kalisperi Str. Athens (1931) Architect: Patroklos Karantinos
50.
Primary School Gouva, Filolaou, Athens (1934) Architect: Kyriakoulis Panagiotakos
51.
Michailidis bros polykatoikia (1933-1934) Architects: Polyvios Michailidis & Thycidides Valentis
50
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
As the necessity to build arose, so did the demand for the appropriate architecture to be used in the Reconstruction. It soon became apparent that modernism would prevail. 1930s Neoclassicism and Art Deco were dismissed as too decorative, inadequate, outdated and foreign-influenced styles. Instead architects embraced the Modernism expressed by the Bauhaus and Brutalism of Le Corbusier. These two styles were used with different variations at almost all the projects of Modern Greek architecture. The standardization, simplicity and easy to read buildings seduced (mainly the young) architects, who now operated exclusively in Greece and served the State. A series of buildings such as refugee housing (fig.47), hospitals (fig.48), schools (fig.49 & 50), hotels, courthouses, city halls, banks, apartment buildings (fig.51), were built in those years in Greece, spreading both the modern style and the material of construction, reinforced concrete. (Fessas-Emmanouil, 2001, pp.3646) Those young architects with modern ideals, in a Greek society that was by and large concerned with modernization were the protagonists of the realisation of Greek Modernism. The reason for the development of modernism was the interaction of Greek architects with modern pioneers, but also the Greek vernacular architecture that is modern in its essence, in terms of its austerity and simplicity of form. A very important occasion was the fourth CIAM, which was held in Athens, partly thanks to these intensive cultural interactions. On the other hand, at the time of the conference the past found a new interpretation, its focus was shifting from classical antiquity to prehistory and to the vernacular tradition. The prehistoric and vernacular background of the Cyclades was seen as the birthplace of formal, functional and structural modernity; once again a new tradition was budding and blossoming in Greece. As support to Greekness and modernity, Kenneth Frampton states in ‘A Note on Greek Architecture: 1938-1997’, essay for the book of the exhibition ‘Landscapes of modernization-Greek Architecture 1960s and 1990s’, “While the evolution of modern architecture in Greece over the past half century has been subject to the swings and variations experienced in the rest of Europe, Greece has been particularly privileged with regard to the Modern Movement in two important respects. In the first place, the avant-garde architecture of the 1920s and 1930s was not far removed from the traditional whitewashed vernacular of the Cycladic islands. In fact, certain Modernist manifestations, above all Le Corbusier’s Purism, had been partially inspired by these same prototypes. Thus, spare, cubic, orthogonal compositions, were able to receive easy cceptance at an everyday level in Greece. Indeed, one may claim that Athens is one of the few cities in the world where a normative modern ‘international’ architecture accounts for a large part of the inner urban fabric. In the second place, Greece is blessed with a benevolent climate, for the most of the year, and this,along with the varied topography which is to be found throughout , has had a mediating influence on modern abstraction.” (Frampton, 1999, p.12)
51
52
2.2 Xenia Hotels history
52.
The Athens Hilton (1958-63) Architects: E. Vourekas - P. Vassiliadis - S.Staikos
53.
Mont Parnes Hotel in Parnitha (1958-1961) Architect: Pavlos Milonas
52.
53.
The Greek National Tourism Organisation started the Xenia Project soon after its formation in 1950. It was the one and only attempt by the Greek State to create accommodation infrastructure for the development of Tourism. Most of the buildings are fine specimens of Post-War Modern Greek Architecture, setting good precedents of accommodation for International Tourism, in a time that high standard facilities for tourists did not exist and there was no interest for private investment in high class tourism, with a few notable exceptions. In the context of tourist development in Attica, two very important Hotels, in terms of their size and architecture, will be constructed. The Athens Hilton (1958-63) (fig.52) and the Mont Parnes Hotel in Parnitha (1958-1961) (fig53). The former, owned by the famous company of U.S. interests, was designed by a team of Greek architects namely Emanouel Vourekas - Prokopios Vassiliadis - Spyros Staikos. The construction spurred major protests with regard to its size. The most notable parts are the ground floor cafeteria covered by circular shell and a large engraved south-western side of the building designed by Giannis Moralis. Mont Parnes hotel, which includes a casino, was designed by architect and scholar Pavlos Milonas. Other than that, there were very few private investments into high end tourist infrastructure, until well into the 1960’s. The Xenia project includes different types of buildings (hotels, motels, hostels, pavilions etc.) in privileged places and/or historical sites. Those constructions were made to offer hospitality to high class international tourists, who brought valuable foreign exchange to a poor developing country. On the other hand, those buildings with their infrastructures became very popular to the local society, as well. The Xenia Hotels Project represents the efforts of the only non-communist Balkan country to connect with Western Europe..
53
54.
54
55.
56.
57. 58.
In 1950 Charalampos Sfaellos begins to implement the program as Director of Technical Services of GNTO (until 1958). He was succeeded in 1957 (until 1967), by Aris Konstantinidis heading the Technical Department, gathering around him an elite team of architects, I. Triantafyllidis (fig.54), G. Nikoletopoulos (fig.57), Phil. Vokos (fig.55), K. Stamatis, K. Krantonellis, Dion. Zivas, Aik. Dialysma (fig.58) and others, and creates an ‘architectural laboratory’ responsible for the design and construction of the Xenia program. The design followed the common principles, which cover a wide range of architectural topics in general. The location, the building program, the relationship with the urban fabric and landscape and the promotion of Greek nature as product for leisure, typologically and structurally organising - building with wings and structural frame, out of reinforced concrete, are factors which led to a unique and unsurpassed result, which deserves to be studied by the younger generations. The buildings and facilities of the Xenia Project were not strictly limited on the hotels. A whole series of infrastructure materialised, that included beach facilities, with changing-rooms for swimmers, small beach bars, etc., in organized beaches such as Vouliagmeni, Thessaloniki, Loutraki, Kalamata, Patras, Nafpaktos, ArvanitiaNafplion, Volos, Kavala (fig.57), Mykonos, Eretria (fig.58) etc. Tourist Pavilions without accommodation, with bars, souvenir shops, small exhibitions of folk art, tourist information kiosks etc. Tourist Restaurants such as Corfu’s restaurant at Kanoni, Nafplion’s Arvanitia restaurant and the restaurant Dionysos’ etc.
54.
Xenia Hotel in Nafplio, Arvanitia (1958) Architects: Ioannis Triantafilidis
55.
Xenia Hotel in Spetses (1962) Architect: Philippos Vokos
56.
Xenia Hotel in Mykonos (1960) Architect: Aris Konstantinidis
57.
G.N.T.O. beach in Kavala (1965) Architect: Yorgos Nikoletopoulos
58.
G.N.T.O. beach in Eretria (1959) Architect: Aris Konstantinidis
59.
Xenia Motel in Kalambaka (1960) Architect: Aris Konstantinidis
59.
Also part of the project was the idea of the Motel (fig.59), introduced in Greece in 1959. Tourists travelling by car spent the night in small cosy hotels with spacious parking lots, located outside residential areas near the highways. GNTO promoted touring by car at that time. Organizing rooms in wings, providing outdoor access to rooms and replacing bathtubs with showers, added to the low cost of land outside urban places, dropped the construction costs significantly. That was a key issue for GNTO. The primary policy of GNTO, however, was to erect high class hotels in the form of the Xenia hotels for international tourists (above A class), in order to inspire the private investors into this type of venture, that at the time favored lower class hotels with limited budgets, which aimed to suppress the cost per bed. The program “Xenia” constructed 56 buildings: hotels, motels, tourist kiosks, etc., which are found in archaeological sites like Olympia, on islands like Spetses (fig.55), Andros, Mykonos (fig.56), along road axes, like Xenia Lepanto, in spas and other destinations of touristic interest. The sites chosen for the reconstruction of Xenias were the best location of each area, chosen with regards to the view, correct orientation, accessibility and topography. The Xenias targeted tourists travelling by car and the local society, with social happenings and cultural events; so they steadily became a meeting place for locals and their guests. In the 60 years that have passed since the beginning of the program to date, “Xenia” fate ranges from peak times to abandonment. They function as nuclei, around which the social life of local societies is developed, a popular place of residence of the celebrities of the time and meeting places of local society with the foreign tourists.
55
X
X Serres
Drama X Xanthi
33
29
Florina X
X Edessa
4
Thessaloniki
Kastoria X2
Corfu X
X Ioannina 7
17
M Igoumenitsa
34
M Larissa
25 Trikala
21
X Tsagkarada Portaria X 6 9 Volos X 24 Skopelos X Domokos X Arta 30 X Skiathos 16 37 56 X Platistomo X Ypati Karpenisi X 8 Kamena
22
56
20
Vourla
X Arachova 56 X Delfi
M Messologi Kefalonia X
M Paliouri
28
M X Kalabaka
3
52
Platamona M Meteora
X Samoth
X Ouranoupoli
Katerini
X Kozani 55
53
X Thassos
54
15
X Komotini
40
1
13
5
Patra
Erymanthos X Zakinthos X
44
36
Olympia II M Olympia I M
42
32
Diakopto Athens
Corinth
X Kastania 43
X Anavyssos
Ancient X Epidavros 11
X Vitina 41 Nafplio X12
X
35
45
X Poros 39
X Andros 10
X Kithnos 46
X Mykonos 23
X Spetses 26
X Sparti 14
X Chania 47 Rethimnon X 48
X M 31 38 Heraklion
X M Xenia hotels and motels 1950-1956: GNTO leading Architect: H. Sfaellos
1. Xenia Delfi (1953). Architect: D. Pikionis 2. Xenia in Kastoria (1953). Architect: H. Sfaellos 3. Xenia Samothrace (1954). Architect: C. Spanos 4. Xenia Thassos (1955). Architect: H. Sfaellos 5. Xenia in Argostoli , Kefalonia (1955). Architect: H. Sfaellos 6. Xenia in Tsagarada (1955). Architect: H. Sfaellos 7.Xenia in Corfu (1955). Architect: H. Sfaellos 8. Xenia in Ypati (1956). Architect: H. Sfaellos
X M Xenia hotels and motels 1957-1959: GNTO leading Architect: A. Konstantinidis
9. Xenia Portaria (1957). Architect: K. Kitsikis 10. Xenia in Andros (1958). Architect: Aris Konstantinidis 11. Dressing rooms for the ancient theatre of Epidaurus (1958). Architect: A. Konstantinidis 12. Xenia Nafplio (1958). Architect: J. Triantafillidis 13. Motel Xenia in Messolonghi (1958). Architect: J. Triantafillidis 14. Xenia in Sparta (1958). Architect: Chris Bugatsas 15. Xenia in Florina (1958). Architect: G. Nikoletopoulos 16. Xenia in Arta (1958). Architect: D. Zivas 17. Xenia Ioannina (1958). Architect: F. Vokos 18. Xenia Samos (1958). Architect: K. Stamatis 19. Xenia in Chios (1958). Architect: Mr. Stamatis 20. Xenia Karpenissi (1959). Architect: F. Vokos 21. Motel Xenia Larissa (1959). Architect: A. Konstantinidis 22. Motel Xenia in Igoumenitsa (1959). Architect: A. Konstantinidis 57 23. Xenia in Mykonos (1959). Architect: A. Konstantinidis 24. Xenia in Volos (1959). Architect: K. Stamatis
hraki
X Mitilini 51
X M Xenia hotels and motels 1960-1966: GNTO leading Architect: A. Konstantinidis
25. Xenia Motel in Kalabaka (1960). Architect: A. Konstantinidis 26. Xenia in Spetses (1960). Architect: F. Vokos 27. Xenia Kos (1960). Architect: F. Vokos 28. Motel Xenia Platamon (1960). Architect: F. Vokos 29. Xenia Serres (1960). Architect: Mr. Stamatis 30. Xenia in Skopelos (1961). Architect: F. Vokos 31. Xenia in Heraklion (1961). Architect: G. Nikoletopoulos 32. Hostels in Erymanthos (1961). Architect: F. Vokos 33. Xenia in Drama (1961). Architect: K. Stamatis 34. Motel Xenia in Paliouri (1962). Architect: A. Konstantinidis 35. Xenia hostels in Epidaurus (1964). Architect: A. Konstantinidis 36. Xenia Motel in Olympia (I) (1963). Architect: A. Konstantinidis 37. Skiathos Xenia (1963). Architect: G. Nikoletopoulos 38. Xenia Motel in Heraklion (1963). Architect: A. Konstantinidis 39. Xenia in Poros (1964). Architect: Aris Konstantinidis 40. Xenia in Xanthi (1964). Architect: G. Nikoletopoulos 41. Xenia Vitina (1965). Architect: K. Bitsios 42. Xenia Motel in Olympia (II) (1966). Architect: A. Konstantinidis
X Chios 19
X Samos 18
X Kos
X M Xenia hotels and motels undefined
27
X Rhodes 49
X Lindos 50
43. Xenia in Kastania Korinthias 44. Xenia in Zakinthos 45. Xenia in Anavyssos 46. Xenia in Kithnos 47. Xenia in Chania 48. Xenia in Rethimnon 49. Xenia in Rhodes 50. Xenia in Lindos, Rhodes Island 51. Xenia in Mitilini 52. Xenia in Ouranoupoli 53. Komotini 54. Xenia in Edessa 55. Xenia in Kozani 56. Xenia in Arachova
58
60.
60.
Xenia Hotel in Poros (1964) Architect: Aris Konstantinidis
The types of buildings and the locations of the infrastructures of the Xenia Project were defined by the policies on the development of tourism. The buildings of the project are found in archaeological sites (Xenia Motel Olympia I & II), on the islands (Xenia of Andros, Xenia of Mykonos), along highway roads (Xenia Motel of Platamonas, Xenia Motel of Messolonghi), in urban places (Xenia of Heraklion, Xenia of Rethymno), and other destinations of touristic interest. The architect would select the location that the Xenia Hotel should be built. The property land, which was selected, should be in a privileged site, providing beautiful view, proper orientation and accessibility (fig.60). The topography of the land was very important, too. (Moussa, 2012, p.514) Each project was based on: a) location research to choose the land property and climate, b) observation of the region, c) study of the local traditional architecture, as a synthesis of spaces and volumes, without any decoration elements, d) a building program that covered the tourist needs and made the most of the potentials of each site. (Konstantinidis, 1987, p.160-161) The layout of the buildings depends on the plasticity of space, with preconditions linking the building to aspects of landscape, orientation, approach, constructional grid, views, the relation of the inside and outside, in an organic whole. The typology includes courtyards, open balconies, openings (large or small) that serve as a continuation of indoor activities.
59
60
B
A
C
D.
A. B. C. D.
61.
Typological organisation The wing of nine rooms is highlighted (edited by the author)
Xenia Motel in Kalambaka Xenia Motel (II) in Olympia Xenia Motel (I) in Olympia Xenia Hotel in Poros
The main general architectural characteristics of the Xenia Hotels are the following: environmental integration (natural, urban and cultural environment), proper orientation (usually south or east), easy access, adaptation of the solution according to the climatic and morphological data of the region. We could summarize the common features in: a functional program of the floor plans, simplicity in forms, authenticity of the material and techniques, parking lots, small number of levels, use of pilotis, low budget construction. The common synthesis key components are: separation of public and private functions, relationship between inner and outer space, grid, open spaces design, facade design based on the function of the internal spaces, organizing mobility within the complexes. Typological organisation (fig. 61) and standards of the construction: identification of the functional grid with the construction grid, organizing rooms in wings, organizing a model room, standard construction details (wall details, windows, stairs etc.) for time and money savings in design and construction. The columns are placed in a rectangular 4x5 or 4x6 grid and different spaces occur in rectangular shapes, specified by the grid. The wings of the rooms are placed on a factor of 9 rooms and is standardised as if they have been industrially produced out of a conveyor belt (Konstantinidis,1987, p,206). Same principles apply to walls, doors, stairs railings on balconies. The materials selected were usually a combination of modern materials (the bearing structure was made by concrete) and materials used in local traditional architecture (e.g. local stones). The colors used are: deep red, ochra, white, black (called the Polygnotia color grate or tetrachromy) and the sea blue. Beyond these common characteristics, each building is individual. Every architect designed with regards to his own aspect, based on the special demands of each project, the local environment and the climatic conditions. The architect of the project might design the furniture, the operating equipment and could even decide about the sculptures and paintings that would decorate the building. (Moussa, 2012, p.516)
61
62
2.3 Xenia Hotels today
62.
63.
64.
62.
Xenia Hotel in Mykonos (1960) Renovated to boutique hotel
63.
Xenia Hotel in Poros (1964) Renovated- altered addition with respect
64.
Xenia Motel in Olympia (I) (1964) Partially renovated to city hall
65.
Xenia Motel in Paliouri (1964) Abandoned Xenia Motel in Olympia (II) (1964) Partially renovated to local fire department Xenia Hotel in Nafplio (1964) Abandoned Xenia Motel in Kalambaka (1964) Abandoned
66. 67. 68.
Between 1955 and 1967, 56 hotels were built. Of these some have been demolished, some abandoned, some barely operate to a substandard level, having lost their glamour, and some have been refurbished or altered by additions. The main reason for this is that in 1967 the military government shifted the focus of tourism towards mass accommodation and hence the xenia hotels lost their value and started to fall into decline, initially by limiting the beds, then by leasing the hotels to private investors. Soon after their privatisation, some of the hotels stopped being profitable, so their new owners abandoned them to the wear and tear of time.
63
(photos by the author)
65.
66.
67. 68.
Drama Xanthi
Serres Edessa
Florina
Komotini
Thassos Thessaloniki
Kastoria
Samoth
Ouranoupoli
Katerini
Kozani
Platamona
Paliouri
Meteora
Kalabaka
Ioannina
Corfu
Larissa
Trikala
Igoumenitsa
Portaria Volos
64
Arta
Tsagkarada Skopelos Skiathos
Domokos
Platistomo Ypati
Karpenisi
Kamena Vourla
Arachova Delfi
Messologi Kefalonia Patra
Diakopto
Erymanthos Zakinthos Olimpia I Olimpia II
Athens
Corinth
Kastania
Anavyssos
Ancient Epidavros
Vitina Nafplio
Poros
Kithnos
Andros
Mykonos
Spetses Sparti
Chania Rethimnon Heraklion
Demolished 1. Xenia in Corfu (builted a new in the same location) 2. Xenia in Ioannina 3. Motel Xenia in Larissa (builted a new in the same location) 4. Xenia in Chania 5. Xenia in Rhodes Island 6. Xenia in Lindos, Rhodes Island
hraki
Abandoned 1. Xenia in Nafplio 2. Xenia in Vitina 3. Xenia in Erymanthos 4. Xenia in Sparti 5. Xenia in Anavyssos 6. Xenia in Andros 7. Xenia in Chios 8. Xenia in Samos 9. Motel Xenia in Herakleion 10. Xenia in Delfi 11. Xenia in Arachova 12. Xenia in Skiathos 13. Xenia in Tsagarada 14. Xenia Kalabaka 15. Xenia in Platamona 16. Xenia in Kozanh 17. Xenia in Kastoria 18. Xenia in Florina 19. Xenia in Paliouri (Chalkidiki)
Mitilini
65
Renovated / in use
Chios
1. Changing rooms and hostels for the actors in Ancient Epidavros 2. Xenia in Poros 3. Xenia in Mykonos 4. Xenia in Kithnos 5. Xenia in Kastania 6. Xenia in Messologi 7. Xenia in Karpenisi 8. Xenia in Ypati 9. Xenia in Volos 10. Xenia in Portaria 11. Xenia in Skopelos 12. Xenia in Ouranoupoli 13. Xenia in Samothraki 14. Xenia in Serres 15. Xenia in Xanthi 16. Xenia in Komotini 17. Xenia in Drama 18. Xenia in Thassos 19. Xenia in Edessa
Samos
Kos
Altered initial use
Rhodes Lindos
1. Xenia in Igoumenitsa is used now from the local university 3. Xenia in Zakinthos is used now from the Townhall 4. Xenia in Olimpia I is partialy used from the local fire department 5. Xenia in Olimpia II have been renovated and works as the Townhall 6. Xenia in Rethimnon is used now from the university as student halls 7. Xenia in Mitilini is used from the University
Paliouri Kalabaka Tsagkarada Skiathos
Delfi
Chios
Andros Vitina Mykonos
66
Listed hotel
Today the Xenias seem a thing of the past. Memories of grandeur have faded fast and the current economical climate favors the cheap instead of the proper. Twentieth century’s most important tourist enterprise of significant architectural value, is now under serious threat. The demolition, obsolescence or abandonment and abuse of the recent non moderated renovations of the GNTO building infrastructure, has long provoked reactions of the Greek and international architectural community. The Panhellenic Union of Architects (S.A.D.A.S.) send numerous petitions to the relevant bodies for the immediate protection and listing of Xenias. S.A.D.A.S. , decision entitled ‘Listing and restoration of building projects GNTO - Recommendation Network Xenia, proposes the protection of the most remarkable Xenia as listed including their surroundings, so that the buildings become operational again following the original plans and to re-organise an appropriate network of tourist infrastructure of high architectural value. Since 2007, when the petition started, in order to convince the Modern Monuments Department office to characterise some of the most important examples ‘listed’, the first ten hotels have been listed. Unfortunately, from this 10 hotels only Xenia in Mykonos and in Poros have been renovated and working, the rest have been neglected in their fate.
Serres
Ouranoupoli
Portaria Volos
Messologi
Mykonos
Kos
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Renovated and work as boutique hotel
Unfortunately, outstanding examples of architectural value by Konstantinidis (Heraklion, Larissa) or other leading architects, have been lost forever (and others may soon follow along the same road). In the case of the Xenia in Andros that is in a very bad condition, a lot of talk and actions takes place recently in terms of exhibitions ‘2001-2012 an archive opens’ by Lizzie Calligas (http:// calligashotelxenia.blogspot.gr/) and architectural symposia, to bring the hotel to the attention of the community again, its prominent position in the port of Andros and links to the history and the culture of the site. Xenia in Kalampaka is also in a state of disarray, despite the fact that is listed, it is abandoned to its fate. More or less the same applies to the motel in the bay of Paliouri. However, some of the Xenia Hotels, despite the fact that they have been transferred to private investors, the renovation was carried out with respect to the original ideas but also to accommodate to the boutique hotel aesthetic and to make the business plan viable.
source: Aris Konstantinidis, (1981) Projects and Buildings, Athens, Agra
photo: Theoxenia website
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present condition: photos by the author
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Xenia Hotel in Mykonos (1962) Architect: Aris Konstantinidis
Xenia in Mykonos, one of the most important works of Konstantinidis, was build in 1960 in a place of prominence overlooking the best views of the island. The hotel designed so as not to interfere with the volume of the natural environment. The hotel is built on a slope, developed in single and double storey levels, connecting the inside with the outside to an organic whole. The hotel comprises of seven building units, arranged in such a way as to create two courtyards. The facades of the building are characterized by the purity in design. The use of the local stone and craftsmanship, proofs the respect of the traditional Cycladic architecture and the integration with its surroundings “like it was always there�. Konstandinidis designed the hotel following the characteristic principles that he developed, portico, patio, framing of the view, orientation, respect of the local architectural style, without compromising the modern principles, an important good landscape, directly linking to the history of the place, behind the windmills. Today Xenia in Mykonos has been listed as national preserved property and has been renovated to a boutique hotel, called Theoxenia, which respects the 60s philosophy of the building. However the natural character of the internal courtyard with the sunbathing terrace and the shrubby vegetation, according to the new needs of a contemporary hotel, have been replaced by a swimming pool and gardens. In general the rough character of the earth has changed...
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source: Aris Konstantinidis, (1981) Projects and Buildings, Athens, Agra
present condition: photos by the author
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Motel Xenia Paliouri (1962) Architect: Aris Konstantinidis
The Motel Xenia in Paliouri is part of a redevelopment project, which has been proposed in 1962 by Konstantinidis for a general development of the very unique bay of Paliouri. The built hotel represents only a part of the original proposal for general tourism development of Paliouri bay. The impact of this project was discussed in global architectural events of the time. The entrance from the road is indicated by the reception building with its distinctive sloping roof. Following the main access road and passing the utilities building and the accommodation for the stuff, we approach the first big parking and in front of that there is the main building with communal services (restaurant, bar, kitchen, storage) overlooking the significant views of the bay. The motel’s accommodation consisted of four identical wings of nine rooms each, which are connected to a semi-open pathway on the west, following the philosophy of the open balconies, which connects the indoors with the outdoors in an organic whole. Three staircases in between the four wings connect the two levels leading to the rooms and ground floor. Unlike the other motels, where each room had its own parking space below the rooms, in this case the space on the ground floor was used to accommodate more rooms in direct access to the outdoors and the beach. The motel was in operation until 1997, but since then it was literally abandoned to its fate and badly damaged by the ware of time and vandalism. Recently in 2008 it has been listed as national preserved property from the Modern Monuments Department, but it is not as lucky as the one in Mykonos‌
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Chapter three:
A travelogue in the footsteps of Aris Konstantinidis a photographic essay
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�An architectural work must be seen and experienced as a completed structure within a landscape, not as a photograph in a publication. True architecture, like any true art, has to be indigenous, not international.� Aris Konstantinidis (1981) Projects + Buildings (p.262)
photo by the author
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Thessaloniki
Katerini
M Paliouri
Meteora
Kalambaka M
Larissa Trikala
76 Domokos
Kamena Vourla
Patra
Diakopto Athens Corinth
M Archaia Olimpia M
Ancient Epidavros
Nafplion
X
X
X Poros
All 7 days
Covered distance 2600km
As Konstantinidis proclaims, architecture needs to be experienced in conjunction with the landscape in which it is created, these two are interrelated. He travelled extensively in every part of Greece and diligently studied and presented the distinctive architectural features of the countryside. In doing so, he studied and incorporated aspects of anonymous and traditional architecture in his work, elements and ideas, which developed through those travelogues. Following his footsteps and in line with his prompt to “see and experience�, I made a travelogue across Greece as a result of visiting and studying six of his Xenia hotels. Through my camera I captured and investigated his architecture and the diverse landscapes in which it is situated, in order to try to understand the elements that led him to his design decisions each time. I started those travelogues from Peloponnese and headed North, covering a considerable part of Greece, approximately 2600km in seven days (04 - 11/01/2013). I had the opportunity to get inspired from visits to coastal and mountainous landscapes. Also I had the chance to observe whatever was left of the anonymous architecture, in the terms that Konstantinidis described it and to be able to reach my own conclusions of the equivalent expressions today. By creating the photobook of the travelogue, the process itself helped me to see and comprehend things in a clearer way. The set of photographs, part of the travelogue, presented in this photographic essay from landscapes, details, and architecture, will venture to travel and reveal to the reader my thoughts about the special significance of these identified or anonymous monuments I captured through my lens.
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Aris Konstantinidis Structure in Mykonos from his book ‘God-built’
The corresponding expression of the anonymous architecture Konstantinidis presents in this photo, does not exist to that extent. It has become too expensive... where there were stone buildings, we now have concrete.
After the city of Lamia, the road I had to follow was passing through the mountain of Domokos. There within the countryside, several concrete structures have replaced the “Greek Anonymous� architecture Konstantinidis was refering to.
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Something that characterizes the Greek urban and rural landscape is the presence of incomplete structures called “γιαπί” (giapi). The ‘giapi’ is an incomplete structure in the initial stage of the concrete frame with slabs and stairs much like Le Corbusier’s domino model, usually as a result of financial hardship. In the last years with economic crisis more than ever these everpresent structures are on the incraese...
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What is really interesting about this «giapi» is that construction stopped, once the basic need for storage on the ground floor was fulfilled, over time the owners decided to make an embankment. The creation of this artificial hill, immediately brings into prominence the construction and promotes the anonymous ‘giapi’ into something monumental which celebrates the view.
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The reinforced concrete frame is an expression of anonymous architecture in the last few decades. From time to time, very interesting uses of such spaces occur and cover multiple uses of space.
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This simple and rigorous structure reminded me Miesian spaces. The way this rough and unfinished ‘giapi’ interacts and frames the landscape is really inspiring.
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The landscape of the plains with snowed mountains in the background, conflicts with the new trend of photovoltaic farms.
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The photovoltaic panels in the plain of Thessaly is an aspect of the changing landscape, one of the few remaining sources of income in this crisis time. PV have become something of a trend and the easy way in to make some money. As I discussed with some family friends from Trikala, there are many people who have left their cultivations for a fixed income from the photovoltaic parks.
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Improvised structures and a house trailer creates a kiosk during the summer period, proving once again what Konstantinidis states: “Life in Greece is connected to the outdoors”.
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Aris Konstantinidis Makeshift shelter from his book ‘God-built’
What has remained the same since the days of Konstantinidis, for the sole reason that life especially in the countryside “takes place outdoors”. The makeshift shelters barely have evolved and include caravans and containers.
Another improvised structure set on a parking of national road, creates a shelter for a kiosk during the summer period.
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The organic whole that defines the inside to the outside. Important intermediate and semiopen spaces.
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Xenia in Kalambaka is one of the most succesfull examples of Konstanidis, where open balconies and staircases, that lead into the rooms, connecting the indoors with the outdoors in an organic whole with open visual contact giving it a theatricality.
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Access to the rooms is succeeded through the form of open balconies, connecting the indoors with the outdoors in an organic whole. That open corridor runs around the internal courtyard.
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These semi-open spaces are used either as corridors, entrances or as covered porches
The interesting and surprising result, visual surprise and visual comfort that translates into comfortable and interesting space that does not consume and tire the inhabitant.
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19.
plan
Old Athenian house, Thoukididou 13 (1950) Plan by Aris Konstantinidis
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The Motel is developed around the atrium, where the use of pilotis allows to the restaurant and parking spaces to be placed at the groundfloor.
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Following the standarized grid of 4mx6m, under the sloped roof a semi-open covered space is created used as seating area. The roof is interrupted in between the two volumes of the restaurant and the bar and creating a courtyard.
The sites chosen for the reconstruction of Xenias were the best location of each area chosen, with regards to views. Most of the Xenia hotels are interwoven with a characterized view as an image which framing the view.
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The retaining stone wall in close proximity to the building provides an inventive solution, by reducing humidity in the winter and cooling by enhancing the flow of air in the summer.
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The main semi-open corridor, one of the key features, running all the lenght of this hotel, providing valuable shade, natural ventilation and cooling during the summer period.
The use of colors or materials that integrate the building to the colors of the surrounding landscape. This concept is unearthed from traditional architecture, during medieval times in the Greek islands because of piracy, as buildings always camouflaged in the colors of their surroundings to avoid being perceived.
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In the name of style everything is being altered... However the inner beauty of Greece never changes. To its inhabitants it is the promised land...
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Chapter four:
Xenia ReLoaDed
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Seeking design proposals
Concepts arising from the study of Konstantinidis and the application of his principles to the Design proposal for the reinvention of architecture in Greece. The dust has long settled on the arguments regarding modernity and its local application in Greece. Konstantinidis, a central figure in this debate, left a legacy that still haunts Greek architecture. Like a Freudian father, his presence still haunts Greek architects to this very day, as very few have constructed anything to further the argument and the analysis of regional modernism in his motherland. Through this paper we have seen the expression of timeless architecture in how inhabitation takes a priority over form and the manner in which simple yet accommodating traditional houses manage to be naturally integrated with their surroundings. Using Konstandinidis paradigms from his Xenias, I will attempt to apply the principles of re-evaluation of vernacular, site integrated, outdoor structures to the particularities of an Exhibition space for the Minor project, or the re- habitation of an existing infrastructure for the needs, of a new vacation model for artists and people interested in the arts, with the redevelopment of the Paliouri Bay for the Major Project. The concept for the Minor project in Meteora, calls for an open gallery that will serve as a place of observation and exhibition. A place which operates to see and to be seen. The program uses a simple ‘yapi’ ( unfinished Concrete frame Structures) or even spaces carved in the rock in this very inspiring natural marvel of Meteora. This simple construction, bare as the empty concrete frame of Domokos, will serve as an open gallery that functions as a shelter-viewpoint (belvedere) for the breathtaking view, as well as an exhibition space. Pictures of “God-Built” through
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posters or projections would be seen in an open exhibition under the main canopy, thus emulating the ‘yapi’ aesthetic in a place of memory of the past as the simple Konstantinidiesque structures have begun to disappear, replaced by the convenience and immediacy of the concrete. Therefore, from the outset the project was a collaboration of art and architecture, to the extent of using works of art as an integral part of the static system. The spatial image of the project is one based on a stone concrete structure inspired from the Anavyssos house, but in an exploded or even inside-out manner, in a way that may go as far as to collage and deconstruct the Anavyssos house, making an artefact and exhibit the container of space itself. The site chosen is metaphorically ‘Suspended in the air’ (the meaning of Meteora in Greek); these monasteries represent a unique artistic achievement and are one of the most powerful examples of the architectural transformation of a site into a place of retreat, meditation and prayer. Meteora provide an outstanding example of the types of monastic construction, which illustrate a significant stage in history, that of the 14th and 15th centuries. The site is positioned on the main peripheral road of Meteora, next to the Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron. At the brief, the gallery requires to be included in the structural remains of an unfinished building or under the canopy are some scattered exhibition modules, outdoor exhibition space, seating area and parking space which naturally created at the moment from the topography. The character of the whole intervention will be as minimal as possible. The “XENIArt | Redevelopment of Paliouri Bay” is governed be the same principles and guidelines: it will be a space dedicated to the cultural and artistic production, and the development of the bay by promoting photography, all forms and lost arts in general through the creation of an infrastructure of communal spaces for residence so as to minimise the impact of human intervention in the habitat of the bay. The “XENIArt | The cultural centre” will be an exhibition space but also an exhibit in its own right in a way to a similar fashion as it is done in “Xenia Triton” movement the “Caligas” exhibition in the manner of an open exhibition under the main canopy, thus emulating the ‘yapi’ abandoned aesthetic or the exhibition in a yapi in Thessaloniki (fig.70). The exchange and interaction between the artists of different backgrounds and education will create a cultural capacitor in a place of natural splendor, that can be experienced directly, since most of the activities will happen outdoors but also of rare architectonic thinking that changes use from hotel to Art Centre.
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It can be the springboard for the declining Greek tourism, a hybrid model of vacations, and a fine example to follow elsewhere. It will be an independent space using the facilities of used to be the Motel Xenia with the aim to contribute to social communication and cultural expansion and to promote creativity in different fields of art but mainly the ones that are becoming obsolete, such as folk art. Therefore, the resort should attract a large number of Greek and foreign art lovers and practitioners throughout the year. The site is potentially the GNTO camping and the group of buildings that form the motel “XENIA” in Paliouri Chalkidiki, part of a redevelopment project which has been proposed in 1962 from Konstantinidis for a general development of the very unique bay of Paliouri as the starting point (fig.71), located in one of the most beautiful beaches of Chalkidiki, in the lower end of the peninsula of Kassandra. As is the case of most of the “XENIA”, Paliouri is located in an area of outstanding natural beauty and is characterized by the casual, unassuming but also holistic architectural vision of Aris Konstantidis integrating the buildings with their surroundings. Proposal calls for artistic events, experimental and specialized musical and theatrical events, conferences, films, etc. Paintings, photographs, sculptures, new media art, video creations, installations and other exhibitions and performances. All these will be accommodated within the existing building infrastructure facilities of the Motel and will is expanded to the camping and the bay. Some like the restaurant or the management of the Motel will not need any further architectural addition as its previous use was of a similar nature. Other spaces may require some minor alterations. The proposal will include expanding and development of the existing camping, guest quarters (dormitory housing), art center with studios, management and functioning of the resort to take the area of the reception, storage and social rooms, shops and cafeteria, art shop, relaxation spaces and the existing parking spaces. Its functions must be multiple, and diverse and it will be open to all kinds of art, especially those that encourage interactivity between artists and their public, conferences, workshops, free initiatives, etc. To achieve this goal, the XENIArt should be a free space of artistic expression with no boundaries.
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Minor Project
Open Gallery in Meterora
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Minor Project
Thessaloniki
Meteora
Corinth
Paliouri
Athens
The concept for the Minor project in Meteora, calls for an open gallery that will serve as a place of observation and exhibition. A place in which operates to see and to be seen. The program uses a simple ‘yapi’ ( unfinished Concrete frame Structures) or even spaces carved in the rock in this very inspiring natural marvel of Meteora. This simple construction bare as the empty concrete frame of Domokos will serve as an open gallery that functions as a shelter-viewpoint (belvedere) for the breathtaking view as well as an exhibition space. Pictures of “God-Built” through posters or projections would be seen in an open exhibition under the main canopy thus emulating the ‘yapi’ aesthetic in a place of memory of the past as the simple Konstantinidiesque structures have begun to disappear replaced by the convenience and immediacy of the concrete.
Site location
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Conceptual drawings View from the ‘yapi’gallery facing the Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron
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How integrates with the topography.
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The form of the gallery is conceived by juxtaposing the offset of the site’s existing contours and a 4x6 m grid. The intention was to entwine the building with the landscape, emphasizing visual reward of the magnificent scenery following the geometry of the rocks. The choice of the excavation site was determined by primary consideration to integrate with the topography and use the excavated stones for the walls, in order to succeed further adaptation with the landscape.
Proposal
scale 1:500
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The entrance to the gallery is obtained via the roof where a gentle slope and a row from tree trunks, draws the visitor to the interior and subsequently to the viewing platform hence creating the gallery space below.
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Major Project
XENIArt
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Thessaloniki
Paliouri
Meteora
Corinth
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Major Project
Athens
XENIArt
Redevelopment of the Paliouri bay
In the Paliouri project the space is dedicated to the cultural and artistic production, and the development of the bay for promoting fine arts and photography through using some of the existing infrastructure and intervations that respects the beauty of the site. The XENIArt | The cultural center, is one of an exhibition space but also an exhibit in its own right. Konstantinidis was not given the opportunity to teach in Greece. However, the texts and the works brought an ambiguous influence on the course of Greek architecture. Many talented architects then assimilated the architectural idiom, simple and perfectly adapted to the current manufacturing methods. Above all, is the poetic ethos that inspired and continues to inspire more thoughtful than their younger colleagues. The project is governed by the same principles and guidelines: it will be a space dedicated to the cultural and artistic production, and the development of the bay by promoting photography and fine arts through the creation of an infrastructure of communal spaces. The proposal will include expanding and development of the existing camping, guest quarters (dormitory housing), art center with studios, management and functioning of the resort to take the area of the reception, storage and social rooms, shops and cafeteria, art shop, relaxation spaces and the existing parking spaces. Its functions must be multiple, and diverse and it will be open to all kinds of art, especially those that encourage interactivity between artists and their public, conferences, workshops, free initiatives, etc. To achieve this goal, the XENIArt should be a free space of artistic expression with no boundaries.
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Site location
XENIArt is located in one of the most beautiful beaches of Chalkidiki, in the lower end of the peninsula of Kassandra. Here in 1962 Konstantinidis proposed for first time a plan to redevelop the whole Paliouri bay to a touristic destination with well designed infrastructure. Unfortunately from the whole project, only the Xenia Motel and camping for caravan got finally realised. Since then Chalkidiki become one of the top destinations for summer vacations for Greeks and Internationals. The beauty of the whole first leg of Chalkidiki has one of the biggest plains after Thessaly, significant nature, wonderful beaches, some archeological sites and culture events during summer season.
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The XENIA Motel today
The motel was in operation until 1997, but since then it was literally abandoned to its fate and badly damaged by the ware of time and vandalism. Recently in 2008 it has been listed as national preserved property from the Modern Monuments Department.
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Site analysis main national road local access road earth covered roads Xenia Motel Paliouri GNTO Caravan camping ravine 149
Current uses and users (summer season)
pop up beach bars rent umbrelas and seabed visitors camping beach campers
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Manifesto
Paliouraki
XENIArt
The cultural center
In the 21st century the models of all-included styled vacations have prevailed, as well as villas and rooms ‘to let’ accommodation, the need for something new has been prompted. As my starting point the Xenia Motel and Konstantinidis vision for Paliouri bay, following my observations from my travelogue, decided to redevelop the Motel Xenia, the existing caravan camping and the whole bay. Three interventions will be introduced to the site; Public Space - Beach facilities - To accommodate the existing users of the bay, beach facilities will be created. Hybrid Space - XENIArt | The cultural centre - XENIArt will be the core of the intervention and the starting point for the whole redevelopment. As an Architecture lesson from Konstantinidis, a part of the motel will be renovated as guest quarters and the rest will be transformed to an art centre, the XENIArt. Private Space - XENIArt | the solitude for artists - This space shall provide artists with a platform to accommodate their creative needs, an isolation mecca in which users are able to experience the visual impact of the immediate environment, promoting relationships between culture and land. With this proposal the intention is to create a multitude of spaces for new and existing users of the site, which respects the existing topography of the environment and cultural activities..Subsequently, it celebrates and aims to evolve the cultural expressions of the land, through the generation of a creative network.
XENIArt
The solitude for artists
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Conceptual drawing
Paliouraki
- restaurant - beach bar - changing rooms - shaded sitting area - umbrellas - wc - water sports dock
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Conceptual drawing
XENIArt
The cultural center
- exhibition spaces - belvedere platforms - artshop+ giftshop 155 - cafeteria - space for workshops
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Photos from the existing camping. The magnificent view of the two bays.
XENIArt
The solitude for artists - cabanas for artists - rooms with cluster beds for 150 people - wc & kitchens for the campers - workshop - studios and semi-open studios within the nature - library - bistrot - self-service restaurant and kitchen - mini market and art shop - pool area and relaxing spaces - beach bar - stage and theater for summer festivals
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Dormitory housing
Conceptual drawing
The dorms will use the idea of the Greek ‘souda’, the alley way that is used in the Greek Vernacular architecture for dew with in the summer.
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Pavilions and communal outdoors spaces
Conceptual drawing
Semi open spaces for creative work and socialising.
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Materials palette
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Constructional strategy
1. Archaelogical museum in Jiannena 2. Archaelogical museum in Komotini 3. Restaurant coffee house in Jiannena
Aris Konstantinidis (1981) Projects + Buildings (p.222)
Reinforced Concrete
Local stone
“Πατητή τσιμεντοκονία” Stained concrete
Wood 163
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Architectural elements from the research on Aris Konstantinidis, to be used in the design
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A
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A. B. C. D.
D.
Xenia Motel in Kalambaka Xenia Motel (II) in Olympia Xenia Motel (I) in Olympia Xenia Hotel in Poros
Typological organisation The wing of nine rooms is highlighted (edited by the author)
Standardization and grid
Site integration and colours
Grids of standardization in construction The grids of “vessels of life� by Aris Konstantinidis (1938-1975)
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The organic whole Defines the inside to the outside. Important intermediate and semi-open spaces.
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The use of atriums
plan
Old Athenian house, Thoukididou 13 (1950) Plan by Aris Konstantinidis
Interesting & Suprising visual surprise and visual comfort that translates into comfortable and interesting space that does not consume and tire the inhabitant.
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Framing the view
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General Masterplan
Redevelopment of Paliouri Bay
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Restoration of the XENIA Motel and renovated to a cultural center
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Restoration and transformation of the room wings to semi-open exhibition spaces & Belvedere platforms
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Lights promenade framing the view and define paths to the Solitude and to the Beach facilities
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Beach facilities
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Entrance, reception and info for the solitude
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Beach facilities of the solitude
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Leisure club and communal facilities
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The ‘View pavilion’ / multi purpose exhibition space
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Pavilion / multi purpose exhibition space
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Cabanas
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Dormitory housing
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Outdoor comunal space
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The art centre
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XENIArt
The cultural centre
Approaching respectfully the architectural heritage of this building –which is also a listed building- I attempted to incorporate new uses that were never used for the Xenia Hotels that were renovated in the past. After concluding my research I decided to re-design and adjust the facilities in order to focus its programme on the arts rather than its original function. Therefore, after its restoration the complex will reopen as a cultural centre.
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The unique element in this, is the creation of the semi open exhibition space, open to the landscape and the view ( the shadowed gallery), which invites the users to experience and interact with art. The only addition is essentially the continuation of the original structure along the initial inclination of the roof . Moreover, on the three different points where the stairway landings are located on the open corridor, three belvedere platforms are created , forming a new landmark that takes advantage of the view. The connection of the Solitude for artists with the beach facilities is achieved by the strategic creation of two promenades which are visually connected by L-shaped lightings embedded in the surrounding landscape which emphasizes the grid used in the design process.
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1. Framing the landscape Promenade 2. Open shadowed gallery 3. Belvedere platforms 4. Cafe 5. Multipurpose and exhibition space 8
6. Gallery
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7. Artshop & giftshop 8. Covered terrace
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Workshops
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Archive
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Offices
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Open - shadowed gallery
The Open-Shadowed gallery is Inspired from the initial corridor atmosphere.
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First floor open - shadowed gallery
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Elevation with a new variation of the shading devices
Plan with the atmosphere of the shadows
Section B - B
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The belvedere platforms
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XENIArt
The cultural centre In photographs
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The feeling of the open - shadowed gallery
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The gallery
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The main Belvedere platform framing the view
The cultural centre and the ‘Promenade’ paths from the beach.
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XENIArt
The solitude for artists
“Architecture it is worked along the ground upon which it stands.� Following what Aris Konstantinidis procalims, the general masterplan was designed with respect regarding the natural beauty of the site. The layout of the trees, the view to the bay and the orientation of the site defined the development of the masterplan. Moreover, the existing paths and roads would remain intact, as he desired to retain the organic pathways that were developed naturally on the site. 183
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The cabanas For artists
Inspired by the Greek Vernacular architecture, ”Tρίχωρα” (trihora), is divided in three main spaces and takes advantage of the orientation for the different uses throughout the different seasons. Regarding the materials used, masonry stone walls and aesthetics inspired by Aris Konstantinidis’s “Vessels of Life”. The “Vessels of Life”, was what he considers to be “real” architecture, which is manifested in his weekend house in Anavyssos (fig.1). Furthermore the cabanas are the first attempt to use and define my own grid for standardisation in the design process.
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Κεπέγκι: Oriented south with large windows, sunlight gains and indirect light when the shutters are closed
semi-open space
kitchen
WC
bedroom
dinning room
living room
Σαράι: Living room
semi-open space
(Sarae)
Χωντζιαρές:Oriented Nort - East with more openings (Hontziares) take advantages of the season and the natural ventilation.
Οντάς: Oriented South - West or South - West
(Odas) with less openings take advantages of the afternoon light and maximizing heat gains in winter living space. 1.
Bioclimatic attibute of the vernacular architeture source: Harisis 1992
Weekend house Anavyssos (1962) Plan and programme of the house (edited by author)
semi-open space
(Kepegi)
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Plan
1. Artist’s studio 2. Covered with pergola terrace 3. Living room & kitchen 4. Corridor 5. Room with cluster beds 6. Main bedroom 7. WC and shower
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Scale 1:100
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Section A - A
The artist’s studio of the cabanas.
Scale 1:100
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The idea of ”Tρίχωρα” (trihora), is also applied on the view pavilions in order to create 3 divided semi - open spaces, which are created in a grid of 3x4 and two L shaped masonry stone walls, concrete slabs and wooden deck for the middle space which celebrates the view. The elevation of the view is shaped with low concrete flat handrails, following the width of the columns and serving also as seating area. The pavilions can be used for exhibitions, gathering, working or just for contemplation.
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The view pavilions
Semi- open gathering and exhibition spaces
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Plan
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Section A - A
Elevation
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XENIArt
The view pavilion In photographs
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Framing the view.
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Low concrete flat handrails creating seating area .
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The main focus of the study is the dormitory housing and the interred outdoor communal space. The main shape originated from the natural layout of the trees, following Konstantinidis’s philosophy, where the site itself “suggests” the shape of architecture (“Architecture it is worked along the ground upon which it stands.”), which should integrate peacefully with the landscape. Following Konstantinidis’s solution for shadowing during the summer for the XENIA HOTEL in Poros, an interred corridor in between the two lines of the dormitory was chosen for the site. Consequently, a pleasant, sun-protected and cool space is created, in order to cater the outdoor activities that would make boost creativity and socialising in the outdoor spaces. Moreover, the space is completed with stonemason seats and tables, “πεζούλες” (built-in seating area around tree), flowerbeds, exhibition podiums and an open amphitheatre on the south side.
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The dormitory housing and the outdoors communal space
The main semi-open corridor, one of the key features, running all the lenght of this hotel providing valuable shade, natural ventilation and cooling during the summer period.
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The main element that shaped the dorms is an element derived from the Greek traditional architecture, called “souda”. Souda is used to descibe a long open and well-ventilated corridor that uses cool air to ventilate and decline the temperature during warm summer months. With this element as the starting point, the kitchen/ living room is developed vertically to the corridor of each wing, and at the same time it is in line of sight with a terrace covered with pergola. On the extension of the corridor (souda) we have the linking bridges over the interred corridor, creating a ‘’socialising zone’’ that crosses the dorms. These bridges and paths form a network that encourages the users to interact, socialise, exchange ideas and at the same time it creates a theatrical aura. Moreover, regarding the design process, a grid was used, where emphasis was given on the aesthetic harmony of the elevations and the efficient artificial shadowing on the entrances of the dorms, so that the skylights would remain open at all times during the summer months, creating efficient ventilation. Masonry stone walls and reinforced concrete slabs are used again and retaining walls are created at the level of the interred outdoor communal space. 203
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Movements within the covered corridors and the linking bridges Interred outdoor communal space Built-in seating with tables and flowerbeds Exhibition podiums
“Πεζούλες" - seating area around a tree
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Typical plan of the dormitory wings
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1. Dorm rooms with cluster beds 2. Covered & shaded corridor 3. WC and showers 4. "Σούδα" (souda) 5. Covered with louvres terrace 6. Living room / kitchen
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XENIArt
The solitude for artists Interred outdoor communal space and dormitory housing In photographs
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With the use of local stone, the dormitory housing integrates to the landscape.
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Pleasant outdoors communal spaces able to accomodate various events.
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Linking bridges and shaded corridors.
The ramp apart from its functional usage could be used as a playful element for children.
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The linking bridges between the dormitory wings over the interred corridor creates a theatrical atmosphere framing the landscape.
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The “socialising zone” of the ‘souda’, which is in direct visual contact with each kitchen/ living room of the dormitory wings.
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XENIArt
The creative centre
XENIArt centre is the main study area. Here is the main creativity space. The spacious open plan design enhances creativity and provides unlimited possibilities for exhibitions and large-scale installations. Open views, skylights, semi open spaces and sheltered spaces blur the limits of inside and outside. Initially my intentions was to experiment with the square layout of 2m x 2m grid but unfortunately was too irrelevant with rest of the proposal. Then I started experiment with the grid of 9m x 5m. With this grid started testing the programme. Then realised that couldn’t work if I wanted to keep a harmony with the width of the rest of the buildings. Finally decided to go with a grid similar to the existing communal building of XENIA MOTEL by Aris Konstantinidis and I conclude to the 3.65m x 5.40m and columns of 0.30m x 0.50m.
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The building stands on a 3.65m x 5.40m grid and evolves symmetrically around the main atrium. This atrium signifies the entrance and the partition between the open plan space and the more enclosed uses, such as the lecture hall, the workshop, the dark rooms and the storage space. On the open plan side of the building we have the lounge area, the computer lab, the library, the open studio with the moveable tables, that can be transfered to the semiopen space during summertime. The materials used are exposed concrete, stone, conrete square pavements and slate paving. Coloured plaster in orange and olive hues add plasticity and playfulness and is continuous with the original colours of Xenia Motel in Paliouri by Aris Konstantinidis who specifically chose those colours to integrate with the site landscape colours.
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1. entrance and atrium 2. entrance lobby 3. lecture hall 4. workshop 5. services 6. storage 7. dark rooms 8. photography studio 9. W.C. 15
10. snack-bar 11. computer hub 12. lounge 13. library 14. open studio 15. covered terrace/ extension of the studio
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XENIArt
The creative centre In photographs
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The XENIArt centre is linked with the dormitory housing with a wooden deck path leading to the atrium and the main entrance.
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The ‘open studio’ during the summer with the movable tables can be transfered to the semi-open space during summertime.
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The spacious open plan design enhances creativity, exchange ideas and socialising.
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Skylights and covered pergolas merge the indoors with the outdoors providing natural light and shading accordingly.
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The atrium signifies the entrance and the partition between the open plan space and the more enclosed uses creating a pleasant outdoors space for the summertime.
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Overall view from the cabanas, facing the dormitory housing and the art center in the background.
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Conclusion
This dissertation presented the methodology and the structure of the work of Aris Konstantinidis, using a travelogue approach. It also investigated key questions arising from his work. To correctly address the principles of his work, expressed through the Xenia Hotels, it was necessary to decipher the methodology and use it to inform and develop the design proposals of the Minor and Major projects. Ultimately, each of the chapters, that led to conclusions regarding the methodology, have acted as a precedents, providing a transcript for the evolution of Konstantinidis’s theory and his architectural practice. These provide a vocabulary of architecture that amalgamates the modern movement with local spatial and cultural characteristics. Konstantinidis’s quest was very simple: present ‘the truth’ in materials and in form. Truth teaches us architecture, so much as to say that an architectural inquiry is an investigation of truth. Konstantinidis’s exemplary regional architecture serves for the display of truth, never deteriorating into strictly formalistic discourse. Instead, we learn lessons from humble houses in order to create ‘vessels of life’. The lesson about space, as explained in chapter one, is all about how Konstantinidis managed to construct a building program that responded to the needs of tourism and made the most of the potential of each site. The design proposals engaged with two of Konstantinidis’ favourite sites, renowned for their natural beauty, in order to incorporate a programme of artistic creation, culture and socialising, within the existing building infrastructure. This provides the basis of a model, in order to revitalise declining Greek tourism and to guide targeting specialised types of tourism, based on infrastructure and the use of current economic models.
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The architecture of Aris Konstantinidis configures a clear architectural language. It also uses multiple forms of art in order to manifest and explore its possibilities. The spatial image of the Minor project was based on a stone concrete structure inspired by the Anavyssos house, but in an exploded or even inside-out manner, in a sense deconstructing the Anavyssos house, making an artefact and exhibiting the container of space itself. XENIArt | Redevelopment of the Paliouri Bay, is a project, in reference to the initial research of Kostadinidis, having as starting point his vision for the Paliouri Bay, where only Xenia was built, which aims the realisation of this vision with the difference that it suggests a new touristic model, different to the Xenia. It proposes facilities for artists and people interested in the arts, that can socialise in a different way compared to the capitalist model, in a communal community atmosphere that inspire them. The renovation of XENIA Motel to the XENIArt | The cultural center, incorporates an exhibition space, but it is also an exhibit in its own right. Despite Konstandinidis’ multitalented and rebellious nature, he was never given the opportunity to teach in Greece. However, his texts and the works pressed an ambiguous influence on the course of Greek architecture. Many talented architects assimilated Konstantinidis’s modern architecture, which was simple and adapted to industrial manufacturing methods. Above all though, it is Konstantinidis’s poetic ethos that inspired and continues to inspire more thoughtful younger practitioners. This anomaly in modern architecture’s history is directly confronted by this project, elevating Konstantinidis to the teacher status he thoroughly deserves. His spaces will guide and exemplify a way of life that he advocated throughout his life. The secret may lie in a redefinition of academic principles, the way arts courses are taught, and the constant search for original propositions.
“Over time, as you insist on the same things over and over again, everything becomes somewhat simpler, somewhat leaner, but not always easier.” Aris Konstantinidis (1981) Project and Buildings, (p.260)
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1.Weekend house Anavyssos (1962) Aris Konstantinidis, (1981) Projects and Buildings, Athens, Agra 2.The architect and photographer Aris Konstantinidis http://blog.sias.gr/building-stories/40-to-betraditional-is-to-be-contemporary) (accessed 10/2/13) 3.Family house, Filothei, Athens (1957) Designed and photographed by Aris Konstantinidis Projects and Buildings, Athens, Agra 4.-8.Greek anonymous architecture from God-Built Aris Konstantinidis (1994) Landscapes and houses of modern Greece: God-built, Athens, Crete University Press
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List of figures
9.-12.Greek Landscape from God-Built Aris Konstantinidis (1994) Landscapes and houses of modern Greece: God-built, Athens, Crete University Press 13. Family house Penteli, Athens (1974) Aris Konstantinidis, (1981) Projects and Buildings, Athens, Agra 14. Hotel Triton, Andros (1958) Aris Konstantinidis, (1981) Projects and Buildings, Athens, Agra 15. Motel Xenia, Larissa (1959) Aris Konstantinidis, (1981) Projects and Buildings, Athens, Agra 16. Family house Philothei, Athens (1974) Aris Konstantinidis, (1981) Projects and Buildings, Athens, Agra 17.-19.Old Athenian house, Thoukididou 13 (1950) Aris Konstantinidis (1950) Old Athenian Houses Athens, Agra 20-21.Dimitris Pikionis & Elementary school
Pamela Johnston, Dennis Crompton (1989) Dimitris Pikionis, Architect 1887-1968: A sentimental topography, Architectural Association, London
22-25.One room house in Mykonos (1947) House with elevated terrace for sleeping, Plaka (1938) Aris Konstantinidis, (1987) For Architecture: Essays from newspapers, magazines and books, Athens, Crete University Press (2004) 26. Country residence Eleusina (1938) Aris Konstantinidis, (1981) Projects and Buildings, Athens, Agra 27. Garden Exhibition Kifissia, Athens (1940) Aris Konstantinidis, (1981) Projects and Buildings, Athens, Agra
28-29. Landscaping of Acropolis surrounding area, Athens, Greece(1954-1957) Pamela Johnston, Dennis Crompton (1989) Dimitris Pikionis, Architect 1887-1968: A sentimental topography, Architectural Association, London
30. Archaelogical Museum of Chios (1965) Dimitris and Suzana Antonakakis, Atelier 66 Liane Lefaivre, Alexander Tzonis (1985) The grid and the pathway: an introduction to the work of Dimitris and Susana Antonakakis in the context of modern Greek architectural Culture, in: Atelier 66, New York, Rizzoli 30. Housing settlement at Distomon (1969) Dimitris and Suzana Antonakakis, Atelier 66 Liane Lefaivre, Alexander Tzonis (1985) The grid and the pathway: an introduction to the work of Dimitris and Susana Antonakakis in the context of modern Greek architectural Culture, in: Atelier 66, New York, Rizzoli 32-36.Weekend house Anavyssos (1962) Aris Konstantinidis, (1981) Projects and Buildings, Athens, Agra 37.Grids of standardization in construction Aris Konstantinidis, (1981) Projects and Buildings, Athens, Agra
53.Mont Parnes Hotel in Parnitha (1958-1961) Yannis Aesopos, Yorgos Simeoforidis (1999) Landscapes of modernisation: Greek Architecture 1960s and 1990s, Metapolis Press, Athens 54.Xenia Hotel in Nafplio, Arvanitia (1958) Architect: Ioannis Triantafilidis (http://airetika.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/blogpost.html) (accessed 10/2/13) 55.Xenia Hotel in Spetses (1962) Architect: Philippos Vokos Yannis Aesopos, Yorgos Simeoforidis (1999) Landscapes of modernisation: Greek Architecture 1960s and 1990s, Metapolis Press, Athens 56. Xenia Hotel in Mykonos (1960) Aris Konstantinidis, (1981) Projects and Buildings, Athens, Agra 57.G.N.T.O. beach in Kavala (1965) Architect: Yorgos Nikoletopoulos Yannis Aesopos, Yorgos Simeoforidis (1999) Landscapes of modernisation: Greek Architecture 1960s and 1990s, Metapolis Press, Athens
38-46.GNTO Poster (1940-50-60) (http://www.gnto.gov.gr/en/posters#adimage-0) (accessed 10/2/13)
58.G.N.T.O. beach in Eretria (1959) Architect: Aris Konstantinidis Yannis Aesopos, Yorgos Simeoforidis (1999) Landscapes of modernisation: Greek Architecture 1960s and 1990s, Metapolis Press, Athens
47. Modern Housing for Asia Minor Refugees, Athens (1933-1936) Helen Fessas-Emmanouil (2001) Essays on Neohellenic Architecture, Athens University press, Athens
59. Xenia Hotel in Kalambaka (1960) Aris Konstantinidis, (1981) Projects and Buildings, Athens, Agra
48. Sanatorium Sotiria, Mesogeion Avenue, Athens (1932) Helen Fessas-Emmanouil (2001) Essays on Neohellenic Architecture, Athens University press, Athens 49. Primary School on Kalisperi Str. Athens (1931) Helen Fessas-Emmanouil (2001) Essays on Neohellenic Architecture, Athens University press, Athens 50.Primary School Gouva, Filolaou, Athens (1934) Helen Fessas-Emmanouil (2001) Essays on Neohellenic Architecture, Athens University press, Athens 51.Michailidis bros polykatoikia (1933-1934) Helen Fessas-Emmanouil (2001) Essays on Neohellenic Architecture, Athens University press, Athens 52.The Athens Hilton (1958-63) Yannis Aesopos, Yorgos Simeoforidis (1999) Landscapes of modernisation: Greek Architecture 1960s and 1990s, Metapolis Press, Athens
60. Xenia Hotel in Poros (1964) Aris Konstantinidis, (1981) Projects and Buildings, Athens, Agra 61. Typological organisation Aris Konstantinidis, (1972) For Architecture, Athens (2004), Agra 62.-68 Xenia Hotels Today photos by the author 69.Structure in Mykonos Aris Konstantinidis (1994) Landscapes and houses of modern Greece: God-built,Athens, Crete University Press 70.’Photography in the new five winds’ Photography installation in Thessaloniki (http://interartive.org/2010/07/fkth/) (accessed 10/2/13) 71.Motel Xenia Paliouri (1962) Whole proposal, highlighted the realised part with the Xenia (http://genesis.ee.auth.gr/forum/viewtopic. php?p=2039) (accessed 10/2/13)
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Bibliography
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Online references and videos
1. Antonas A. Aris Konstantinidis Architect Texts on the Architect’s work (http://aris-konstantinidis.blogspot.co.uk/) (accessed:5/02/2013) 2. Backstage: Life as the employer, Aris Konstantinidis, ERT S.A(Greek Radio Television S.A ) Archives (http://www.ert-archives.gr/V3/public/main/pageassetview.aspx?tid=6595&tsz=0&act=mMainView) (accessed:5/02/2013) 3.Demetrios Issaias Questions About Tradition: The Case of Modern Greek Architecture (http://www.uctv.tv/shows/Demetrios-IssaiasQuestions-About-Tradition-The-Case-ofModern-Greek-Architecture-14707) (accessed:5/02/2013)
7. Hotel “XENIA” – Paliouri, Chalkidiki, Greece Evaluation – Assessment of the Structural System Alternative Proposals for Strengthening or Reconstruction (http://library.tee.gr/digital/m2368/m2368_ignatakis.pdf) (accessed:5/02/2013) 8. Hunter W. (2009), Debating Urbanism: Globalization and the Regionalist Alternative, UCL development planning unit, working paper No.138 (http://www.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/dpu/publications/dpu/ latest/publications/dpu-working-papers/WP138_William_Hunter_Internet_copy.pdf) (accessed:5/02/2013) 9. Interview with Konstantinidis’ wife Natalia Mela, Aris Konstantinidis, ERT S.A(Greek Radio Television S.A ) Archives (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1HbvJhhJ4o) (accessed:5/02/2013)
4. Fessas-Emmanouil H. Modernity, Tradition, Locality, Personality: Reassessing Town Planner Doxiadis and Architect Konstantinidis (http://www.uctv.tv/shows/ Helen-Fessas-Emmanouil-ModernityTradition-Locality-Personality-Reassessing-Town-Planner-Doxiadis-andArchitect-Konstantinidis-14709) (accessed:5/02/2013)
10. Moussa M. (2012) Xenia Hotels Project, 1950-1967. Reapproaching the role of Post-War Modern Architecture in Greece. (https://docs.google.com/gview?url=http:// www.icaud.epoka.edu.al/res/1_ICAUD_ Papers/1ICAUD2012_Myrianthe_Moussa. pdf&chrome=true) (accessed:5/02/2013)
5. Frampton K. (1983), Prospects for a Critical Regionalism Perspecta, Vol. 20. (1983), pp. 147-162. (http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1567071? uid=2&uid=4&sid=21101486142951) (accessed:5/02/2013)
11. Vessels of Life, Aris Konstantinidis, ERT S.A(Greek Radio Television S.A ) Archives (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLn-as_ WvnM&feature=relmfu) (accessed:5/02/2013)
6. Greek National Tourism Office Official website (http://www.gnto.gov.gr/) (accessed:5/02/2013)
12.Voices :University of California(16/02/2008), Geography, Tradition, & the Individual: The Case of Modern Greek Architecture Conference. (http://www.uctv.tv/shows/Geography-Traditionand-the-Individual-The-Case-of-Modern-GreekArchitecture-Opening-of-the-Conference-14712) (accessed:5/02/2013)
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