Katerina Giamalaki (1935 – 2023)

Our beloved Katerina Giamalaki passed away suddenly on June 14, 2023.

Katerina was the first Greek woman architect to graduate from the Technical University of Munich (TU München) after World War II. Ranking third in her class, she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to MIT, which she declined in order to return to Greece. Upon her return, one of her first positions was as an assistant to Kyprianos Biris at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), and later as an architect at the Workers’ Housing Organization (OEK). Her early published works appeared in Architectural Issues (1967, 1968).

She was a founding member of the Hellenic Institute of Architecture and served on its Board of Directors from 1995, holding the position of General Secretary from 2003 to 2009.

Full of vitality and positive energy, she always expressed her opinions with honesty and courage. She supported the Institute in many ways throughout its journey, especially during the difficult years of the last decade and a half. She was consistently present at all of the Institute’s events in Greece, as well as at international exhibitions of Greek architecture in Frankfurt, Paris, and Tokyo. Among other contributions, she curated the 4th and 5th Biennale of Young Greek Architects (2004, 2007), and the 2004 Architecture Awards of the Institute.

We will always remember her for her youthful drive, her love for architecture, and the passion with which she participated in everything with discretion, never seeking the spotlight.

Farewell, our dear Katerina.

Elias Constantopoulos
President of the Board of Directors of H.I.A.

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*The funeral service will take place on Monday, June 19, at 11:30 a.m., at the Kifisia Municipal Cemetery.

Katerina Giamalaki’s family kindly requests that, in lieu of wreaths, those who wish to honor her memory consider supporting the work of the Hellenic Institute of Architecture by making a donation to the following account:

ALPHA BANK
Account Number: 359‐0020‐0200‐7317
IBAN: GR63 0140 3590 3590 0200 2007317
SWIFT CODE (BIC): CRBAGRAAXXX

Please include the name of the donor and the phrase “in memory of Katerina Giamalaki” in the payment reference.