UNIVERSITY – CITY AUTH. 90+ YEARS OF OPERATION / 100+ YEARS OF PLANNING

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, in collaboration with the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, organized the exhibition titled “UNIVERSITY – CITY A.U.Th.: 90+ YEARS OF OPERATION / 100+ YEARS OF PLANNING.” The exhibition was held under the auspices of the Hellenic Institute of Architecture, with the support of the Aristotle University Property Utilization and Management Company and the Department of Architecture of the Polytechnic School of A.U.Th. It was presented from March 1 to August 31, 2017, at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki and, from November 29, was transferred to Athens, at the Benaki Museum on Piraeus Street.

The exhibition focused on highlighting the uniqueness of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki campus as an oasis of modern urban and architectural composition. From this perspective, the architectural arrangement is related to the broader educational function of Aristotle University within the context of Thessaloniki’s distinctive urban modernization—a city with a timeless, multicultural presence.

The core of the exhibition included both contemporary and historical photographic shots, drawings, brief critical explanatory texts, and a volumetric model of the entire complex. In the first section, a complex narrative—historical, urban, and architectural at the same time—chronologically analyzed the design processes of the university campus with references to the broader political and cultural context. In the second section, 15 selected architectural implementations were examined as representative case studies, with detailed references to their typological, constructive, and aesthetic dimensions.

Additional interest arised from the presentation, within the exhibition, of the impact that the construction of the A.U.Th. campus had on the Mass Media, featuring audiovisual material from contemporary newsreels and copies of related publications and editions. At the same time, an attempt was made to capture the current perceptual image of the space through photographs collected by the Architectural School Photography Club (A.S.F.C.) and videos from the course “Selections: Documentary in Architecture” focusing on “Routes through A.U.Th.”

PARTNERING INSTITUTIONS:
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Benaki Museum
Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki

H.I.A. SPONSOR 2017–2018: Europa
MEDIA SPONSOR: EK Magazine
H.I.A. MATERIALS SPONSOR: Vitex