Marios Nikiforiadis – Danae Skaraki

The Hellenic Institute of Architecture organized a new series of lectures by Greek architects titled “HIA Lectures 2005–2006”. The aim of this series was to broaden public awareness and understanding of the work of architects. To this end, prominent professionals were selected and invited to share their views on Greek architecture and present their own work.

Greek architecture today remains a subject of ongoing inquiry. Several issues continue to shape and, at times, hinder its development: the processes surrounding professional practice, the limited implementation of architectural competitions, the relationship between architecture and the broader economic realities of the country, the role and potential of construction technology, the gradual transformation of architects into executors of pre-determined choices made by construction companies, the legacy of the Olympic projects, architecture’s relationship with society, the problematic role of Greece’s artistic architectural and urban tradition, the relationship between contemporary architecture and the realities of Greek cities, the issue of architectural education, the connection between Greek and international architecture, the lack of a coherent strategy for promoting architecture both within Greece and abroad, and the role of architectural criticism. These are issues that often do not support design research itself nor the development of the overall quality of architectural work.
Architecture in Greece today still raises questions that remain unanswered—questions that have already been addressed not only in the West but also in many countries of the so-called “Third World.”

The Hellenic Institute of Architecture’s lecture series aimed to address these questions. The architects invited, many of whom belong to the younger generation, sought both to express theoretical positions on these matters and to articulate the principles that underpin their own personal design philosophy within the context of the built environment.

“Old and New: Attempts at Reconciliation

The End of the Building

Enclosure: The Allure of the Wall”

MARIOS NIKIFORIADIS

He was born in Volos, Magnesia, in 1951. In 1975, he graduated from the School of Architecture at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. In 1978, he founded an architectural design office with Danae Skaraki. In 1983, the office relocated to Chania.

DANAE SKARAKI

She was born in Benghazi, Libya, in 1952. In 1977, she graduated from the School of Architecture at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. In 1978, she founded an architectural design office with Marios Nikiforiadis, and in 1983, the office relocated to Chania.

Their architectural firm has carried out private project designs in Athens, Thessaloniki, Mytilene, Chania, and Rethymno, as well as restoration studies on listed and Venetian buildings in Chania. The office has participated in national, pan-European, and international competitions and has received distinctions. Its work has been presented at the Panhellenic Architectural Conference, published in academic journals and books, and exhibited at the National Gallery in Athens, the Henry Moore Gallery and Royal College of Art in London, as well as in group exhibitions at the Center of Mediterranean Architecture.