Aristomenis & Giorgos Varoudakis

The Hellenic Institute of Architecture organized a new series of lectures by Greek architects under the title “HIA Lectures 2007–2008.” This series aimed to broaden public awareness of contemporary architectural practice, featuring distinguished professionals invited to present their views on Greek architecture and their own work.

Greek architecture today continues to pose a set of open questions. Issues such as the processes related to the profession, the insufficient execution of architectural competitions, the relationship between architecture and the country’s broader economic reality, the role and potential of construction technology, the gradual transformation of architects into executors of pre-decided choices by construction firms, the legacy of the Olympic projects, the relationship between architecture and society, the problematic role of the Greek architectural and urban tradition, the relevance of contemporary architecture to the lived reality of Greek cities, the issue of architectural education, the relationship between Greek and international architecture, the inadequate strategies for promoting architecture both in Greece and abroad, and the role of architectural criticism—these are all matters that often do not support genuine design research or the development of overall architectural quality. Architecture in Greece today continues to raise questions that remain unanswered—questions that have already been addressed not only in the West but also in many countries of the self-satisfied so-called “Third World.”

This lecture series, organized by the Hellenic Institute of Architecture, sought to offer responses to these concerns. The invited architects, many of whom belong to a younger generation, aimed to develop both theoretical perspectives on the above issues and to articulate the principles that define their personal architectural approach within the framework of the built environment.

“Contemporary housing and locality: the search for a new relationship in the Mediterranean region”

ARISTOMENIS VAROUDAKIS

He was born in 1947 in Chania. He studied architecture at the University of Florida, where in 1972 he earned a five-year diploma, a Bachelor of Architecture, and in 1973 a Master of Arts in Architecture. His postgraduate studies focused on “Architecture at the urban scale – Integration of contemporary forms into the existing fabric,” and his thesis topic was “Morphological processing, expansion, and connection of the University of Florida campus with the urban fabric of the adjacent city.”

He collaborated with the office “Antoniadis Associates, Architects-Planners” in Miami, Florida, USA, from 1973 to 1975, and with the office of Kostas Mavrakakis in Chania from 1977 to 1981. Since 1981, he has maintained a design office with his brother, Giorgos Varoudakis. Since 1994, he is a founding member of the Hellenic Institute of Architecture. Since 2004, he teaches Architectural Design in the Department of Architecture at the Technical University of Crete, where in 2007 he was elected Associate Professor.

GIORGOS VAROUDAKIS

He was born in 1951 in Chania. He studied Decorative Arts at the Athens Technological Group (Doxiadis School) and Architecture at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, Denmark, from which he graduated in 1979. His postgraduate studies focused on “Architectural Morphology and Social Decentralization,” and his main postgraduate thesis was the “Study of a Social and Cultural Activity Center for the Nea Chora neighborhood of Chania.”

Since 1981, he has maintained a design office with his brother, Aristomenis Varoudakis.

The office of Aristomenis & Giorgos Varoudakis

From 1981 until today, he has received distinctions in ten (10) architectural competitions. Since 1985, forty-five (45) completed projects and studies from the office have been published in Greek and international architectural journals. In 1999, the journal Themata Chorou kai Technon (design in greece), as part of its series dedicated to Greek architects, devoted its twelfth monograph to the work of A. and G. Varoudakis. A smaller tribute also appeared in the 2007 issue.

In 1999, their housing complex in Dexamení, Chania, was selected among 112 works by Greek architects for the major exhibition 20th Century Architecture in Greece, which was presented in Frankfurt, Paris, Thessaloniki, Athens, Rome, and other cities.

Since its founding in 1981, the Varoudakis Office has mainly focused on small-scale projects — residences and hotels — in Western Crete. Contemporary housing and locality have been key concerns for the architects, particularly in building within a region with such a strong and distinctive character.