Konstantinos Dekavallas

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.

“The visual Arts in architecture”

KONSTANTINOS DEKAVALLAS

He was born in Athens in 1925 and was an architect, holding a degree from the National Technical University of Athens (1948). Between 1949 and 1951, he served as an unpaid assistant at the Chair of Special Building Design at NTUA. At the same time, he served in the Navy as a chief petty officer, working on public naval projects and elsewhere. He held an M.Sc. degree from Columbia University in New York (1953) and a diploma in urban and regional planning from the University of London (1956). He studied abroad on Smith-Mundt & Fulbright scholarships (1951–1952) and with a British Council scholarship (1955–1956).

From 1952 to 1954, he worked with his professor Percy Goodman in New York. From 1956 to 1960, he served as a civil servant in the Ministry of Public Works, where he was responsible for urban and architectural planning for the reconstruction of Santorini. From 1960 to 1969, he was an architect for the National Bank of Greece, and from 1960 onward, he maintained his own architectural and urban planning office, often collaborating with other architectural firms.

For many years, he was an elected member of the board of the Association of Greek Architects (SADAS) (1962–1970), serving as both president and vice president. Since 1965, he was elected four times to the General Assembly of the Technical Chamber of Greece (TCG) and repeatedly served as a member of its Architectural Scientific Committee and the National Committee of Europan, as well as a member of ISOCARP (International Society of City and Regional Planners).

He was a member of the Hellenic Architectural Society, a founding member of SEPOX and the Hellenic Society for the Protection of the Environment, which he also served as president. He also served as president of the Hellenic-French Association for Education. He was repeatedly selected as a judge for architectural competitions by the Association of Architects, the Technical Chamber of Greece, the National Technical University of Athens, and other institutions such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Public Real Estate Company (KED), both for national and international competitions.

He delivered lectures and participated in conferences in Greece, Switzerland, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, and elsewhere, presenting papers, announcements, and interventions. Many of his lectures focused on the presentation of his architectural work, some of which has been published in both Greek and international journals.

In 1980, he was elected professor of Architectural Design at NTUA, and in 1992, he taught as a professor at Pomona University in California. In 1984, he was elected Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (Hon. FAIA), and in 1993, he received the Dean’s Award from the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, College of Environmental Design, as well as the title of professor emeritus from NTUA. In 2004, he was honored with the distinction of Chevalier de l’Ordre du Mérite by the French Government.

From 1994, alongside his architectural work, he dedicated himself to writing a treatise on pedestrian spaces in urban areas. In 1999, he published a book titled “Of What I Said and Wrote”, a collection of lectures and republications of his works.

In his lecture, Konstantinos Dekavallas discussed the timeless presence of visual arts in the architecture of both advanced and primitive cultures, as well as the incorporation of visual arts into buildings and interior spaces in contemporary Greece.

*Photo source: ktirio.gr