Nikos Ktenas (1960 – 2022)

With great sorrow, we learned today of the passing of Nikos Ktenas.
Nikos Ktenas was a distinguished architect with a significant presence abroad as well. Moving between Greece and Switzerland, he studied, taught, and collaborated for many years with architects of the Ticino school, such as Luigi Snozzi and Mario Botta. Born in Piraeus in 1960, and having studied in New York and London, he has written an important chapter in contemporary Greek architecture through his work, leaving a meaningful legacy for future generations. His built projects stand as enduring evidence of an uncompromising belief in the value of architecture — a vision of architecture’s moral power as a beneficial presence in our lives. From urban-scale studies to his exceptionally well-crafted residences, his ability to create inspired living spaces is striking — composed with simplicity, strength, and meticulous attention to every detail. In a country that does not grant contemporary architecture the role it deserves in shaping a high-quality and aesthetically pleasing environment, the architecture of Nikos Ktenas stands as a rare model. His loss is deeply felt at the Hellenic Institute of Architecture, but also on a personal level, as we had often collaborated, and he showed genuine interest in the further development of the Institute, contributing ideas and proposals. Nikos Ktenas was honored in 2008 with a Special Distinction for his overall body of work, and in 2017 with the First Prize of the Hellenic Institute of Architecture for the Inside Out apartment building in Athens. Nikos Ktenas still had so much more to offer, which is why it is so difficult to accept his untimely loss. The void he leaves behind is irreplaceable, and the least tribute we can offer is to study and be inspired by the work he left us — architecture of the highest quality, for the benefit of our shared environment.

Elias Constantopoulos 

President of the Board of Directors of HIA

July 13, 2022