Invitation: Past and future in architectural information

The Hellenic Institute of Architecture is organizing a roundtable discussion on the topic “Past and Future in Architectural Information”, on the occasion of the digitization of the magazines ‘architecture in greece’ and ‘design in greece’. The event will take place on Thursday, June 5th at 6:30 p.m., at the Benaki Museum (138 Pireos Street).

architecture in greece (1967–2013), together with its twin journal design in greece (1970–2013), were among the most significant publishing achievements, leaving a lasting mark on modern Greek architecture for nearly 60 uninterrupted years. They ideally combined, by Greek standards, the public presentation of architectural work at all scales with the history, theory, and critique of architecture, while also opening up to the fine and applied arts. They earned a special place in the libraries of most architects of that era and on the shelves of academia, providing a rich source of information and thought.

Their cycle has come to an end, but digitization opens a new chapter of accessibility that belongs to our own era. In this era, both architectural information and thought emerge and spread through different means, and periodicals have taken on new forms. The personal journey of Orestis Doumanis was heroic and largely belongs to history, yet the dissemination of knowledge continues, driven by the creative forces of dedicated contributors, even if it now finds expression online through digital and other media.

The rhetorical question of what kind of architectural information initiative Orestis Doumanis would undertake if he were thirty years old today is a crucial one, and it seeks an ambitious answer. We have the past of architectural publishing, but what is its future? We do not remain in the present, which is easy to describe. Can we project this question a decade ahead, if not further? By looking far ahead, we can better understand and appreciate both the present and its past.

SPEAKERS

Panos Dragonas – Professor, University of Patras
Giorgos Tzirzilakis – Emeritus Professor, University of Thessaly
Stelios Giamarelos – Professor, Bartlett School of Architecture
Dimitris Papanikolaou – Assistant Professor, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA)
Melina Arvaniti-Pollatou – Editor-in-Chief / Columnist

MODERATORS

Panagiotis Tournikiotis – Emeritus Professor, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA)
Elias Constantopoulos – Emeritus Professor, University of Patras
Kostas Tsiambaos – Associate Professor, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA)

Admission is free and no reservation is required.

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Panos Dragonas is an architect and Professor of Architectural and Urban Design at the University of Patras. He served as Special Advisor and Editor of the magazines architecture in greece and design in greece from 2001 to 2013.

Giorgos Tzirzilakis is Emeritus Professor at the Department of Architecture, University of Thessaly. From the beginning of his involvement with A.I.G and D.I.G., he did not position himself within a competitive divide, but rather embraced the foundational oscillation between architecture and contemporary art.

Stelios Giamarelos is Associate Professor of History and Theory of Architecture at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. He is the author of Critical Regionalism Abroad: Aris Konstantinidis without Greece (Zurich: gta Verlag, 2025) and Resisting Postmodern Architecture: Critical Regionalism before Globalisation (London: UCL Press, 2022).

Dimitris Papanikolaou is Assistant Professor at the School of Architecture, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), focusing on the impact of information and communication technologies on the perception, use, management, and design of architectural and urban space. He is a member of the Editorial Board and guest editor of the current issue of the scientific journal Technology | Architecture + Design (TAD), and has also served on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Architectural Computing (IJAC).

Melina Arvaniti-Pollatou lives and works at the intersection of architecture and writing, materials and words. Since 2020, she has been Editor-in-Chief and columnist at the architectural magazine Archisearch. In 2022, she founded the platform Archt., aiming to infuse poetic imagery and narratives into the body of the city and architecture, with a focus on Athens.

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MEDIA SPONSORS
Alumini.gr, Archetype.gr, Archisearch.gr, DOMa, Glassforum

BEER SPONSOR
Babel Brewery

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The event is held with the financial support and under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture.
It is also supported by Bodossaki Lectures on Demand – BLOD, the online lecture library (blod.gr) of the Bodossaki Foundation.