Conference on Tasos Biris

The Hellenic Institute of Architecture and the School of Architecture of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) organized a symposium on Saturday, May 14, 2022, from 14:00 to 21:00, at the Benaki Museum, Pireos Street, in honor of NTUA Emeritus Professor Tasos Biris, titled:

“TASOS BIRIS: 50 Years – Traces in the Collective Architectural Becoming.” Over the course of his 50-year public presence in the field of architecture and in the broader social sphere Tasos Biris has left a distinct mark through his ideas and works in the areas of academic teaching and pedagogy, architectural practice, and theoretical discourse. His contribution forms a comprehensive, multilayered, and at the same time coherent body of work that remains alive and creative open to engagement by those he has taught over the years, and by those who will continue to be taught and inspired by it in the future.

This body of work can be concisely described as follows:

• Five books and publications (both individual and collaborative), centered on architecture, with the emblematic example being “Architectural Signs and Lessons: In the Trace of Synthetic Structure.”
• Numerous articles, public interventions, and presentations at conferences, Greek and international academic institutions, and public forums such as Schools or Departments of Architecture in Athens, Thessaloniki, Xanthi, the AA School in London, the Versailles School of Architecture, UDK Berlin, Harvard GSD, the Architects’ Association of Athens, Tbilisi, and others, as well as at venues like the Benaki Museum, Athens Conservatoire, EMST, etc.
• Collective social and pedagogical initiatives on architecture, such as the annual group course “Housing – Making Space Habitable – Inhabiting” for 12-year-old children at the Public Primary School of Kareas.
• The concept and implementation of the “Transformative Model” as an essential pedagogical tool for teaching Architectural Design.
• Finally, as examples of his collective approach in relation to his architectural and broader interventions in public space, the following completed works (individual or collaborative) are mentioned: New City Hall of Thessaloniki, Cultural and Conference Center of Crete, Prefectural Headquarters of Boeotia, Courthouse of Livadeia, Multidisciplinary High School of Ilioupoli, Second Prize in the international competition for the New Acropolis Museum, among others.

He is the husband and partner of NTUA Associate Professor Sofia Tsiraki, and together they run the “Architectural Office of Anastasios Biris – Sofia Tsiraki and Associates,” the successor to the “Architectural Office of Anastasios Biris and Dimitris Biris and Associates.”

The conference was introduced by the President of the Hellenic Institute of Architecture, Εlias Constantopoulos (Professor, Department of Architecture, University of Patras).

Morning Session:

Panagiotis Tournikiotis (Dean, Professor, School of Architecture, NTUA), Marianna Giannatou (Architect, UniFI), Yiannis Athanasopoulos (PhD Engineer, Democritus University of Thrace; Architect Engineer, NTUA), Giorgos Aggelis (Associate Professor, School of Architecture, NTUA)
Afternoon Session: Andreas Giakoumakatos (Professor, Athens School of Fine Arts – ASFA), Giannis Giannoutsos (Architect, NTUA; Visual Artist, ASFA), Sofia Tsiraki (Associate Professor, School of Architecture, NTUA), Tasis Papaioannou (Emeritus Professor, School of Architecture, NTUA)

Following the sessions, Nikos Skoutelis (Professor, School of Architecture, Technical University of Crete) moderated a discussion between the speakers, the audience, and the honoree himself.

All health and safety protocols were followed.

#Biris50xronia