Aristides Antonas

The Hellenic Institute of Architecture organized a new series of lectures by Greek architects titled “HIA Lectures 2005–2006”. The aim of this series was to broaden public awareness and understanding of the work of architects. To this end, prominent professionals were selected and invited to share their views on Greek architecture and present their own work.

Greek architecture today remains a subject of ongoing inquiry. Several issues continue to shape and, at times, hinder its development: the processes surrounding professional practice, the limited implementation of architectural competitions, the relationship between architecture and the broader economic realities of the country, the role and potential of construction technology, the gradual transformation of architects into executors of pre-determined choices made by construction companies, the legacy of the Olympic projects, architecture’s relationship with society, the problematic role of Greece’s artistic architectural and urban tradition, the relationship between contemporary architecture and the realities of Greek cities, the issue of architectural education, the connection between Greek and international architecture, the lack of a coherent strategy for promoting architecture both within Greece and abroad, and the role of architectural criticism. These are issues that often do not support design research itself nor the development of the overall quality of architectural work.
Architecture in Greece today still raises questions that remain unanswered—questions that have already been addressed not only in the West but also in many countries of the so-called “Third World.”

The Hellenic Institute of Architecture’s lecture series aimed to address these questions. The architects invited, many of whom belong to the younger generation, sought both to express theoretical positions on these matters and to articulate the principles that underpin their own personal design philosophy within the context of the built environment.

“Oral Constructions”

ARISTIDES ANTONAS

He studied architecture at the National Technical University of Athens (1988). He defended his dissertation at the Department of Philosophy of the University of Nanterre in 1992. He has taught architectural theory and design at various universities. Together with Zafos Xagoraris, Charikleia Hari, and Philippos Oraiopoulos, he represented Greece at the 9th Venice Architecture Biennale in 2004. He has published numerous articles in academic journals and has participated in scholarly symposia and conferences.

The presentation included excerpts from the architect’s work. Emphasis was placed on studies conducted without a client’s commission.

The proposed buildings are conceived as unbuilt installations and function as architectural experiments—structures that are proposed and, at the same time, withdrawn like unfinished sentences. They are meant to circulate, to be studied, and not necessarily to be constructed or inhabited: they bridge architecture, philosophy, and literature.