Topio 7 & Giorgos Papagiannopoulos

The Hellenic Institute of Architecture held the fourth event of the 20th lecture series of Greek Architects titled “Lectures & Dialogues” on Tuesday, March 26, at 7:00 PM, at the Benaki Museum on Pireos Street.

The Lectures of Greek Architects have historically been an iconic establishment of the Hellenic Institute of Architecture (HIA). Over the past twenty years, distinguished creators have been invited to present their work. The presentation of the diverse facets of architectural practice, alongside critical discussion, has been a consistent hallmark of this initiative. The simultaneous presentation of the work of two architectural firms, followed by a dialogue between them and with the audience, is intended to spark public conversation about architecture—its relationship with establishments, the processes of its production and critique, and its multiple expressions in both private and public spaces.

The overall coordination of the lectures on behalf of the Board of Directors of the HIA was undertaken by Anastasios Kotsiopoulos (Architect, Emeritus Professor at AUTH), Dionisis Sotovikis (Architect), and Sofia Tsiraki (Architect, Professor at NTUA).

In the fourth lecture of the series, the participants were:

TOPIO 7 (Katerina Andritsou, Panita Karamanea, Thanasis Polyzoidis)
LANDSCAPES OF COEXISTENCE: BETWEEN NATURE AND CONSTRUCTION

Landscape design refers to the composition of spaces and urban systems in collaboration with nature, aiming to create sustainable landscape-structures where nature and humans coexist equally and harmoniously. By employing hybrid strategies between nature and construction, bioclimatic habitats of resilience are created, integrated into both the urban and natural environment. In these creations, the source of inspiration and starting point for composition is the specific place, with its unique socio-cultural elements as well as its biological characteristics. Through exploring the distinct spatial identity and spirit of the place, sustainable landscapes are produced, offering a variety of experiences, flexible uses, and at the same time respecting the understanding of natural  processes and cycles. In the lecture “Landscapes of Coexistence: Between Nature and Construction,” the core philosophy and design principles of topio7 will be presented through award-winning architectural competitions.

GIORGOS PAPAGIANNOPOULOS
PATHS

The lecture focuses on the presentation of an architectural work that extends from the small scale to the large public building. The starting point of this journey is the first student steps in architecture.
Intermediate stops include the meeting and collaboration with people who shared common interests, the references, memories, or observations within the framework of a broader reflection on architectural practice and the relationship it establishes with place and people.
The journey passes through paths parallel to architecture, such as those leading to the realm of painting. The road seems to remain constantly open to new explorations.
The direction remains steady towards an architecture that seeks, to the extent that it can, to bring people closer together through the shared inhabitation of a small private or large public space.

More information www.eia.gr

#eialectures20

topio7_architecture and landscape, based in Athens, consists of Katerina Andritsou, Panita Karamanea (Associate Professor of Architecture and Landscape), and Thanasis Polyzoidis, all architects and landscape architects (MARCH NTUA Athens, MLA ETSAB UPC Barcelona). The team works on various categories of landscape-urban and architectural design, with extensive participation and awards in both national and international architectural competitions. They also actively participate in exhibitions and publications in Greece and abroad.

For topio7, the symbiotic relationship and osmosis between the human-made environment and the natural landscape constitute a fundamental element in the creative design process. The design seeks synthetic resolutions between ecosystems and architectural constructions, aiming to create sustainable habitats for both nature and the city. The team’s research mainly focuses on designing with nature itself and its processes, integrating each project into its place by exploring its unique characteristics, scale, and atmosphere, across various spatial scales. The inclusion of the time factor in design, landscape ecology, bioclimatic design, and the creation of hybrid environments involving interactive digital technologies all contribute to the construction of integrated systems for the 21st century.

Katerina Andritsou, March in “Architectural Design, Space, Culture” (NTUA), works on large-scale urban design and landscape architecture projects, as well as studies of public buildings in Greece.

Panita Karamanea researches topics related to architecture, urban design, and landscape in Greece and Barcelona, while also teaching in Athens, Chania, and in the Master’s program in Landscape Architecture in Barcelona.

Thanasis Polyzoidis is involved in a wide range of redevelopment studies for public and private projects. He was awarded the 40UNDER40 European Award in 2018. He has also served as a juror in architectural competitions in Greece and abroad.

Giorgos Papagiannopoulos was born in Athens in 1972. He is a graduate Architect Engineer of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), class of 1998, and a doctoral candidate at the Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH).
Since 2002, he has been teaching architectural design studios in the Department of Architecture at the Democritus University of Thrace, where he currently serves as an Assistant Professor. Since 2000, he has maintained an architectural practice focusing on private and public projects (residences, public buildings, and interior designs of varying scales). He has been awarded first prizes in Panhellenic architectural competitions and has a portfolio of both collective and individual architectural works.
His completed projects have received awards, such as the Georgioupolis Town Hall in Crete (constructed in 2010). He won first prize in the Pan-Cyprian Architectural Competition for the Building Facilities of the Department of Biological Sciences and Common Teaching Spaces 03, at the University Campus of the University of Cyprus, which is currently under construction. He participates in conferences and workshops and has published articles in scientific journals and newspapers. Alongside architecture, he is also engaged in painting.

He is a member of TCG, SADAS-PEA, and EPAE Xanthi.

Photographs: © HIA/Stelios Nikas