M. Christine Boyer

The Hellenic Institute of Architecture organized a new series of lectures by Greek architects under the title “HIA Lectures 2007–2008”. This series aimed to broaden public awareness of contemporary architectural practice, featuring distinguished professionals invited to present their views on Greek architecture and their own work.

Greek architecture today continues to pose a set of open questions. Issues such as the processes related to the profession, the insufficient execution of architectural competitions, the relationship between architecture and the country’s broader economic reality, the role and potential of construction technology, the gradual transformation of architects into executors of pre-decided choices by construction firms, the legacy of the Olympic projects, the relationship between architecture and society, the problematic role of the Greek architectural and urban tradition, the relevance of contemporary architecture to the lived reality of Greek cities, the issue of architectural education, the relationship between Greek and international architecture, the inadequate strategies for promoting architecture both in Greece and abroad, and the role of architectural criticism—these are all matters that often do not support genuine design research or the development of overall architectural quality. Architecture in Greece today continues to raise questions that remain unanswered—questions that have already been addressed not only in the West but also in many countries of the self-satisfied so-called “Third World.”

This lecture series, organized by the Hellenic Institute of Architecture, sought to offer responses to these concerns. The invited architects, many of whom belong to a younger generation, aimed to develop both theoretical perspectives on the above issues and to articulate the principles that define their personal architectural approach within the framework of the built environment.

“Le Corbusier in Greece”

M.CHRISTINE BOYER

Christine Boyer, who joined the faculty of Princeton University in 1991, is an urban historian with interests that include the history of the city, urban planning, cultural heritage preservation design, and computer science. Before joining Princeton, she was a professor and director of the City and Regional Planning Program at Pratt Institute, and she has also taught at Cooper Union, Columbia University, and Harvard University. At Princeton, she holds the William R. Kenan Jr. Chair in Architecture and Urban Design. Boyer received an award from the Publication Fund of the Department of Art History and Archaeology for the publication of her work Le Corbusier: homme de lettres (1910–1947) (Princeton Architectural Press, 2010).

Her publications include: Not Quite Architecture: Writing around Alison and Peter Smithson (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2017), Dreaming the Rational City: The Myth of American City Planning 1890–1945 (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1983), Manhattan Manners: Architecture and Style 1850–1900 (New York: Rizzoli, 1985), The City of Collective Memory (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1994), and CyberCities (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1996).