Mplusm, Memos Filippidis – Marita Nikoloutsou

The Hellenic Institute of Architecture organized a new series of lectures by Greek architects titled “HIA Lectures 2008–2009”. The aim of this series was to broaden public awareness regarding the work of architects today. To this end, prominent professionals were selected and invited to present their views on Greek architecture and their own work.

Greek architecture today continues to be a subject under question. Various factors contribute to this, such as the processes involved in the profession, the inadequate implementation 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 mere executors of pre-determined decisions made by construction companies, the issues surrounding Olympic projects, the relationship between architecture and society, the problematic role of Greek artistic and urban architectural tradition, the connection between contemporary architecture and the reality of Greek cities, the state of architectural education, the relationship between Greek and international architecture, the flawed strategy of promoting architecture both in Greece and abroad, and the role of architectural criticism. All of these issues often fail to support true design research and the development of overall architectural quality. Architecture in Greece today still raises unanswered questions—questions that have already been addressed not only in the West but also in many countries of the so-called “Third World.”

This lecture series by the Hellenic Institute of Architecture sought to provide answers to these concerns. The architects invited, most of whom belong to a younger generation, aimed to present both theoretical views on the issues mentioned above and to articulate the principles that shape their personal poetics within the built environment.

MEMOS FILIPPIDIS

Born in 1967 in Athens. He obtained his architecture degree from NTUA in 1991 and a Master in Architecture from Yale University in 1993. He has written texts on architecture and design for To Vima newspaper and has curated architectural exhibitions. Since 2005, he has collaborated with the Megaron Concert Hall on the Megaron Plus series of architectural lectures. In 1998, the book Absence(s) of Aesthetic(s) (Athens: Futura Editions), which he curated, was published.

MARITA NIKOLOUTSOU

Born in 1969 in Athens. She received her architecture diploma from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) in 1992. M. Nikoloutsou and M. Filippidis have jointly operated their architectural office since 2001. Their work has been published in magazines such as: Interni, Surface, A10, Archis, Blueprint, Stauba, Greek Constructions, Villas, Ktirio, Maison Figaro, Vogue, Eikones, Max, Metapolis, architecture in greece, in the book by Dimitris A. Fatouros The Persistence of Architecture (Kastaniotis Editions, Athens, 2003), in the publication Contemporary Architecture in Greece (architecture in greece, 2005), and in the book Greek Architecture Now by Karin Skousboll (Studio Art Bookshop, 2006).