Kostas Moraitis

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.

“Architecture as landscape”

KOSTAS MORAITIS

He studied Architecture at the School of Architecture of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and pursued postgraduate studies at Université I de Paris – Panthéon–Sorbonne, in the field of Philosophy, attending the seminar “Critical Theory of Art” (Aesthetic Philosophy). Since 1978, he has been working as an architect, focusing on the design and supervision of both private and public projects, and has participated in a large number of competitions. From 1978 to 1983, he was a member of the architectural group “Alalitos”, and since 1990, he has been a member of the architectural group “Arsis”.

The material presented in his lecture traces precisely this trajectory—through successive collaborative groups—always in relation to the connection between architecture and landscape.