Catalogue of the 3rd Biennale of Young Greek Architects

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ISBN: 960-85742-7-7
Pages: 312
Dimensions: 17×24 cm

(from the catalogue)
FOREWORD

One of the main goals of the Hellenic Institute of Architecture is the presentation and promotion of new ideas and trends in Architecture. For this reason, it established a biennial event showcasing proposals or completed works by young Greek architects, as well as their wider dissemination within Greek society. In this way, another fundamental goal of the Institute is fulfilled, which is the informing and raising awareness of as broad a segment of the country’s population as possible regarding current architectural trends.

If we accept the ambitious statement that Architecture is the material expression of the ideas and socio-economic currents or conditions of a specific period in time, then we will find it very difficult to critically analyze the creations of contemporary Architecture in terms of our own era. In this effort of ours, we are further challenged by the “tradition” of the past decades, where architectural theorists have often resorted to broader philosophical frameworks to explain (retrospectively) the architectural phenomena.

Thus, we moved from Levi Strauss’s anthropological perspective to Derrida’s deconstruction, with the same eagerness that today we seek in the new terms of Deleuze and Guattari the path that architecture can (and perhaps must) follow in order to express our era.

The transfer of any philosophical discourse into another field, especially when this field is an expression of applied Art, understandably creates contradictions, confusion, and self-contradictions. Instead of clarifying the fundamental processes and aspects of architectural creation, and consequently establishing a new design stance adapted to the social reality, a “fog” develops that envelops the “existent object.” To use Deleuze’s thought myself: “every existent object is surrounded by virtual circles that are continuously renewed, each emitting another while surrounding and reacting to the existent. A contemporary perception is surrounded by a fog consisting of virtual representations primarily defined as virtual due to their speed or short-term nature, which it holds at a subconscious level.”

From this perspective, the analysis by Deleuze/Guattari constitutes one of the credible explanations of this theoretical approach, but in my opinion, it does not address the very subject of architectural creation, which remains autonomous, concrete, and “incontrovertible” in its design reality. Thus, we return to the other pole of the “virtual”–“real” dichotomy, particularly at the level where, as Deleuze writes, “the virtual approaches the real so closely that it can no longer be distinguished.”

These philosophical positions are also reflected in the exhibition of works at the 3rd Biennale of Young Greek Architects. They represent 37 perspectives on a very topical and therefore unsettled issue. The viewer should approach them by accepting and analyzing the stimuli they provoke without specific prejudices that might be created by the valuable and exceptionally interesting analyses in the theoretical texts. Only in this way, I believe, will they form their own impressions and be able to begin a dialogue with the texts in the catalogue. And if a few conceptual frameworks emerge in each visitor to the exhibition, then one can claim that this is a significant gain that largely justifies the efforts made by all those involved in organizing this event.

I would like to warmly thank the Minister of Culture for his unwavering support, the Anonymous Company for the Promotion of Greek Cultural Heritage S.A., Attiko Metro and especially its President for granting the space, the sponsors G.G. New Generation, Ergochrom, Bright, Verykokos S.A.I.C., and Campari Bombay Sapphire, and of course everyone who collaborated in the realization of the exhibition, the curators, and the staff of the Institute.

Professor N. Kalogeras
President of the Hellenic Institute of Architecture