Urban Box

URBAN BOX: Panhellenic Student Architectural Competition for the design of an aluminum construction.

Available
Order: info@heliarch.gr
ISBN: –
Pages: 32
Dimensions: 24×24 cm
Edited by: Marianna Milioni

Forewοrd
The use of aluminum as a structural material since the mid-twentieth century has been not only a milestone in construction materials technology but has also directly influenced Architecture in general. Its light weight, combined with significant strength and long lifespan, as well as its fully controlled quality production process, established aluminum as the quintessential material of the past century.
Precisely because of its many advantages, architects had high compositional expectations for aluminum, many of which have been realized. Various traditional materials, such as wood, have been sidelined for many applications, either because the corresponding crafts are disappearing or because their cost has increased comparatively. This inevitable development cannot be ignored by architects or left solely in the hands of industrial technologists. New ways of composing the various elements of construction are required, beyond just the frames, as well as the invention of new applications.
It is therefore necessary to enlist new architects who, freed from the forms and stereotypes of the past, will take advantage of today’s advanced aluminum production technologies and propose innovative solutions to everyday needs.
Thus, the Hellenic Institute of Architecture enthusiastically supported the initiative of the Hellenic Aluminum Association to announce the architectural competition “Urban Box” for the students of the five architecture schools in our country. I believe the results justify this initiative, and I hope that other professional associations will follow this example, both for the good of Architecture and for the good of the Country.

Nikos Kalogeras
President of the H.I.A. 
Emeritus Professor at NTUA