Giannis Giannoutsos – Fiore Architects (BLOD)

The Hellenic Institute of Architecture, as part of the 19th cycle of lectures by Greek Architects, titled “Lectures & Dialogues,” held the first event of this cycle on March 14, 2023, at the restaurant of the Benaki Museum on Pireos Street. The event was recorded by BLOD, and the lectures along with their accompanying presentations are available at the following link:

https://www.blod.gr/lectures/dd03-giannoutsos-fiore/

The Lectures of Greek Architects have historically been an iconic establishment of the Hellenic Institute of Architecture (HIA). Over the past twenty years, distinguished creators have been invited to present their work. The presentation of the diverse facets of architectural practice, alongside critical discussion, has been a consistent hallmark of this initiative. The simultaneous presentation of the work of two architectural firms, followed by a dialogue between them and with the audience, is intended to spark public conversation about architecture—its relationship with establishments, the processes of its production and critique, and its multiple expressions in both private and public spaces.

The overall coordination of the lectures on behalf of the Board of Directors of the HIA was undertaken by Anastasios Kotsiopoulos (Architect, Emeritus Professor at AUTH), Dionisis Sotovikis (Architect), and Sofia Tsiraki (Architect, Professor at NTUA).

In the first lecture of the series, participants were:

Giannis Giannoutsos (Architect NTUA, Visual Artist ASFA)

“MEMORIES”
Memory • the act of remembering something. But what does it mean to remember in the context of composition? When you draw a pencil line on paper or carve a material to imagine the space and how the “Other” will live there, that line carries within it everything you have seen and heard. And when you pay attention to your drawing, you return to memories, experiences, and situations that have deeply influenced you and are dynamically transcribed into every creative act. Perhaps to remember means not to forget the thread that connects you to things. Reflecting on these ideas, we will analyze personal architectural and visual art works, connecting them with “fragments of memory.”

 Florian Liakos, Irene-Helen Marcantonatou, Alexis Visvinis  Fiore Architects (Architects NTUA)

ARCHITECTURAL EQUATIONS: WHEN THE INVISIBLE BECOMES VISIBLE
Through our proposals in public architectural competitions, we will analyze the initiatory process in our design journey and focus on three key themes that have particularly occupied us so far. These are the integration of the site’s specific elements, the strong public character of our work and its significance, and the interaction between the building and its users. By investigating our architectural vocabulary and its evolution, we seek those compositional principles that repeatedly become visible whenever we face the “tabula rasa” of each plot.

Giannis Giannoutsos was born in Agrinio, Aetolia-Acarnania. He holds a degree from the School of Architecture, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) (2005–2011) and from the Athens School of Fine Arts (Department of Painting, 2011–2016). During his studies, he was awarded the “Progress in Sciences and Arts” prize by the Thomaidio Foundation of NTUA. In 2015, he completed the postgraduate program of the NTUA School of Architecture, titled “Design – Space – Culture,” as a scholarship recipient of the State Scholarships Foundation (IKY). In 2019, he completed his doctoral research on “The search for common ground in architectural and visual art compositional processes” (School of Architecture, NTUA, Department of Architectural Design), supported by a scholarship from ELIDEK. In 2016 and 2017, he taught architectural design at the Department of Architecture, University of Thessaly. Since 2017, he has been teaching architectural design at the undergraduate program of the Department of Architecture, University of Patras, as an adjunct lecturer. Simultaneously, since 2018, he has been a collaborator and instructor in the postgraduate studio program at the University of Patras. Since 2015, he has maintained his private architectural office and studio in the center of Athens.

Florian – Giannis Liakos was born in 1987 in Agioi Saranta. He studied Architecture at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), graduating in 2014. Alexis Visvinis was born in 1989 in Chalkida. He studied Architecture at NTUA and graduated in 2016. Irene – Helen Marcantonatou was born in 1992 in Washington, USA. She studied Architecture at NTUA and graduated in 2017. Florian, Alexis, and Irene founded the architectural office FIORE Architects in 2016, based in Athens. Starting out, the firm participated in international architectural competitions, receiving four commendations, two third prizes, and two finalist recognitions in various international entries. In 2019, they won the 1st prize in the preliminary design competition for the “Creation of a Public Facilities Space in the Municipality of Thessaloniki,” where they are currently developing the study in collaboration with the Municipality of Thessaloniki, aiming for the project’s implementation in the coming years, as funding has been approved for construction through the Public Investment Program (PIP). Recently, they also won the 1st prize for the “D. Daskalopoulos Arts Building” on the campus of the Athens College-Psychico, with the study and construction scheduled for completion by 2025. 
Simultaneously, FIORE Architects have undertaken the design of residences and small-scale renovations both in Greece and in Agioi Saranta. They have also collaborated on larger-scale projects, such as hotel units, working with other Greek architectural firms. FIORE Architects participated with three projects in the 9th Biennale of Young Greek Architects and with one project in the 10th Biennale of Young Greek Architects. They also received the first commendation at the DOMES Awards 2018 in the category “Best Study of the years 2013-2017” for their project Kindergarten in Amsterdam.
In 2019, they were commissioned by the Municipality of Heraklion, Crete, to complete the architectural study for the design of the temporary exhibition “Echoes of Antiquity in the Work of Doménikos Theotokópoulos” and won the second prize in the category “Innovation, Innovative Concept” at the Tourism Awards 2020.
Finally, FIORE Architects have been invited to present their work at Greek and international conferences and have published their projects in many international media and exhibitions, including the 85th Thessaloniki International Fair (2021).