On the Goethe Institute, an exhibition primarily based on the guide Athens’ Polykatoikias 1930-1975: Formation of a Typology gives a precious introduction to the rising worldwide dialogue concerning the phenomenon of the Athenian condominium constructing, and the way Athens managed to get city dwelling so exactly proper.
The phrase Polykatoikia (poly = many/katoikia = dwelling) is shortly changing into a key idea in worldwide structure. Whereas condominium buildings aren’t distinctive, the Athenian condominium constructing is. Athens’ polykatoikias from the Thirties to the Nineteen Seventies mixed modernity with social aspiration and, most notably, an unregulated, democratic strategy to city progress that transcended social strata and included various architectural types.
The Rising Metropolis
Criticizing Athens as an unattractive maze of concrete is a factor of the previous.
As we speak, the town is admired globally, with architectural historian Kenneth Frampton calling it a “Trendy metropolis par excellence” in his Trendy Structure: A Important Historical past. On the finish of the nineteenth century, Athens had a inhabitants of lower than 150,000, however by the twentieth century, it exploded, fueled by waves of Greek refugees and a post-war migration from the countryside. What had been a small metropolis of modest single-family houses, aside from a handful of grand neoclassical mansions, would endure speedy transformation, and all with out a grasp plan.
Athens – a Capital of Type
Athens’ Polykatoikias 1930-1975: Formation of a Typology by Kilian Schmitz-Hübsch, richly illustrated with images by Dimitris Kleanthis, traces the event of the Athenian condominium constructing from the Trendy Motion of the Thirties by the early postwar experiments and at last by the well-known polykatoikias of the Nineteen Sixties. The exhibition, that includes photos and flooring plans of among the best and most attention-grabbing residential buildings of Athens, opened on February sixth on the Goethe Institute with an introduction by architect Myrto Kiourti. The exhibition shall be on view till March 1st.
Ms. Kiourti’s speak make clear Athens’ distinctive path to modernity. Whereas many cities responded to the post-war housing demand with state-funded tasks, the expansion of recent Athens was largely pushed by small-scale, particular person initiatives. With a lot of the land already privately owned, growth of the town was largely within the arms of the individuals; the state had little to contribute to the equation.
Furthermore, capital was extra evenly distributed, making a degree taking part in subject the place owners and impartial contractors with restricted assets may nonetheless form the city panorama. Works by distinguished architects similar to Takis Zenetos (the famous constructing on Herodou Attikou, 1959-61 ), Kyriakoulis Panagiotakos (the “Blue Constructing” in Exarchia, 1932-33 ), Georges Candilis and Ilias Skroumbelos (one other well-known constructing on Herodou Attikou, reverse the Kallimarmaro Stadium), Souzana Antonakakis, and Dimitris Antonakakis (Atelier 66 in Exarchia, 1972-75) set the tone for the fashionable metropolis whereas additionally offering a stylistic blueprint that impressed numerous extra modest developments.
Antiparochi: A Metropolis by the Individuals, for the Individuals
The development of latest Athens was largely unregulated. It was additionally largely egalitarian: even homeowners of fairly modest houses had been in a position to participate within the shaping of their metropolis. One of many key components on this course of was the antiparochi system, the place owners exchanged their property for residences in newly constructed buildings. This association allowed contractors to construct with out important upfront prices, and residents gained trendy dwelling areas with the most recent conveniences.
A Blueprint for Trendy Residing
The need for modernity formed Athens’ progress. Excessive-profile condominium buildings, designed by well-known architects, set a tone that many others emulated. “The values of recent structure, abstraction, simplicity, pure geometry repetition, and fundamental development had been extremely praised by the general public. These architectural values made the tasks accessible to all. Anybody may copy the preliminary high-quality tasks designed by distinguished architects with minimal assets,” based on Kiourti. “Most condominium buildings in Athens weren’t designed by architects, however by engineers or contractors […] Residents had been actively concerned within the design course of, making this a extremely efficient mannequin of participatory design that formed Greek cities from the Fifties onward.”
The Sociable Metropolis
Athens’ strategy wasn’t nearly trendy dwelling – it was additionally about making a sociable metropolis, centered on household and the group. The antiparochi system allowed owners to go down residences to their kids, preserving household traditions whereas embracing city life. Many polykatoikias additionally had retailers, cafes, and enterprise on the bottom flooring, offering the area people with much-needed communal areas.
Ms. Kiourti famous that whereas grand trendy tasks in different international locations usually struggled, Athens’ smaller, extra individualistic developments had lasting attraction: “This distinctive methodology of city growth could have denied Greek architects the satisfaction of making large-scale, narcissistic tasks. In Athens, tasks had been smaller and extra modest, with unique plans usually altered throughout implementation, irritating the architects and altering their preliminary visions. Giant elements of the town had been even constructed with out the involvement of architects in any respect.”
The natural, at instances even anarchic, path of Athens’ growth has been key to the town’s vitality. “Many individuals, architects and concrete planners, acknowledge quite a few qualities embedded within the Athenian city cloth such because the vibrancy of many elements of the town all through the day, the range within the facades of its buildings, a vigorous and sociable lifestyle, a mixture of social lessons, a way of freedom…. the true great thing about a metropolis lies in how it’s inhabited: Kind follows operate.” Ms. Kiourti ended her deal with on a excessive word: “Athens is certainly a horny metropolis. Nevertheless, the town shouldn’t be engaging due to its stunning buildings, however due to its engaging lifestyle.”
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