Regionalism and Greek architecture : the architecture of Dimitris and Suzana Antonakakis

Abstract

Regionalism grew out of the discourse that identified locally developed cultural entities and their referrent expressions as an object of inquiry whose aim was a more effective way of addressing the issues of development and cultural change. The work of Patrick Geddes at the turn of the century--set in comparative distinction against the "romantic regionalism" of the character movement--is briefly mentioned as the most valid doctrinal body of regionalist practice and theory up to our days. It sets the stage for the consideration of the more recent regionalist attempts and provides a context upon which they can be evaluated . The Regional Planning Association of America, their ideas and praxis of regionalism, are discussed in comparison with Le Corbusier's attempt, based on the principles of orthodox modernism, to address the same issue. Regionalism, as developed in the late 50s and 60s, amidst the crisis facing the modernist future, created what, borrowing Alex Tzonis's term, we call Critical Regionalism. Critical Regionalism is identified as a direction of contemporary architectural practice and is discussed in its concepts and principles, using basically the philosophy of Team l0's movement (especially those of Van Eyck and Bakema). Greece's interesting and well-developed regionalist contribution to architecture, especially the works of the architects Pikionis and Konstantinides, is discussed and interpreted toward this respect , too . The architecture of Dimitris and Suzana Antonakakis is pointed out as an exemplary corpus which does not get "regionally" isolated in trying to follow an "autonomous, self-oriented, and self-determined path". The work of the Anton akakises is a strikingly modern body of work which has managed to express in a very tangible way those intangible aspects of culture and rootedness that identify the uniqueness of a place, giving it a humane face and determination. Four case studies are analyzed: Each was selected because it represents an issue of crucial importance in architectural theory and practice, generally, and a decisive moment in t he transformation and development of the Antonakakises' architectural thought and method as well . Exemplified by the case studies, their methodology is finally discussed in an overall perspective in order to reveal the critical quality of their project and to argue for the successes they have achieved to date.