Abstract

The remains of antiquity define Greek architecture in the popular imagination, but Greek edifices encompass far more than these ancient structures. Offered here is a comprehensive survey of modern Greek architecture of the past hundred-plus years. The book explores the buildings and architects of modern Greece, ranging from nineteenth-century neoclassical edifices to minimalist contemporary works and urban renewal projects. The ideas driving the creation of these buildings are given full attention, as the authors examine the influence of the rise of Modernism in the arts and the characteristics of regional styles, while also considering the reasons behind the bland, functional structures that have dominated Greek cityscapes since World War II. Greecesituates this design survey within the nation’s tumultuous cultural and political history, including the two world wars, a military dictatorship, civil war, and the consumerist boom of the 1990s.
            A penetrating and thorough study, Greece offers a compelling account of modern Greek architecture that will be invaluable for all scholars of design and European history.
 
“Alexander Tzoni’s and Alcestis P. Rodi’s account of Greece in Reaktion Books’ extensive Modern Architecture in History series is well researched from wide-ranging archival material, beautifully illustrated and knowingly written from what seems like an insider’s perspective. Spanning from the 1820s to the present, the narrative never breaks stride, skillfully intertwining the history of a modernizing nation with that of its architectural development. Major figures like Pikionis and Doxiadis are strongly present but so also are many less well-known architects to international audiences, giving the book the balance, breadth and authority of a very welcome text.” — Peter G. Rowe, Harvard University
Alexander Tzonis is professor emeritus of architectural theory and design methods at the University of Technology of Delft. He is the author or coauthor of numerous books, including Architecture in Europe since 1968, Between Memory and Invention, and Le Corbusier: Poetics of Machine and Metaphor.Alkistis Rodi is an architect based in Athens.