Reinventing Modern Architecture in Greece: From Sentimental Topography to Ekistics

The book examines the connection between the politics of the Marshall Plan and urban planning and identifies the key players, such as the Greek architect and urban planner Constantinos A. Doxiadis and the Italian industrialist Adriano Olivetti. This book examines the connection between the politics of the Marshall Plan and urban planning and identifies the key players, such as the Greek architect and urban planner Constantinos A. Doxiadis and the Italian industrialist Adriano Olivetti. It also explores the architects of the Mataroa mission, who played a vital role in the cross-fertilisation between France and Greece, and the role of travel to Greece for architects during the 19th century. This book delves into the work of Constantinos A. Doxiadis, Adriano Olivetti, Alison and Peter Smithson, Iannis Xenakis, Takis Zenetos, Henri Lefebvre, Cornelius Castoriadis, Aris Konstantinidis, Dimitris Pikionis and others. It sheds light on how Doxiadis introduced “ekistics” as a novel approach to understanding the science of human settlements. This book proposes that the manner in which these aforementioned architects and urban planners addressed the role of technology in everyday life and the relationship between society, history, culture, nature, architecture and urban planning could enrich our ongoing methods and debates on architecture, urban planning, ecology, social equity and democracy. This book is based on extensive archival research and will be of interest to architects, artists, researchers and students and scholars in architecture, architectural history and theory, art, urban sociology, cultural theory, science and technology studies, philosophy, ecology, cybernetics and aesthetics.