Takis Zenetos, Architecture and its place

TAKIS ZENETOS Greece (1926 - 1977) ARCHITECTURE AND ITS PLACE Laura Rubio Rodríguez

TAKIS PANIGOTIS ZENETOS (1926-1977) Born in Athens, graduated at the age of 23 as a scholarship holder of the School of Fine Arts in Paris, then settled in the Greek capital where he set up a small office. Although on many occasions he was offered posi tions as a teacher, he refused to devote himself entirely to the architec tural profession. During his life he designed and builted more than 120 buildings, whereof many of them have been demolished, while others remain on paper as a strong contribution to the architectural culture.

supervisor:

Architecture - Manizales Engineering & Architecture Faculty

National

TAKIS ZENETOS GREECE (1926ARCHITECTURE1977)AND ITS PLACE Laura Rubío Rodriguez

Thesis Isabel Llanos Chaparro University of Colombia School of

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF COLOMBIA Engineering & Architecture Faculty, Manizales First edition, November 2018 Printed and made in Manizales, Colombia It is prohibited any form of reproduction, distribution, or trans formation of this work without the previous author consent under the sactions established by law.

5 TheTechniqueIntrodution..............................................................................................................................06andHistoricity...........................................................................................08constructionoftheopenspace...................................................................12 FOUR PROJECTS...................................................................................................................17 Apartment block Irodou Attikou...................................................................21 Lycabettus Theatre....................................................................................................35 Siemens residence....................................................................................................49 Plakias master plan...................................................................................................61 OPERATIONAL SOLUTIONS......................................................................................73 Morphological continuity....................................................................................77 The open TransitionalTheSpatialspace.............................................................................................................95structure................................................................................................98envelope......................................................................................................104ground...................................................................................................115Baseplan.................................................................................................................118 Free ground floor.............................................................................................122 Bibliography..........................................................................................................................138Timeline.....................................................................................................................................128 CONTENTS

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By raising nature and construction as two equivalent categories, it is necessary to clarify that the landscape, furthermore to provide points of reference, constitutes and entity of immanent nature. Although its existence is independent of the subjective interpretation, on the contrary, the human presence is closely conditioned to the particularities of the territory which should be substantial to the architecture, as they define a genuine criterion to solve a project.

The relationship that architecture establish with the nature has been through history, a vital subject with several developments, even though at the present time this notion has been distorted and reduced only to imitative appearance and, even more, to mercantile issue worn down by the construction industry. A fact that implies in the increasingly scarce and less visible paradigmatic projects that assume the relation with the place as an elementary subject.

In this regard, it is relevant to bring up in to the current context the work of Takis Zenetos, aloof from the stylistic aspects, as a timeless and operational lesson, which could nourish the architectural exercise in the contemporary scene, in which the questions at time of solving architec ture remains essentially the same; the implanting of the building with regard to its immediate and distant surroundings, the climate protec tions, constructive coherence.

1. SOSTRES, ‘Jose Maria, Opiniones sobre ar quitectura’, page 193.

INTRODUCTION

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The resolution of this ideal synthesis finds its basis on the achievement of architectural space and its material configuration, with the purpose of giving rise to an active exchange between artifice and nature. This ideal synthesis here called ‘Open form’ refers to a way of conceiving ar chitecture which could be considered contrary to the inner courtyard archetype, that instead to turning inward, it develops its formal struc ture in such a way it is possible to appropriate the outside, in this case, the mythical Greek landscape, where the work of Zenetos took place.

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Anscenarios.outline of his thought was printed in publications of the magazine ‘Architecture in Greece’ in which he complemented the diffusion of some of his projects; notes loaded with technical and executive specifications, in which he also specified about environmental, social and po

2. “In its common meaning the “visionary” qualification applied to the architecture does not have favorable connotations, because it is understood as synonymous of fanciful, ca pricious and arbitrary. The visionary architect would be, then, the one that tends to the construction of a subjective world (...) that is usually closer to the delirium than to the constructive that is demanded from archi tecture” Ibídem, page 91.

1. ARÍS, Carlos Martí, La cimbra y el arco, page 154.

The way of understanding the correspondence between architecture and its place implies, not only the explicit recognition of the decisive role that technical procedures play in the project, 1 but also its relation ship with the conditions of the context in which the architecture of Takis Zenetos took place, Greece, fifties and seventies; a perioºd of crisis, but also of a profound avant-garde renovation in which the role of architec ture was defined as a strictly utilitarian fact, while the aesthetic value of the work was limited to the pragmatism of the technique.

TECHNIQUE HISTORICITY

AND

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A certain inventive condition of his mentality, driven by a deep inter est in technological aspects, make him transcends from the utopian framework, qualifier generally unfavorable that is often attributed to him.2 Even so, a strong sense of reality is reflected on the sketches of his most radical proposals, in which he arrived to a certain formal and constructive precision, a characteristic quite unusual in the utopian ex pression of the sixties, which used to pose a generic solution in fictitious

litical issues, collaterally related to the architectural creation. In the Greek scene Takis Zenetos has been considered as a distant fig ure in the traditional order,3 by fervently accepting and res ponding to technical evolution, and by to serving with his craft to the issues of his time and context. However, his work reveals a strong classical presence in terms of the coherence of the architectural approach with the natural fact; a matter that, indeed, constitutes the true immutable condition of Greek architecture both of the Hellenic period and in the works of the recent past, since they ratify unanimously the constant search for idyllic and implicit relationship.

5. NEUMEYER Fritz, Mies Van Der Rohe, La palabra sin artificio, page 249. 9

3. “He has shown that he combines the visual acuity of a visionary with the skills of an in genious inventor who, throughout manufac turing systematically transferred his theory through the practice of the action”

couldZenetos“TheGreeksnevervisualizedthebuildingwithouttheplacethatservedasitsframe(...)placingitasnaturewouldhavedone”.4assimilatedthisvitallessonandmaterializedinsuchawaythatbeconsideredstillvalidtoday.Hispragmaticpositioninregardto scientific advances, the resources and the results of his buildings, could refer to what Mies Van Der Rohe pointed out as the will of an epoch “... you can not move forward with the gaze of the past and you can not be a bearer of the will of the epoch if one lives in the past”.5 Such a guideline suggests a certain rupture with the tradition, understood not from its spatial facts, but from the stony condition of classical Greek

4. BRANHAM Reyner, Theory and de sign in the first machine age, page 25.

FILIPPIDIS, Papis 1984, pages 361,367.

architecture. Such an understanding of history, linked to constructive procedures, it was raised by the previous generation to Zenetos, headed by Dimitris Pikionis and Aris Konstantinidis, who had categorical con tributed to the transition of the vernacular architecture, to the principles enunciated by modern movement. At that time, industrialized processes that separately distinguishing the building constituent systems, had completely transformed the relation ship between the interior and exterior of the building, by producing a myriad of constructive solutions between the structure of the building and its envelope, a radical change that rush an epistemological change in architecture, the way to understand and conceive a project that came along with the birth of the modern culture.

7 SOSTRES, Jose Maria, Opiniones sobre ar quitectura, pages 128,129.

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6.

“IdidnotimitateMiesVanDerRohe,muchlessCorbuwho,bygivinga unittotheinteriorspace,createdadefiniteboundarybetweeninterior and exterior, through elegant boxes. My own effort has been to inte gratetheinteriorwiththeenvironment,withoutacleardividinglinebetweenthetwo.Forthesakeoftheresidentandthemanonthestreet”6(TakisZenetos) Zenetos did not find on Mies or Corbusier his referents, even though many of theirs works were also taught in relation to the landscape, but ‘Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, Takis Zenetos 1926,1977, Architecture in Greece Press, Ath ens 1978, page 6.

8 8 WRIGHT Frank

in a contemplative sense, in which each rectangle framed its corre sponding scene, in a pictorial and static concept that corresponds to the classic idea of point of view. 7 The conception of its architecture, could be in greater similarity with the view of Frank Lloyd Wright, pre cursor of the architecture designated as organic; projected according to the natural conditions, as well as the will of eliminating the building as a conventional box. Lloyd,

El futuro de la arquitectura, page 183. 11

“Theopenformisageneralconceptandcannotbereducedtoanyofitspossiblemanifestations,suchas‘transparency’.Theopenformde

on an idea of expansive space, which principal properties are fluidity, dy namism, diaphaneity; concepts that make part of the basis of modern architecture which, in the plurality of its significance, had proclaimed the condition of seeing like one of the principal aims of the new archi tecture. In this sense, the architecture that best represents this search for spatial continuity is the pavilion archetype, or house Belvedere.

thatThis“Ihavealwaysbeeninterestedintheproblemofbreakingthecube/box,sothatitisfunctionalanddoesnotrelyon(oraimsfor)themorphologicaleffect”9(TakisZenetos)purposeofbreakingthecubeitisfamiliartomanyothertermspointtothesameissue;thetendencyfordevelopingdevicesbased

9. ’Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, Takis Zenetos 19261977, Architecture in Greece Press, Athens 1978, page 7. THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE OPEN SPACE 12

This spatial conception enhances an active exchange between interior and exterior through the dematerialization of the form to get a fluid inter action that brings interior space towards the exterior instead of delimiting it. A starting point in common with the intention that Frank Lloyd Wright expressed as destroying the box, by abolishing the delimited and static spatial units of the past through a new kind of continuous wholeness.

listicsion’rivesfromthedesiretomakeeacharchitecturalworkbelongtoamorecompleteglobalworld.Thisisnotnecessarilyachievedbymakingtheformverycomplex,butbygivingitapotentialopencharacter,thatis,anexpandedcapacityforinteractionandchange.However,theopenformhastoberooted,likeanyother;itshouldbelongtotheplaceandtakethecircumstantialsituationasastartingpoint,althoughthe‘newvidemandsamanifestrelationshipwithwhatis‘beyond’.Ingeneral,theopenformimpliesareturntotheorigins,inthesenseofextractingmeaningfromthe‘thingsthemselves’insteadoffromaparticularstysystem.”10Thematerializationofthisspatialconception,allowedbythetech

11. Ibídem, page 72.

12. GUASCH Ricardo, Espacio fluido espacio sistemático, page 66. 13

niques, then emerging, find their basis in the interest in freeing the build-up mass by distancing itself from the classic forms and the tradi tional construction procedures, usually conditioned by the partitioning of space. This forceful transformation became on the fragmentation of architectural system that, together with its understanding as a plastic fact, gave rise to numerous paradigmatic examples, in which, basically, the liberation of the mass was obtained,11 both from spatial structure and the façade plane, using an architectural language that deals with proportion, the positioning and the assembly of lines in a two-dimen sional plane, which avoids the three-dimensional static nature of the solid character of architecture.12

10. NORBERG Schulz Christian, Los principios de la arquitectura moderna, page 46.

The morphological aspect, resulting from the slow but constant trans formation of the relief, has made the Greek territory a mountainous chain that sinks into the Aegean Sea, whose numerous islands, summits of this submerged mountain range. Hence, the rugged morphology of Greece and its close contact with the sea, makes possible, from almost any point of view, to look at the maritime horizon. Rugged mountains, large coastal areas and vast maritime horizons, along with the ruinous vestiges of classical architecture, are part of the stereotype established in the classical landscape.

FOUR PROJECTS

In the same way the oscillation between utopia and constructive coherence, opens another way of study to the repertoire of his works.

FOUR PROJECTS 18

Throughout the intentional view that the analysis method promotes, four paradigmatic projects are here referred, insofar as they apply a spa tial dialectic of manifest correspondence between interior and exterior, as a way of deciphering the conception of Zenetos architecture, in the framework of this study; the relation of the architecture with its place.

Although his work have a vary variable character, this particular cases reaffirm the architectural conception as a result of the integration of decisions around the articulation of the project with the place, engaged in the search for the immanent form. These projects are not precisely the most representative projects of his neat oeuvre. Those works have been selected as singular cases in which Zenetos reaches the highest level of coherence, significance and architectural quality, or what is the same, the assimilation of constructive practices and project strategies that consolidate a formal language in relation to its context. In this sense, the geographic and urban location, has been decisive to understand each particular solution, from its location, through the spa tial structure, and its respective constructive response. In the same way, it was pertinent to provide, in addition to the location of the projects, images made with digital photomontage techniques.The Irodou Attik

ou apartment block, the Lycabettus theater, the Siemens residence and the master plan for Plakias, are a sample of the architect conception of the project, in which not only nature assumes the leading role by pro posing a strong relationship . But also poses, beyond a technical logic, a visual logic, by using strategies of a formal nature, with which achieve to link the parties as an impeccable whole, from a formal point of view, also endowing the work of artistic quality.

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APARTMENT BLOCK IRODOU ATTIKOU 17 ATHENS, GREECE, 1959. Fig 1. RUBIO Laura, Irodou Attikou location plan (centre of Athens).

Athens). 21

Fig 2. RUBIO Laura, Digital Photomontage - Irodou Attikou.

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14. “The plan is conceived for a distant vi sion: the axes that follows the valley and the false square are the skills of a great stage director. The Acropolis on its rock and its support walls, are seen from a dis tance in a total way. Its buildings are piled up in the succession of multiple planes”

Fig(Right)4.Irodou Attikou street, aerial view, taken form www.BingMaps.com 24

13. BRANHAM Reyner, Theory and de sign in the first machine age, page 25.

From this building, located in the dense center of the Greek capital, one can observe the extensive vegetal surface of the National Garden and the urban spot, in which the compact figure of the Acropolis, in itself conceived to be seen from the distance, 14 is accentuated. In the distant horizon, the line of the Ionian Sea, the silhouette of Mount Egaleo and the island of Salamina is ascribed.

LE CORBUSIER, Hacia una Arquitecutra, page 39.

Fig 3. Photo from the apartment interior, taken from www.ll.associater.gr

“TheGreeksnevervisualizedthebuildingwithouttheplacethatservedasitsframe(...)placingitasnaturewouldhavedone.”13

The immediate environment establishes concrete urban needs to solve, whom the building responds with and impeccable adaptive solution, following the urban pattern of the sector; buildings attached along the perimeter to an unstuck center of a city block. The shape of the build ing is fitted to the dimensions of its neighbor, which is attached to one side, and, on the other side, makes a withdrawal to the governmental building with which it adjoins. These placing operations, objectively im posed by pre-established urban rules, determine the conception of the building, unstuck on three of its facades. Situation that highlights the relevance of external events to the architectural object; urbanity and landscape.

The approach in the transition between the building and the street -the ground floor- is not based on urban continuity, although it is not con ceived as a wall that delimits the street. Considering that the presence of the natural landscape is nullified, Zenetos uses an architectural resource of the landscape restitution, by placing a body of water, surrounded by a vegetable belt. This surface, which, under other precepts would extend the urban dynamics, establish in this case a barrier that subtly isolates the urban chaos and enriches the spatial experience on the ground floor, liberated in such a way that the only contact with the ground is given through the staircases, the elevator and the supporting structure.

15. “The revitalisation of the criteria in the de termination of the form; the lack of consen sus regarding the relevance of parameters that controls the project from the outside, from the reality of external events to archite cure” PIÑON Helio, Reflexión histórica de la arqui tectura moderna, page 65

Fig 5. ZENETOS Takis, Sketch of Irodou Atikk ou building structure, taken from ‘Takis Zenetos 1926,-977, Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, ‘World Architecture 4, London Magazine’ Fig(Right)6and 7. Photo from the Irodou Attikou ground floor, taken from www.ll.associater.gr 26

The position of those elements determines the functioning of the spa tial structure, opened to the interior of the apartments, under a swas tika system, namely; a way of internally ordering the space that finds its base in the arrangement of architectural elements twisted around a center. This way of conceiving the space allows a centrifugal move ment, by the use of the oblique perception. The structural elements, raised not only according to their supporting role, also execute the de tachment of the pieces in the angle where they converge. 16 The search for this architectural language defines space through the interaction of plans, and has as a consequence the rupture of the space conceived as an element delimited by walls, which consolidates a solid dialogue with the surroundings becoming a part of a whole.

The configuration of the building enclosure is composed in two levels; its structure is set back, thus the layout of the balcony determines the façade as a transitive space that protects the interior of the dwellings from the excessive luminosity and high temperature of Greece. The mobile mechanism of climate control, split into two planes, is com posed; in the frontal plane, by a series of awnings arranged along the perimeter of the slab, and, in the second plane, linked to the structural monoliths, sliding metal panels enable block or unblock the space at the will of the resident. In sum, this building reflects the fine compilation of formal operations that consolidate an architecture that moves away from the traditional drilled out mass, to give rise to the construction of the space by means of loose planes around a vacuum.

16. “The premises that went back, in large part, to the link between the Bauhaus and De Stijl (1921-22), are developed with a rig or even greater than that of Gropius, and with an absolute consequence, in the work of Mies van der Rohe, who is truly the one who has established the “neoplastic po etic” flame, that is, the search for a space defined by the intersection of planes as the only line of extreme formal clarity in which they originate all possible directions (...) Thus rejects even the concrete plas tic definition of form and tends to be built on the possibility of infinite development” ARGAN Giulio, El concepto de espacio arqui tectónico, pág 178. (Right) Fig 8 and 9. ZENETOS Takis, Ground floor and apartments Architectural plan, taken from ‘Takis Zenetos 1926,-977, Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, ‘World Architecture 4, London Magazine’ 28

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Fig 11. Irodou Attikou Photo, taken from ‘Takis Zenetos 1926,-977, Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, ‘World Architecture 4, London Magazine’ Fig(Right)10. Irodou Attikou Photo from the balcony, taken from www.ll.associater.gr 30

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Fig 12. ZENETOS Takis, Frontal facade plan, taken from ‘Takis Zenetos 1926,-977, Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, ‘World Architecture 4, London Fig.(Right)Magazine’13Irodou Attikou Photo from the balco ny, taken from www.ll.associater.gr 32

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LYCABETTUS THEATRE ATHENS, GREECE, 1964. Fig 14. RUBIO Laura, Irodou Attikou location plan (centre of Athens).

Athens). 35

Fig 15. RUBIO Laura, Digital Photomontage - Lycabettus Theatre.

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Newarttakesthemonumentwhereitfindsit,assimilatesit,develops itaccordingtoitsfantasyandendsitifitcan”17

The Lycabettus Mount is to 277 meters the highest point of the city, its dense vegetation ascends to the steep slopes. When climatic condi tions allow it, is possible to achieve an expanded vision of the island of Salamis dispersed in the Aegean sea, and even, the distant silhouette of the Peloponnese island. The structure of the theatre located in the top of the mountain, set up an unusual and exceptional stage that com bines the tectonic nature 18 of the elongated lightweight cone, with the rough presence of the rock, partially excavated to fit the theater in there.

The project of this scenario was, in its initial approach, a monumental structure of concrete that would host five thousand spectators, with no more support than a pedestal. The proposal was considered apparently unstable, furthermore, excessive in its proportions and therefore reject ed, consequently, it was decided to build a version, supposedly provi sional, with a capacity of three thousand spectators. The prefabricated structure in metal, is still standing today, is unstuck from the rock, in such a way as to enable the placement of complementary services of

17. Victor Hugo, Notre Dame de Paris, page 18.132. ““(...) the tectonic is an attribute of the constructed that transcends the material condition of its physical condition; not only the tectonicity is not alien to the abstraction, but can be considered one of its main con sequences ” PIÑON Helio, Arte abstracto y arquitectura moderna, page 49. Fig 16. Theater seats locations, taken from Fig(Right)www.rocking.gr17.Aerialview photo, taken from www. newsbeast.gr 38

centuries.“Thegreatbuildings,likethegreatmountains,aretheworkoftheSometimesartistranformedwhenitisstillunderconstruction;theycontinuecalmyaccordingtotherulesoftransformedart.

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the theater in the back of the structure. The constructive process of the metal structure satisfies the industrialized demands of the epoch, when making use of the possibilities offered by the articulated construction of modular elements. 19

Without recourse to the allegory of the content, or the idealiza tion of antiquity, Zenetos carries out the epithelial transformation of classical theater, which, on one hand, the Greeks, by making use of the irregular topographic conditions, supported on the sloping ground the stepped structure. The Romans, on the other hand, al ready made use of the concrete vaulted structure, which allowed them to pose their theaters on a flat ground and dispose in the 19. This hill has undergone numerous trans formations. It happened to be a sheep pas ture, to become Adriano aqueduct, artillery base in the Greco-Italian war, quarry, scrap yard and rubble. The playwright Anna Syn oodinou decided to face the arrogant ex ploitation of natural resources and to reclaim this historic land, to build a stage for the representation of the Greek tragedy there. Currently the theater works as a stage for concerts. KOUTSANDREA Kanelia, Urban Frame No6 The Lycabettus Theater in three 20.acts/defeatsARÍSCarlos Marti, Las variaciones de la identidad, page 25. Fig 18. Steel structure photo , back view, tak en from www.hellinikimeletitiki.gr Fig(Right)19. ZENETOS Takis, Concrete structure firts proposal, taken from ‘Takis Zenetos 1926,-977, Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, ‘World Ar chitecture 4, London Magazine’ Fig 20. ZENETOS Takis, Steel structure final proposal, ibidem. 40

“The type refers to the formal structure: it does not concern, there fore, the physiognomic aspects of architecture; we speak of types from the moment than we recognize the existence of ‘structur al similarities’ between certain architectural objects, regardless of their differences in the most apparent or epithelial aspect”.20

The understanding of the formal structure of classical theaters as an archetype, figured out as a succession of stepped paths, whose semi circular geometric mass circumscribes the orchestra, the central space where the theatrical act takes place, with no more backdrop than nature.

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back of the structure the complementary services of the theater.

Even though Zenetos has been considered as a contemporaneous figure, opposed to classical subjects, he does not discourage from the study of antiquity, but interprets it according to abstract formal princi ples. In this project he uses independently of the archetype and carries out the coherent mutation of his stony condition by a construction of a lightweight steel skeleton, which means, in short, the liberation of the classical form as a canon, and its transformation according to the de mands of the project.

Fig 22. Roman theatre of Milan, taken from Fig(Right)www.culture2000.tee.gr23.ZENETOSTakis, Lycabettus Theatre Top view, taken from www.culture2000.tee.gr 42

Fig 21. Epidaurus Theatre IV Century a.C, taken from www.culture2000.tee.gr

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Fig 24. Photo Lycabettus theater side view, taken from www.culture2000.tee.gr Fig 25. Photo Lycabettus theatre Initial wood ing cladding, ibidem. Fig(Right)26. ZENETOS Takis, Lycabettus Theatre perspective, taken from ‘Takis Zenetos 1926,977, Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, ‘World Architec ture 4, London Magazine’ (Next page) Fig 27. Lycabettus theater, photo frontal view, taken from www.culture2000.tee.gr Fig 28. Lycabettus theater, photo back view, ibidem. 44

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SIEMENS RESIDENCE ATHENS, GREECE, 1959. Fig 29. RUBIO Laura, Siemens residence location plan (north of Athens).

(north of Athens). 49

Fig 30. RUBIO Laura, Digital Photomontage - Siemens residence.

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a“Wallswithdoorsandwindowsmakeahouse,butwhatreallymakeshouse,isitsinternalspace;thatiswhywesay:thematerialhasutility,theimmaterial,essence”21 Nea Kiffisia, is one of the suburbs located in the lower part of Mount Parthina that make up the rugged north of Athens. The morphological condition of the territory gives rise to a winding road, to which irregular blocks are linked. Large residences, isolated one from each other are located there, where the view can cover the dense urban fabric to the horizontal line of the Ionian Sea.

The sloped topography of the property, conditions the eleva tion of the house on a plinth, a piece that, beyond that mak ing possible the regularization of the rugged terrain, also makes a possible raise to a continuous base plane on which the do mestic world develops, protecting its privacy with regard to the im mediate environment, and widening the visual field from the inside. The architectural ensemble assumes the irregular geometry of the terrain, composed of four sides, three of them surrounded by a road, with which the house remains parallel and, the other one adjoins of the neighboring residence. The three axes given by the road, are articulat ed among themselves insisting on the form of the property;

frame in 21. ARGAN Giulio Carlos, Walter Gropius y la Bauhaus, Cap 6. Fig(Right)31.ZENETOS Takis, Main entrance facade plan, taken from ‘Takis Zenetos 1926,-977, Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, ‘World Architecture 4, London Magazine’ Fig 32. Photo entrance facade, ibidem. 52

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Fig(Right)33.ZENETOS Takis, Siemens residence Architectural plan, taken from ‘Takis Zenetos 1926,-977, Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, ‘World Architecture 4, London Magazine’ 22. ““(...) the three dimensions are incorporat ed together to cancel the heavy curvature and make it the bottom and horizon of a pure delineation of empty volumes (...) And then this aspiration to dematerialize the This way, to contradict it in the absolute equiva lence of positive and negative values, to pre vent it from being constituted as a physical thing in space, is translated in the individual ization of a point of transit from the stasis to the movement, in the rupture of the equilib rium system, in the unlimited prolongation of bays along the horizon and verticals (...) the rigorous and meditated combination of the surfaces does not aim at any other ob jective than to destroy the surface and de stroy the plane, as mere geometric entity, its absolute and absolute value of spatial place”

ARGAN Giulio Carlos, Walter Gropius y la Bauhaus, page 109. 54

which the volumetric segregation of three bodies takes place, corre sponding to the service area, a single main room and a large social room.

As long as the tripartite articulation is achieved, the volumes ro tate around the vestibule; an essential piece of the system, which lacks, in itself, of material consistency, but allows internal cohesion of the ensemble. Thus, the space runs in a centrifugal way, tension ing towards the terrace, carrying out formal operations that dilute the mass, while the view is attracted by the suggestive landscape. In that sense, the spatial structure is not only the result of an intense reflection of the development of domestic life in relation of its physical context, but also, a study of spatial relationships based on the diagonal, the movement in perspective and oblique tension of the pieces, 22 both with the outside and between them, thus canceling out the possibility of incising in a static space, as well as the idea of a prismatic container, by methodically avoiding the joint in the corner of two pieces in right angle. The domestic dynamic and the open form seek its correspondence only with the distant landscape, but not with its surrounding urban context. Since the entrance façade delimits with the street with a rig id wall, on the contrary, in the southeast façade, the decomposition of the elements is carried out in different planes of diverse material

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WRIGHT Frank Lloyd, Autobiografía, Madrid, el croquis, págs 177 y 178. 56

Fig(Right)34. ZENETOS Takis, Facade mechanism study, taken from ‘Takis Zenetos 1926,-977, Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, ‘World Architecture 4, London Magazine’ (Next page) Fig 35 and 36. ZENETOS Takis, Architectural section plan, ibidem. Fig 37. East facace photo, ibidem. 23. LLANOS Isabel, Casas O&V años 50, pág 376, 377. 24. “(...) I widened the mass of the building as much as I could, to give it more space. But the walls of the house stopped at the height of the windowsills of the second floor, to allow the rooms to have a series of con tinuous windows running under the broad eaves, ligneously inclined and cantilevered. In this new house, the enclosure was begin ning to not be an impediment to outside light, air and beauty. The walls that surround the box, to which holes have been opened, had until now been the great problem (...).”

ity, combining glazed pieces, and opaque tilting elements, covered by an eave, in a treatment similar to a three-dimensional machine. This mechanical system of enclosure, which gradually attenuates heat and sunlight, is articulated in such a way that the elements partici pate in a visual gear, corresponding a technical resolution, typical of a mechanical engineer, with an operation of compositional category.23

This is how the box is broken,24 previously from its spatial struc ture, freeing the system from the compartmentalization, and then, abolishing the façade from its delimiting condition, by es tablishing a porous structure that dilutes the limits of the con structed and it makes feasible the indissoluble link between inte rior and exterior, to melt house and landscape in a single entity.

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PLAKIAS MASTER PLAN CRETE, GREECE, 1966 Fig 36. RUBIO Laura, Siemens residence location plan, (South of Crete).

(South of Crete). 61

Fig 37. RUBIO Laura, Digital Photomontage - Plakias Master plan.

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The diverse morphological structure of the area of Plakias extends from the canon of Kotsifou, passing through the beach and the rocky forma tion of Korify on the east side. The look is confined by these monumen tal rocks. In this study project, commissioned by the governmental administra tion, 25 an exercise of symbiosis between construction and nature is car ried out. In a general view, the architectural complex consists of four different components; the formalization of the existing fishing settle ment and its unloading dock, the beach that, allows the force of the wind to circulate, to erect in the short section of the Kotisifou canyon a mechanism of wind turbines, a technological monument that can sup ply the energy demand of the Liakota hotel, attached to the cliff surface of Korify. The unusual topography, added to an intense confidence in the tech nical progress, at that time apparently exponential, prompt the radical constructive conception of the hotel, which not only gives value to the landscape in which it is sedimented, but also denies the frequent di chotomy between construction and nature, placing both at the same level.26 Such intermediate link that Zenetos conceives , establishes the petrification of the mountain, considering that the mountain covered by a system of stepped terraces of concrete, extended longitudinally 64

25. The possibility of expanding the growing tourist demand from Athens to the whole of Greece was reflected at the time in ur ban planning policies at the national and regional levels. In the case of Crete, the local administration commissioned a series of studies focusing on tourism infrastructure, studies of which Zenetos participated with the master plan for integral development in Plakias, as well as studies for the region of Heraklion and Agia Galini . In these pro posals the constant solution was a fluid and permeable structure to the landscape.

Fig(Right)38and 39. ZENETOS Takis, General Urban plan, taken from ‘Takis Zenetos 1926,-977, Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, ‘World Architecture 4, London Magazine’

65

27. MARTINEZ y PEMJEAM, Alejandro de la Sota 4 Agrupaciones de vivienda, pág143 Fig(Right)40. ZENETOS Takis, Wind turbines pro posal, taken from ‘Takis Zenetos 1926,-977, Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, ‘World Architecture 4, London Magazine’ along the entire slope, under which the houses are hidden. In this sense, there is a correspondence with what Martinez and Pem jeam would call ‘sloped carpet’ 27 referring to the adaptive solution of Alejandro de la Sota in the housing complex in Santander and, in the Roq et Rob of Le Corbusier, since both projects are located on a steep topography that covers the hillside, in order to obtain the continuous base plane to dispose the dwelling. In both cases there is a sequence from the interior street, housing, terrace or loggia and, finally, landscape.

26. “Urban naturalism, the introduction of the picturesque in the city and in architec ture, the appreciation of the landscape by the artistic ideology, tend to deny the already evident dichotomy between urban and rural reality; they serve to persuade that there is no such thing as a valuation of nature and the valorisation of the city as a productive machine of new forms of economic accu TAFURI,mulation..”CACCIARI y DAL CO, De la vanguar dia a la metrópoli, pág 21.

Similarly, the project shows, with a vague solution of the section, the architect interest in achieving a frontal plane free of elements that are not strictly horizontal. For this purpose, it uses a circulation mechanism that flows in and out of the rock, substrate and vertical ly connects the terrace system, till the seabed. In this way he manag es to hide the essential vertical elements, that, in effect, would break with the horizontal character of the mass inserted in the landscape.

The logic of the project assumes the technological challenge as the main idea. The use of prefabricated elements and mass-produced becomes recognizable in the two expansion prototypes, adapted to the morpho logical premises; the first one is embedded to the areas where the terrain had an acute inclination,; each piece is supported by a single vertical el 66

67

68

Fig 41. DE LA SOTA Alejandro, Housing complex in Santander, Alejandro de la Sota, taken from ‘Alejandro de la Sota, 4 agrupa ciones urbanas, Martinez y Pemjam, 2007’

Fig(Right)43.ZENETOS Takis, Liakota hotel front view, taken from ‘Alejandro de la Sota, 4 agrupa ciones urbanas, Martinez y Pemjam, 2007’ ement and a turnbuckle that avoids overturning where the structure is prone to failure. Each one is arranged behind other, displaced to enough distance so as not to obstruct the panoramic effect in any way. Likewise, the second prototype consists in a series of individual modules suspend ed from the areas where the rock is completely vertical. The structural challenge of the proposal is clear, so the architect chooses to anchoring three unit modules by the lightened slabs to the sock stratum, fixed by mean a tensor. In the back of the system, the circulation is disposed, en sures in this way, the unhindered visual relationship with the backdrop.

Fig 42. LE CORBUSIER, Roq et Rob, tak en from ‘Alejandro de la Sota, 4 agrupa ciones urbanas, Martinez y Pemjam, 2007’

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Fig 44. ZENETOS Takis, Adaptive solution on the slope, taken from ‘Takis Zenetos 1926,977, Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, ‘World Architec ture 4, London Magazine’ Fig(Right)45. ZENETOS Takis, Hotel Liakota per spective, ibidem. 70

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OPERATIONAL SOLUTIONS 73

thattialnaturalgettectureOnnecessarilyidealcationofingmonumentaldocumentedBasedearth,“Manperformsapositivetaskincreationwheneverhebuildsontheunderthefaceofthesun.Ifthatbuildinghasanyrighttoexist,itmustbethis:notbeingmorethanafeatureofthelandscape(...)ofthatnaturetowhichlifeowes”28onthisorganicperspective,someoftheZenetosprojectsarehere,wherebyrevealtheircapacitytoassimilatethislandscapeand,thereafter,conceiveaproject,accordtothecarefulstudyofthedeterminingcriticalfactors,bymakingthebuildingandthelandtwoindissolubleentities.Hence,theloconstitutestheessentialdifferencewherebytheprojectmainwilltakepossessionoftheland.Aslongasthechangeofscaleimpliesavariationinthesenseofthecreativeinquiry.onehand,theapproachesthatareinanaturalframe;thearchiandmorphologyofthelandscapearebuilttogether,untilasaresultapowerfulmorphologicalcontinuitythatprolongtheforms.Ontheotherhand,intheurbanframe;theopenspaformandthetransitionplanconstitutetwodifferentsolutionsallowcoversomeurbanandsuburbanprojectsherereferred.

28 WRIGHT Frank Lloyd, El futuro de la arquitectura, pág 26. OPERATIONAL SOLUTIONS 74

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MORPHOLOGICAL CONTINUITY 77

tweenThison“Theexistingphysicalterrainisnotinviolabletowhatwemustadapt,thecontrary,thereisthepossibilityofgivingshapetothephysicalenvironment,tocarvetheterrainthatisbuiltaswellasthestructurethatitshouldreceive.Onthebasisoftheseprinciples,itispossibletodevelopanintermediatelinkbetweenconstructionandnature”29(TakisZenetos)reasoningunleashaseriesofprojectsinwhich,beexperimentalattempts,thebuildingassumesasubor dinate relationship with nature, while the architect affirming the most monumental features of his work, by responding to elemetary shelter lessons that follows the plasticity of the natural forms.

Even when the inherent nature of these projects is the particular geo graphical conditions where they are located, also, they are closely re lated to their idea of Electronic Urbanism, 30 an approach that, due to its utopian condition, could not be analyzed from a historical point of view, not as a particular solution, but anyhow does not consist either in of an isolated event. The categorical way of living that arises, could be considered, as the genesis of that symbiosis idea between nature and human construction that connects the individual with his environment through technology; the conception that develops indistinctly through out his work.

29. VLACHOS Angelos, Greek tourism on its firts steps: Places, landscapes and the Na tional Self/Takis Zenetos, follo- wing the to pography, page 160.

MORPHOLOGICAL CONTINUITY 78

30. Electronic Urbanism is a research proj ect of more than 20 years, started during his studies in Paris and concluded with the presentation of the project in the ‘Exhibition of the modern housing organization in Ath ens’ in 1962. The research Systematic about applications of electronics in the habitat, it proposes flexible infrastructures, expanded over forests, lakes, rivers and seas, supported by cables. Vertical garden cities and dense media networks suspended, allow the natu ral terrain to run uninterruptedly under the city. This structure in turn contains individ ual cells, protected by a double membrane, where only one chair and one screen are available, from which the user controls the audiovisual contacts and the environmental conditions. According to Zenetos, this control switch will be the heart of the human being of tomorrow. The mechanical adjustment would be through keys, but Zenetos have already predicted that in the future this will be controlled directly by the user’s brain, with the help of oversensitive electro-cerebral waves. (Takis Zenetos Archive ) Fig 46, 47, 48 and 49 ZENETOS Takis, Cable supported structure, Architectural drawings. taken from Electronic Urbanism DPR Barce lona

79

31. ’Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, Takis Zenetos 1926,1977, Architecture in Greece Press, Ath ens 1978, pág 7.

FigIbídem,environment”pages6-7.50.Modelofthe Aghia Galini master plan, taken from Electronic Urbanism, Unbuild Fig(Right)Tropes.51.ZENETOS

32

32 “I find myself in total disagreement with the prevailing orientation of current research towards low-cost housing. The problem is mainly a matter of change of focus (...) My regional and city planning designs can be classified as such basic research; but the proposals they contain have not been imple mented (...) This problem is openly political (economic) and I disagree - in theory, in any case - with international trends towards lowcost housing, I believe that the House should be the most elaborate and luxurious prod uct of society; houses, not monuments (fac tions and establishments of our time have replaced the temples and pyramids of past times) because houses represent 75% of the built

of the island of Crete for the regions of Aghia Galini, Plakias and Heracliton, and the project for Mavra Vounas, sought to solve, in principle, the demand of tourist infrastruc ture, although they could also be considered a formalized resis tance, to the Greek constructive policies, with which he expressed his disagreement, regarding the tendency to reduce the hous ing projects to the minimum effort and constructive interest.

This observation could refer us to the point made by Zenetos, when he states “My research is oriented to the architecture of the future, which I propose to be a ‘non-architecture”31 This statement relates to a way of assuming the configuration of the environment as something intrinsic to human nature, placing at the same level, urban fragment and natu ral Thefragment.commissions

Under a radical guideline, wherewith the architect usually faced the urban scale, this experimental series of coastal rural hous ing establishes the petrifaction of the hill, considering that the mountain is intervened with a terraced system, extended along the entire hill under which the architecture is hidden. In sketch es of the Aghia Galini and Plakias projects he manifests, with sche matic solutions of the section, his interest for achieve a free fore ground, by arranging the mechanisms of circulation inside the rock.

Takis, Architectural plan of the Aghia Galini master plan, taken from ’Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, Takis Zenetos 1926,1977, Architecture in Greece Press, Ath ens 1978. 80

2

Horizontal space included between two planes; floor and roof, is a mat ter treated with the same interest in the residence in Lagonissi. In this case, dig a piece of land at the top of the hill, which will later replace the build up mass. In the accompanying text of the project publication, 33 Zenetos use the term (γλυπτικής έδάφους ύποδοχης) understood as ‘underlying structure’; which remains hidden below. In the same text, he also adds the term (ενταξης οτις ισομετρικες) ‘isometric inte gration’; an expression that explains resolution of the Lycabettus the ater and the Chelidonou residence, even when this one seems to be a missing link in his work, because of the appearance of the patio. Both projects, and the previously mentioned, find in common their formal conception as a geometric inlay of the architectural mass in the terrain.

Fig(Right)52. ZENETOS Takis, Hotel Liakota frontal view, taken from ’Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, Takis Zenetos 1926,1977, Architecture in Greece Press, Athens 1978. Fig 53. ZENETOS Takis, Hotel Liakota top view, ibidem 33.’Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, Takis Zenetos 1926,1977, Architecture in Greece Press, Ath ens 1978, pages 23 y 26 82

83

Β

Fig(Right)54. ZENETOS Takis, Architectural plan, Heraclion master plan, taken from ’Ορέστης Δουμανης, Takis Zenetos 1926,1977, Archi tecture in Greece Press, Athens 1978. 84

“The study of tourist development of the for est of Strofilia, occupies a long strip in the northeast of the Peloponnese, with a total length of north to south of 15km and a coast line of 500 to 3.00. The geo-morphology of the area is basically low, with two exceptions, Jounoupeli and Marvas Vouna. In particular, the land is a bay with a beach densely bor dered by a forest almost entirely. After Thas sos there are cultivated terraces / extensive areas that are fed mainly by groundwater. Other characteristics of the geomorpholo gy of the surface is related to humidity, the lack of observation spaces and observation of the lake, the existence of the forest that limits the optical field to the mainland.”34 (Takis Zenetos) 34.’Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, Takis Zenetos 1926,1977, Architecture in Greece Press, Ath ens 1978, page 59. Figs 55, 56 and 57, ZENETOS Takis, Model of Mavra Vounas master plan, taken from ’Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, Takis Zenetos 1926,1977, Architecture in Greece Press, Ath ens 1978. 86

Mavra Vounas master plan

Fig 58. ZENETOS Takis, Lagonissi resi dence frontal view, taken from ’Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, Takis Zenetos 1926,1977, Architec ture in Greece Press, Athens 1978.

Lagonissi residence “Ground morphology and topography led to a combination of the underlying struc ture solutions or the inclusion of isometric curves. The house was placed at an average height and part of the top was cut to have a view of the place of residence, while with the excavation products two hills were creat ed, extending the isometric curves (...) A me chanical sun protection system, with which the entire roof sloped abruptly towards the west, to achieve solar protection r” 35 (Takis Zenetos) 35. ’Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, Takis Zenetos 1926,1977, Architecture in Greece Press, Ath ens 1978, pág 23.

Fig 60. ZENETOS Takis, Lagonissi residence architectural plan, ibidem. Fig 61. ZENETOS Takis, Lagonissi residence model photo, ibidem. 88

Fig 59. ZENETOS Takis, Lagonissi residence model photo, ibidem.

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Chelidonou residence “With a wide variety of interest, outstanding with tall and tall trees. The choice of the place of residence, as its form, was the result of the absolute fulfillment of the requirements of a large logical building and of the maximum possible exploitation of the elements of the natural environment and the integration of this residence (.. .) The extensions of the curves of the terrain give shape to the se quence in the upper part of the building and to the cantilever that the polygon has, the building is located on the ground main taining in the lower part a natural space (...) Despite the large size of the residence does not eliminate the natural environment of the dwelling (...) The architecture of the building is classical, despite all the perhaps original expressions of the different spaces, which in addition to giving an interest Particularly in places with a static use, they are complete ly taken care of, they are simple and they are distinguished by their functionality. The conical shape of the building and the rota tion of its axis, based on the correct orienta tion of the different areas, allows the use of natural light from Attica. At the same time, the area of green removed for the purpose of building the building is therefore relatively small, while the building obtained and the desired macro view (Parnes-Penteli) would not be separated from the surrounding for est (.. Finally, the configuration of the external environment was based on the principle of nonintervention of the landscape, its preser vation in the natural state and the creation of appropriate services through the exploita tion of a great variety of interests on the nat ural environmentl.” 36 (Takis Zenetos) 36.’Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, Takis Zenetos 1926,1977, Architecture in Greece Press, Ath ens 1978, pág 26. Fig 62. ZENETOS Takis, Chelidonou residence interior perspective, taken from ’Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, Takis Zenetos 1926,1977, Architec ture in Greece Press, Athens 1978.

Fig 63. ZENETOS Takis, Chelidonou residence lateral view, ibidem. Fig 64. ZENETOS Takis, Chelidonou resi dence architectural plan, ibidem.

Fig 65. ZENETOS Takis, Chelidonou residence drawing, ibidem. 90

91

Fig 68. ZENETOS Takis, Lycabettus theater perspective, ibidem. 92

Fig 66. ZENETOS Takis, Lycabettus the ater model photo, taken from ’Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, Takis Zenetos 1926,1977, Architec ture in Greece Press, Athens 1978.

Fig 67. ZENETOS Takis, Lycabettus theater ar chitectural plan, ibidem.

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THE OPEN SPACE 95

37 In effect, lots of their domestic projects achieve certain lightness, by employing the decomposable character of architecture; a procedure in which the constituent systems of the building; structure, spatial orga nization, and enclosure mechanisms, can be taught independently, to be linked together in different ways of articulating, until acquiring an evident internal cohesion. This position expounded by Martí, which in numerous Zenetos projects implies the volumetric dematerialization of both the spatial structure and the enclosure system. “However, it should be noted that, when talking about the decom posability of the parts and elements of the architecture, as well as its subsystems and respective strategies that build the project. The sub systems are abstracted, but what has first been decomposed must monolithicthenberecomposed.Andtheresultofthatdecompositionwillnotbeaobject,theinextricableamalgam.Thecomponentswillnot

37. It is also necessary to mention the mon umental presence that traces the industrial buildings in the Athenian landscape, which, although they do not fit into this category, we could include them here as a series of urban monoliths that, due to the nature of their use, they move away from the volumet ric solution of the interior and tend more to spatial confinement. Diaphanous rooms or hermetic wraps are the result of the repeti tion of prefabricated pieces, be they solid or translucent. These buildings, in addition to being an architecture of de-escalated mag nitude, establish a contrasting relationship with the chaotic urban sprawl. SPACE

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While the previous approaches suggest a principle that goes beyond the enclosed space, the architect dedicates a large part of his produc tive career to assignments located in Athens and its surroundings. Many of its suburban residences and apartment blocks establish a paradigm in which they obtain, simultaneously, the correct articulation with con tiguous zones and the intentional staging of the landscape, from gen erally dividing parcels with a tendency to compaction.

THE OPEN

be merged in a magmatic mixture, but will be linked in an articulat edmeetingthatallowstorecognizetheanalyticalnatureoftheprocedure“38

38. ARÍS Carlos Martí, Las variaciones de la identidad, Monolito frente a decomponible, pág 139. 97

By defining the visual weight of each element with respect to the ar chitectural wholeness and the perspective generated with the exterior; the compactness of the interior space and the opacity of the facade is replaced by fluidity and permeability. In this solution, the vacuum is considered as a structuring element of the space, covered by a light and three-dimensional envelope that allows fluid continuity with the exterior.

more“IexpandedthemassofthebuildingasmuchasIcould,togiveitspace.Butthewallsofthehousestoppedattheheightofthe windowsillsofthesecondfloor,toallowtheroomstohaveaseriesof

Fig 69. ZENETOS Takis, Residence in Sparta architectural plan, taken from ‘‘Takis Zenetos 1926,-977, Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, ‘World Ar chitecture 4, London Magazine’

Thecontinuouswindowsrunningunderthebroadeaves,slightlyinclinedandcantilevered.Inthisnewhouse,theenclosurewasbeginningtonotbeanimpedimenttooutsidelight,airandbeauty.Thewallsthatsurroundthebox,towhichholeshavebeenopened,haduntilnowbeenthebiggestproblem.”39architectrealizestoprogressivelyavoidtheanodynespaceofhis

SPATIAL STRUCTURE 39. WRIGHT Frank Lloyd, Autobiografía, Madrid, el croquis, págs 177 y 178.

first buildings. For instance, the residence made in 1957 in the center of Sparta, the desire to make the façade plan a three-dimensional ele ment its already manifests. Until those years, an atypical envelope, is ex clusively in relation to the front of the building, but does not correspond to the internal spatial organization; the architectural components are related only in relationship with each other, to cover the requirements of the program. By 1959, the open spatial structure becomes more legible. In the resi dence in Kiteza, the compacted areas are located in a single strip, which makes it possible to free the entire front of the house. In the same year, the Irodou Attikou apartment building projects, the placement of the staircase and the structural elements becomes crucial in the system or

Fig 70. ZENETOS Takis, Residence in Sparta, frontal view, ibidem. Fig(Right)71. ZENETOS Takis, Residence in Kiteza, architectural plan, ibidem. 98

99

With this same forcefulness and precision, in 1964 he builds a house in Kavouri, the outside location of the house is possible to free the entire perimeter, as well as the extension of the structural walls beyond the contour of the volumes, by means of a reciprocal play of strokes, with which the oblique tension of the interior space extends virtually out wardly. These projects, the unhampered sequence of the interior space to the exterior, are closely linked to the positioning and the size of the organizational nucleus with respect to the void. 40

ganization, which works in a centrifugal way, as a gear around a nucleus. In the same way, proceed in the Siemens residence, whose organiza tional scheme is also clearly rule by a nucleus, whereby the dependen cies pivot around. On one hand, in the apartment building, the central piece is an static body and, on the other hand, in the Siemens residence, the vestibule establishes the structuring vacuum of the system.

40. “Piece that establishes the internal order of the house and that even though its pro portion, form and qualification vary in each project, it retains some essential features that allow its cat- algation in a typological key”

LLANOS Isabel – HENAO Edison, Variaciones del núcleo organizativo en la arquitectura doméstica de Obregón y Valenzuela, page 48. 100

Fig(Right)72. ZENETOS Takis, Irodou Attikou, archi tectural plan, taken from ‘‘Takis Zenetos 1926,-977, Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, ‘World Ar chitecture 4, London Magazine’ (Next page) Fig 73. ZENETOS Takis, Siemens residence architectural plan, ibidem. Fig 74. ZENETOS Takis, Kavouri residence, ar chitectural plan, ibidem.

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102

103

duringscaffolding,“Thethree-dimensionalityofthefaçadecanbereinforcedbythewhichsurroundseachbuildingwithapatternofchangeconstructionandsometimesismoreaestheticthanthebuildingitself.Asaresult,theexteriorofthebuildingswillnolongerbe petrifiedflatsurfaces,butthree-dimensionalandchangeable”

ZENETOS

Β

41 (Takis Zenetos) This surface, which simultaneously limits and relates an architecturally constructed space,42 must ensure two opposite conditions, the visual opening towards the exterior and the incidence of sunlight and heat. The shaping of this permeable and flexible filter allows it to fully complete the fading of the limit and gradually attenuate the impact of the southern sun. The architect abolishes the solid appearance of the façade in his do mestic projects, although in many cases the interior spatial struc ture did not correspond to the formal operations that nullify the cube, at any time, he did not stop of developing an envelope that expressed some type of depth. The geometric development of these complex mechanisms differs from the Corbuserian notion of a running window, which usually operates as a single static entity. By taking the possibilities of constructive detail to the limit, it enhances the plastic and expressive implications of the facade surface. The as ’Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, Takis Zenetos 1926,1977, Architecture in Greece Press, Ath ens 1978, page 7. “What kind of spatial organization is the façade? The facade is evidently a surface, a plane that limits an architectural organism - an architecturally constructed space - put ting it in relation to the external space” Giulio, Concepto del espacio arqui tectónico, page 67. Fig(Right)75. Takis, Amalias Avenue Apartment vuilding modular sketch draw ing, taken from ‘‘Takis Zenetos 1926,-977, Ορέστης Δουμανης, ‘World Architecture 4, London Magazine’ 104

THE ENVELOPE

43

42.

ARGAN

41.

105

Fig 76. Facade of the apartment building in Kalispera, taken from ‘‘Takis Zenetos 1926,-977, Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, ‘World Architecture 4, London Magazine’ Fig(Right)77. ZENETOS Takis, Amalias Avenue Inte rior perspective, ibidem. 106

sembly of numerous pieces of different materiality; such as awnings, canopies, moving panels, sliding shutters and glazed surfaces, gener ally executed under an eave, could be reduced in other terms of the transformation of a flat surface into a spatial organism, through the su perposition of elements that ensure the correct operation of the enve lope. The position and dimension of each piece of scaffolding varies ac cording to the architectural problem and allows to avoid the showcase space, to really supply the needs and private condition of domestic life. An extensive study of the technique, stimulated in Takis Zenetos the meticulous manufacture of this piece and its millimetric oper ation. The isometric drawings of the façade of the apartment block in the center of Athens, in 1958, and the interior perspectives of the Yalia Daedalus projected one year later, contain, to wit, the most rigorous and explicit sketches of the development of this piece.

43. “The horizontal window: The supports and the planes of each floor form rectangles in the façade, through which the light and air penetrate abundantly. The window runs from one support to another, thus achieving a landscape window. The window disappears between long and unpleasant subdivisions of windows and corbels for balconies. In this way the rooms are illuminated equally, from wall to MARCHANwall..”Fiz Simon, La arquitectura del si glo XX – págs 294 y 295.

107

Fig(Right)78. ZENETOS Takis, Siemens residence envelope perspective, taken from ‘‘Takis Zenetos 1926,-977, Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, ‘World Architecture 4, London Magazine’. Fig 79. Siemens residence, south facade pho to, Fig(Nextibidem.Page)80.Amalias Avenue Apartment building photo facade, taken from ‘Sliding doors in flats Amalias Avenue , Athens, Greece, Takis FigZenetos’81,82 and 83. ZENETOS Takis, Kalispera Apartment building, evelope system detail, taken from ‘‘Takis Zenetos 1926,-977, Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, ‘World Architecture 4, London Magazine’. 108

109

111

Fig 84. ZENETOS Takis, Amalias Avenue slid ing doors detail, taken from ‘Sliding doors in flats Amalias Avenue , Athens, Greece, Takis Fig(Right)Zenetos’85.Amalias Avenue photo, ibidem. 112

TRANSITIONAL GROUND 115

44. WRIGHT Frank Lloyd, El futuro de la ar quitectura, page 231. TRANSITIONAL GROUND 116

therefore,tween,ent,oftheeredbuildingferentTheture,inmented,theoutThisbuilding“(...)thecharacteroftheplaceisthebeginningofeverybuildingthataspirestobearchitecture.Andthisisthecase,beittheplaceortheinquestion(...)Everyoneshouldstartwheretheyare.Itisthebeginningofthementalprocessthattendstomakethestructureofthebuildingorganic”44statementcouldgiveusanotionofthecategoryoftheworkcarriedbyZenetosintheseprojects;anarchitecturalmechanismthroughconstructionassumestheconditionsofthegroundonwhichitisceeitherinaninclinedterrain,inthecaseofsuburbanhouses,orthemiddleofthecity.Theplaneoftransition,intheZenetosarchitecisinbothcases,alinkbetweendomesticlifeandthenaturalsetting.conditioningofthecharacteristicsoftheterrainresultsindifformsofarticulationbetweenthehorizontalsurfaceoftheanditsverticalaxis.Twoadaptiveproblemsareconsidhere;theexecutionofthebaseplaninsuburbanhousingonhillside,andtheresolutionoftherelationshipwiththestreettheurbanbuilding.2Thesetwonominations,althoughdifferconvergeinthesameconcept;evokeastrongconnectionbethearchitectureandthegroundonwhichitisanchored,thespatialexplorationofthesectionbecomesessential.

“What can this house do to have a better beginning? Going out to the countryside or going to the regions where the terrain has not been ex ploited yet (...) for this house the garden is not a backyard affair (...) the street may not be desirable in regards to this consideration of the ground, ex cept as a way of reaching place causing the least possible discomfort” 45. Ibídem, page 242.

45

117

Podiums, plinths, piles, or retaining walls are some of the architectur al pieces that allow housing to develop in a continuous base plane that avoids the irregularities of the terrain and anchors properly to the ground as a platform. This transition mechanism is recognizable as an essential element in the formal structure of the building.

“Thefirstconditionofsimplicity,isthatanybuildingwilllovethe whattianmoldThedevelopgroundonwhichitarises(...)Anefforttoreturntothegroundandit,tryingforallthemeansofobtainingsomethingbeautifulfromit.”46natureoftheplace,thatistosaytheground,isunderstoodasathatshapesthebuilding,andmoldstheland.UnderthisWrighconception,therefore,organic,inwhichthewholeistothepart,thepartistothewhole,Zenetosdevelopsmultiplestrategiesto

The elevation of the base plane towards a diaphanous space, is given, in the residence in Kavouri of 1959, by the combination of piles and re taining wall. Its elevation, equivalent to the total height of a floor, allows in addition, an extensive visual of the mountains and the sea, and let the vegetation continue to grow under the house. In the same year in the residence in Kiteza, the housing on the ground takes off tenuously, 46. WRIGHT Frank Lloyd, El futuro de la ar quitectura, pág 11.

define the transition of domestic life with the topographic inclination of the Athenian suburbs, determined according to the angle of the slope.

BASE PLAN Figs 82 and 83. Kavouri residence photo, tak en from ‘‘Takis Zenetos 1926,-977, Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, ‘World Architecture 4, London Magazine’. 118

47. NEUMEYER Fritz, Mies Van Der Rohe, La palabra sin artificio, pág 243.

Fig 88. ZENETOS Takis, Kavouri Residence, section architectural plan, ibidem. 120

48. “Associate the construction as a whole with its location by extension and emphasis of the planes parallel to the ground, but keep ing the floors out of the best part of the place, thus leaving that part better for use in rela tion to the life of the house. In that sense, the extended plans were useful” WRIGHT Frank Lloyd, El futuro de la arquitectura, pág 106.

Fig 85. ZENETOS Takis, Residence in Kavouri section architectural plan, ibidem.

Fig 86. ZENETOS Takis, Residence in Gyflada section architectural plan, ibidem.

Fig 84. Residence in Kiteza photo, taken from ‘Takis Zenetos 1926,-977, Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, ‘World Architecture 4, London Magazine’.

when making use of a container wall, extended along the volume trans versely to the inclination of the land; “The heavy volume should not float, but should remain tied to the earth but vanishing in space (...) the classic building principle rigidly anchored to the ground and offering a space that opens”.47 In 1961, design the residence in Gyfalda, the sketch of the section, indi cates the way in which it uses the land, using a portion of earth excavat ed in the lower part to form a mound of earth in the upper part, which detaches the house. With this same interest in developing the ground, another house in Gyfalda is projected a few years later. In this case, em phasis is placed on the parallel planes of the succession of roofed areas that cover the square volume to which extended surfaces are attached. long of the property, 48 in this way manages to hold, even more consis tently the building to the ground.

Fig 87. ZENETOS Takis, Siemens Residence, main facade architectural plan, ibidem.

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The city has systematically replaced the presence of nature with the basic unit of development; the block of apartments, from where it is feasible to observe, only in the upper levels, the limit where the inorgan ic development ends and the organic forms begin to predominate.49 Simultaneously, at the ground floor, the possibility of linking natural el ements in the space experience is canceled. Under this guideline, the Irododu Attikou block and the Psychiko block add another significant category, considering that the architect transforms this limitation into a field of action to artificially recreate nature. The ground floor of these buildings shows the architect’s interest in recovering the active pres ence of the landscape, when making the transition between the build ing and the street. This strategy for landscape restoration admits minimal contact with the ground; through the nucleus that encloses the staircase and the eleva tor, as well as the supporting structure that is deposited and reflected in a body of water. In both projects, the arrangement and relationship of these components in the system are quite distant, that is, their spatial structure varies according to the physical conditions of their immedi ate surroundings. On the one hand, the building in Psychiko is com posed of a prism located in the middle of the plot, removing its four sides from the edge. The symmetrical arrangement also corresponds to the spatial structure and implies a certain statism inside the apart

49. PAPADOPOULOS Spiros, Transfigura ciones, notas sobre el paisaje del Ática en el cine, pág 95. FREE GROUND FLOOR Fig(Right)89. Psichiko apartment building ground floor photo, taken from ‘Takis Zenetos 1926,977, Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, ‘World Architec ture 4, London Magazine’. 122

Β Δουμανης, ‘World Architecture 4, London Fig(NextMagazine’.page)92.Irodou Attikou apartment building photo, ibidem. Fig. 93 Irodou Attikou apartment building, ground floor photo, taken from www.ll-asso ciates.gr 124

ments. On the other hand, the disposition of the Irodou Attikou in the corner, allows discovering three of its facades, its careful disposition of each stroke, evidences a consistent development of the oblique tension. As they rise from the ground, both buildings, develop a natural mi crocosm on the ground floor,50 that enriches the sensorial experi ence of the architectural space, as well as they manage to easily es cape the chaos of the street and the urban dynamics. The architect invests the notion of continuity with the street, initially posed by the free floor building, 7 for an intimate space that shuns the crowd. This way of facing the transition between urban and domestic world.

50. “A transition between two spaces of com pletely different scales is established. While the garden has a roof over the sky, the cov ered garden is covered with the slab of the terrace floor. (...) this artificially built scale has nothing to do next to the natural scale of the landscape to which it is integrated” QUETGLAS Josep, Anuario de estudios Lecorbuserianos, Massilia 2003, page 75. Fig(Right)91. Psychiko apartment building photo, taken from ‘Takis Zenetos 1926,-977, Ορέστης

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TIMELINE

WRIGHT Frank Lloyd, Autobiografía: El Croquis, Madris, 1998. 138

Joaquim, Forma y consistencia: Fundacion caja de Arquitectos 2009.

WRIGHT Frank Lloyd, El futuro de la arquitectura: Poseidon 1979.

SOSTRES, José María Sostres, Opiniones sobre arquitectura: Editorial Colegio Oficial de Apa rejadores y Arquitectos Técnicos de Murcia, 1983.

MARTINEZ y PEMJEAM, Alejandro de la Sota 4 Agrupaciones de vivienda: Demarcacion de Toledo, 2007. NEUMEYER Fritz, Mies Van Der Rohe, La palabra sin artificio, Editorial el Croquis 2009.

GUASCH Ricardo, Espacio fluido – espacio sistemático: Editorial universidad Politecnica de Cataluña 1994. LE CORBUSIER, Hacia una Arquitectura: Poseidon 1978.

PIÑON Helio, Arte abstracto y arquitectura moderna: Universidad Central de Venezuela, 2004.

QUETGLAS Josep, Anuario de estudios Lecorbuserianos, Massilia 2003.

ARGAN Gliulio Carlos, Walter Gropius y la Bauhaus: Editorial Gustavo Gili S.A, 1983 BRANHAM, Reyner, Teoria y diseño en la primera era de la máquina: Editorial Paidos Iberica , ESPAÑOL1985.

ARGAN Giulio, El concepto de espacio arquitectónico: Ediciones Nueva Visión, 1966.

MARCHAN Fiz Simon, La arquitectura del siglo XX: Documentación/Debates, Madrid, 1974.

BOOKS ARÍS, Carlos Martí, La cimbra y el arco: Fundacion caja de Arquitectos 2005.

TAFUTI, CACCIARI y DAL CO, De la vanguardia a la metrópoli: Editorial Gustavo Gili, 1972. Victor Hugo, Notre Dame de Paris: Libreria francesa general, 1972.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

PIÑON Helio, Reflexion histórica de la arquitectura moderna: Editorial Península, 1981.

ARÍS Carlos Marti, Las variaciones de la identidad: Fundación Arquia, 2014.

NORBERG Schulz Christian, Los principios de la arquitectura moderna: Editoria Reverté 2005. ’Ορέστης Β Δουμανης, Takis Zenetos 1926,1977, Architecture in Greece Press, Athens 1978

LLANOS Isabel, Casas O&V años 50: Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña, ETSAB, 2015.

ARTICLES ARÍS Carlos Marti, Abstraccion en arquitectura, una definición: Barcelona DPA, 2000.

FILIPPIDIS Papis, 1984, Internacionalismo – Horizontal Takis Zenetos, Arquitectura de EAP

KOUTSANDREA Kanelia, Urban frame N. 6 Lycabettus Theater in three acts/defeats.

LLANOS Isabel – HENAO Edison, Variaciones del nucleo organizativo en la arquitectura domestica de Obregón y Valenzuela: Revista Dearq 2010.

VLACHOS Angelos, Greek tourism on its firts steps: Places, landscapes and the National Self/Takis Zenetos Following the topography.

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