Modern Greek Architecture Archives

More than a hundred archives of Greek architects and urban designers, as well as a small number of structural engineers’ archives, have been gathered until now. Parts of public services’ archives have also been deposited (such as the Ministry of Reconstruction, the National Tourism Organisation, etc) either donated by the services themselves, or by architects who served in them. Part of the holdings relates to surveys of religious monuments of Greece; the Mount Athos archive by P.Mylonas, temples and monasteries by Y.Koumanoudis and K.Papaioannou; surveys of traditional settlements or buildings, by A.Tzakou or M.Zagorisiou; surveys of urban buildings of the 19th century which today have either been altered drastically or have been demolished. The latter prove extremely valuable today for restoration purposes.

Archives belonging to the 19th century form a small, but especially significant part of the M.G.Α.Α possessions, as similar material belonging to this period is limited in Greece. Among these one can find works by Lysandros Kaftantzoglou, Ernst Ziller, Savas Boukis, Stamatis Kleanthis and Eduard Schaubert.

The archival holdings are exceptionally rich as regards the architecture of the period between the two wars; the architecture of the time presents an impressive variety in style and form, ranging from late neoclassical to eclecticism, from the arts and crafts to the modern movement (J.Despotopoulos, A.Zahos, N.Mitsakis, K.Biris, A.Nikoloudis, K.Panayiotakos, D.Pikionis). The M.G.A.A. is continuously being enriched by the addition of contemporary architects’ archives, which played an important part in the history of contemporary neohellenic architecture and some still continue to do so.

Among the objectives of the department is the production and presentation of exhibitions and publications, either autonomously or in cooperation with other similar organisations and foundations. The M.G.Α.Α are a member of ICAM (International Confederation of Architectural Museums) since 1998. ICAM is an organisation dedicated to fostering links between all those interested in promoting the better understanding of architecture.