Organised by: Hellenic Institute of Architecture

This lecture discusses some themes from my most recent book, concentrating on a philosophical meditation about the connections between beauty and justice, ethics and poetics in architecture, both in practice and in education. I will try to show how the assumed opposition between a quest for beauty and that for the common good is a false presumption that stems form a misunderstanding of the nature of architectural value and meaning for societies throughout history. The talk offers suggestions as to how this negative polarization can be avoided in our present condition. This reflection is urgent in view of our complex political environment and the prevailing obsession with digital tools and formal novelty for its own sake, often at the expense of a serious consideration of the cultural roots of architecture that are, by necessity, a necessary precondition for its significance.