NIKOS VATOPOULOS

a-vision-for-athens
LATEST ARTICLE

One of the big open questions about the future of Athens is whether and to what extent the disjointed investment plans in the city center will succeed.


ARCHIVE
13.01.2024 / 23:07

Every time a new building is unveiled in Athens, usually following a reconstruction, I wait anxiously to see the facade. The scale model, when it exists, may suggest the result but it does not show the quality of the materials, nor the integration of the new building into the surrounding environment.


03.01.2024 / 22:31

In the new year, the profound ethical and philosophical issues that have consciously or unconsciously preoccupied humanity since the beginning of the century will continue to present pressing dilemmas and questions.


12.12.2023 / 22:20

City history and architecture buffs are watching with mounting alarm as the last vestiges of an important piece of Athens’ identity are being snuffed out with the rapid demolition of old stand-alone buildings, and especially residences from the interwar period.


02.12.2023 / 12:00

The resurgence of the debate surrounding the Parthenon Sculptures carries with it intricate symbolism. The intersection of the 19th and 21st centuries on matters of identity and emotional connection is perhaps the most intriguing, if not the most widely publicized.


25.11.2023 / 22:17

In the second half of the 20th century, there was such a great improvement in the standard of living in Greece that the country had already changed category in the 1960s.


08.08.2023 / 22:30

Agreeing to the term for the sake of convenience, no matter how much it may irk certain circles, Greece is a “brand” with a solid international reputation.






05.12.2022 / 08:08

Athens’ future as an attractive and sustainable city will depend, no doubt, on a variety of factors – some constant, some impossible to predict. One of its biggest challenges, however, lies in attracting new residents back into its most central neighborhoods; the sailing appears to be anything but smooth, and obstacles – big and small – abound.


22.11.2022 / 22:23

Coming out of the Poreia Theater in downtown Athens and still under the spell of the excellent production of Ibsen’s “Dollhouse” directed by Dimitris Tarlow, I felt like making the walk to the nearest metro station. It was just after 9.30 p.m. (it was an afternoon performance) and the first few minutes of my stroll […]


05.08.2022 / 21:35

Among all the good and positive things that have been done to improve the country’s major gateways, making them more efficient and more attractive, the port of Piraeus continues to stand as a glaring exception.


20.07.2022 / 21:22

Beyond personal opinions, beyond individual life choices, beyond the wonderful condition of being complex, contradictory and fluid beings, it seems that in our times, what is important is the banner that we will hasten to unfurl and the camp that we will choose to support on a whim.