Architectural trailblazers in Salonica show
Plans drafted by prominent architects of the previous century’s modern architecture movement are currently on show at the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art. Titled «International New Architecture,» the exhibition was also held in Stuttgart with the renowned architect Ludwig Hillberseimer as its curator. The show, which opened on Wednesday and runs through July 15, serves to highlight the continued relevance today of an architectural style that dates back to the early 20th century. It also underlines the movement’s historical significance. Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, and Walter Gropius are just some of the architects linked with the modern architecture movement. Their legacy continues to influence contemporary architecture and modern architecture has since added an eco-friendly dimension. Basing its work on the principle «form follows function,» this architectural school strove to improve living conditions by increasing light, ventilation and space. «In an attempt to renew architectural design whose perception was still stuck in the 19th century, this form of architecture ushered in the use of materials such as cement, glass and steel, opted for free ground plan and design of interior spaces, free appearance, and horizontal formation of openings,» explained the exhibition’s curator, Andreas Yiakoumatos, a professor of architectural history and theory at the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki. The show features approximately 110 plans by 50 architects in the form of photographs and models. One part of the exhibition looks at Greece’s modern movement of the 1930s. On display here are original plans, photographs, and models of nine well-known projects by the architects E. Kriezis, D. Pikionis, N. Mitsakis, K. Panagiotakou, S. Papadaki, T. Valentis, P. Michailidis, and P. Karantinou. «International New Architecture» is co-organized by Stuttgart’s Institute of Foreign Relations and the Goethe Institute of Thessaloniki.
