Kostas Tsiambaos – författare

A spirited abecedarium-style book that shows how architects have engaged with animals as references and metaphors in modern and postmodern architecture.Through an examination of 26 case studies (26 different animals explored by 26 different architects, from A to Z), The Architect and the Animal illustrates the various ways in which animals become reflective extensions of a predominantly humanistic-anthropocentric science and art, mirroring that of architecture itself. Why are animals represented and in what context? In which ways do they express critical stances against modernity? How do they relate to local myths and indigenous identities? How do they defend global cultural history and tradition? Can animals, through their silent presence, become authors of criticism and resistance both in aesthetic and cultural terms?In modern architectural discourse, the animal was typically approached not through its various cultural or symbolic identities but as a body examined and analyzed under a formalistic scientific lens. In this edited volume, Kostas Tsiambaos goes beyond the formalistic use of animals to explore a less operative—and more meaningful—understanding of animal references and representations in twentieth century architecture. Both playful and serious, there is nothing quite like this book.

In this book, Tsiambaos redefines the ground-breaking theory of Greek architect and town planner Constantinos A. Doxiadis (The Form of Space in Ancient Greece) and moves his thesis away from antiquity and ancient architecture, instead arguing that it can only be understood as a theory founded in modernity. In light of this, the author explores Doxiadis’ theory in relation to the work of the controversial Greek architect Dimitris Pikionis. This parallel investigation of the philosophical content of Doxiadis’ theory and the design principles of Pikionis’ work establishes a new frame of reference and creates a valuable and original interpretation of their work. Using innovative cross-disciplinary tools and methods which expand the historical boundaries of interwar modernism, the book restructures the ground of an alternative modernity that looks towards the future through a mirror that reflects the ancient past.From Doxiadis’ Theory to Pikionis’ Work: Reflections of Antiquity in Modern Architecture is fascinating reading for all scholars and students with an interest in modernism and antiquity, the history and theory of architecture, the history of ideas and aesthetics or town planning theory and design.

In this book, Tsiambaos redefines the ground-breaking theory of Greek architect and town planner Constantinos A. Doxiadis (The Form of Space in Ancient Greece) and moves his thesis away from antiquity and ancient architecture, instead arguing that it can only be understood as a theory founded in modernity. In light of this, the author explores Doxiadis’ theory in relation to the work of the controversial Greek architect Dimitris Pikionis. This parallel investigation of the philosophical content of Doxiadis’ theory and the design principles of Pikionis’ work establishes a new frame of reference and creates a valuable and original interpretation of their work. Using innovative cross-disciplinary tools and methods which expand the historical boundaries of interwar modernism, the book restructures the ground of an alternative modernity that looks towards the future through a mirror that reflects the ancient past.From Doxiadis’ Theory to Pikionis’ Work: Reflections of Antiquity in Modern Architecture is fascinating reading for all scholars and students with an interest in modernism and antiquity, the history and theory of architecture, the history of ideas and aesthetics or town planning theory and design.