ABSTRACT
The intuitive and participatory outlook explored thus far is an essential though overlooked part of the Ancient Greek as well as the wider Mediterranean and Eastern tradition which contemporary Greek culture partly shares, oscillating as it does between East and West. Dimitri Pikionis was an architect but also a painter, stage designer and professor at the School of Architecture of the Athens Technical University. Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas, a close intellectual companion, was the most dedicated painter of the Greek landscape, 1 a sculptor and etcher, an illustrator of books, a critic of art and literature and a colleague from the same school. He designed for ballet and theatre performances but also created plans for his own houses, aided by friend architects. Both explored Eastern and Western culture with exquisite creative results in a manner which differed from Wright’s ultimately objectifying spatialities. The quotes below clearly indicate as much:
Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas’ voice:
I have always tried to unite the East with the West. 2
Pikionis’ voice:
Someone said correctly that the trajectory of the Greek nation will depend on our responsible position between East and West. I will add: Also, on the suitable composition of antithetic currents in a new form. I could analyze how this problem is presented in architecture. But suffice it to say here that I am a man of the East. 3
