A post-modern eyesore in the heart of historic Athens?
An indifferent today but once famous office building of post-war Athens is situated opposite the medieval Byzantine church of Kapnikarea on Ermou Street in downtown Athens. Designed by architect Nikos Valsamakis in 1958, the building introduced the innovation of the glass facade (curtain wall), which was soon emulated in many parts of the city center. However, what was a bold building for its time, built on the site of a 19th century neoclassical structure, sparked debate about the dissonance it brought to Athens’ historic core. It should be noted that at this time criteria of an exclusively economic nature with immediate payback were the main priority in the Greek capital. Buildings that had come full circle, and Athens has too many of them from the post-war decades, were either demolished or restored. To remain ghosts of themselves is something that runs counter to any sense of a city’s function and any notion of historical continuity or esthetic harmony. [Nikos Vatopoulos]
