denny Architectural Art & Design

Athens (/ˈæθɨnz/;[1] Modern Greek: Αθήνα, Athína, IPA: [aˈθina], Katharevousa: Ἀθῆναι, Athine, Ancient Greek: Ἀθῆναι, Athēnai), is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica periphery and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state. A centre for the arts, learning and philosophy, home of Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum,[2][3] it is widely referred to as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy,[4][5] largely due to the impact of its cultural and political achievements during the 5th and 4th centuries BC on the rest of the then known European continent.[6] Today a cosmopolitan metropolis, modern Athens is central to economic, financial, industrial, political and cultural life in Greece and it is rated as an Alpha world city.[7] In 2008, Athens was ranked the world's 32nd richest city by purchasing power[8] and the 25th most expensive[9] in a UBS study. The Greek capital has a population of 655780[10] (796442 back in 2004)[11] within its administrative limits[12] and a land area of 39 km2 (15 sq mi).[13] The urban area of Athens (Greater Athens and Greater Piraeus) extends beyond the administrative municipal city limits, with a population of 3074160 (in 2011),[14] over an area of 412 km2 (159 sq mi).[13] According to Eurostat, the Athens Larger Urban Zone (LUZ) is the 7th most populous LUZ in the European Union (the 4th most populous ...

Title: NEOCLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE IN GREECE Author: MANOS BIRIS Format: Hardback Details: When Greece was liberated from the Ottoman empire in 1832 following a ten-year war of independence, the new cultural dawn meant new architectural styles. The prevailing European neoclassical style thus returned to Athens where classicism had originated over 2000 years previously. This gorgeous book traces the development of neoclassical architecture in Greece, examining its distinctive forms and arguing that it had a variety of different origins rather than being imposed wholesale by the new regime in 1832. Starting with the reappraisal of classical styles during the Enlightenment, the authors stress the connection between external classical order and the internal organisation of space. Athens was the centre of the new neo-classicism and the brief was not only to reconstruct the damaged capital but also to create a monumentalism worthy of the new Greek state. The University, started in 1839, with its central Ionic porch and colour frieze, is exemplary in its handling of classical order and the functional design of interiors. The Arsakeion girls' school is an example of a more austere classicism, while the Eye Hospital demonstrates Byzantine influence. The monumental reading room of the National Library is one of the finest European classical interiors. A more ornate classicism was characteristic of later facades, such as the house at 24 Nikis Street. The authors conclude with the ...