Ktiriothiki: The Architectural Heritage of Athens, 1830–1950

Athens’s architecture from the 1830s to the 1950s ranges from Neoclassicism and Eclecticism to Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and Modernism. The post-World War II period brought significant changes to the Athenian built environment. As the rural population accumulated in the city center, devastated by the Second World War and the ensuing three-year Civil War, the need for cheap and readily available accommodation emerged. Over a period of two decades, without any organized governmental policy or planning, the majority of existing buildings were demolished and substituted with largely nondescript blocks of flats. The destruction of existing architecture resulted in the dramatic deterioration of the built environment and, eventually, the degradation of quality of life in the city center. Today, an unidentified number of old buildings exist in the city center, the only remains of the pre-war period and culture. Their current conditions vary, from derelict carcasses to restored residences of organizations or individuals. Their present and past life is mapped in the building database www.ktiriothiki.com, whose aim is to engage people and researchers in a discussion on upgrading the current Athenian living space.