A bad play, a bad restaurant, a bad work of art, one can simply avoid them. A bad urban environment, however, has to be endured daily…
It is obvious that a great crisis is plaguing architecture in our country, a consequence of the so-called economic crisis, but this crisis is not only of an economic nature, on the contrary it is profoundly cultural! A crisis of values, standards, lifestyles, a crisis with incalculable consequences in the lives of people, not only the present but also the future.
Architecture affects everyday life in many ways. A decade ago in an article I wrote that "unfortunately in Greece, architecture can be done (with an official signature) even by a construction technician. Let us therefore not lament our wretched cities. »
In recent years, with the advent of the "crisis", there is no longer the space to even have these thoughts. Because the architectural work that is produced now tends to zero. You see, architecture has always been considered a luxury, and luxuries were the first to be cut when the fat cow era passed. What we collectively refuse to realize in Greece is how education is the only way to create a new generation of people who will progress and that architecture is the spatial context that can co-create this education.
It is scientifically proven that our thoughts about a situation determine how we feel. This in turn determines our behavior in the given situation. And of course the result of our behavior will usually come to confirm our initial thought. A fear if not dealt with in time can lead to inactivity, helplessness and hopelessness. The person who cannot face a fear, negative thought or feeling may isolate and withdraw further magnifying the feeling of helplessness. And this has happened in Greece in recent years. People are immobilized, living in fear of the tomorrow that the mass media consistently constructs, inside "prison" houses, moving in neglected cities within a concrete suffocating urban environment.
One of the most notable Greek architects, Aris Konstantinidis, once said that "every true architecture is a CONTAINER OF LIFE" and therefore the architect shows with his buildings "how he sees life". For me architecture is directly proportional to the education of the citizens of a country and conversely education is analogous to architecture. There is light at the tunnel as some large institutions have taken on a role that in Ancient Greece was particularly important, that of sponsors and benefactors. Without looking into any intentions behind each case, the bottom line is that large projects have been constructed either on a building or urban scale that upgrade the urban environment and educate the general public to new sensory stimuli.
But this alone is not enough. I deeply believe that every person is a unique and unrepeatable miracle of nature and can create their own reality. You have the choice to take care of yourself, your home, your neighborhood and the urban environment in which you live. You have the choice to live and work in places where they will create positive emotions for you so that you can turn the tripartite "positive thinking - positive feeling - positive behavior" to the positive side. When you do this, you will immediately see how you will feel better. And – miraculously – when you feel better, everything will be better for you!
Alexios Vandoros
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The article was published in the Culture Hub column on Epixeiro.gr
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