Although it is true that the Acropolis exerts such fascination that your eyes are inadvertently drawn towards it wherever you are in Athens, however, the closer you get to it and once you have started walking up the hill, you become aware of some strange patterns on the ground whose purpose is to guide you to the massive monument. Patterns in the shape of drawings and geometric forms that appear in an apparently random distribution and that catch the attention of the stroller who starts looking down instead of up.
In 1951, Karamanlis, the Greek Minister of Public Works commissioned architect Dimitris Pikionis to redesign the slopes surrounding the Acropolis of Athens. The commission included not only redesigning the paths which provided access to the monument, but also the landscape planning, involving all the components around it: vehicles access and traffic organization, creation of parking lots, gardens and rest stops design, and the choice of vegetation. That is, an all-encompassing project intended to frame the approach to this magnificent example of Mediterranean culture.
Aware of the enormous responsibility the landscaping around the Acropolis involved, Dimitris Pikionis decided to devote himself to the task for as long as needed. As he himself stated, things should be done properly: "...My intervention in the area will be extremely delicate and I will have to bear a tremendous responsibility." And thus, the landscaping work, which started in 1954 didn't finish until 1958. There were four years of thorough work, along with pressure and criticism originated by ridiculous political time constraints.
Perhaps it was his passion for the arts, his research on metaphysical theories, the influence of symbolist painting on him, or the influence of Cezane's work that made Pikionis develop a poetic vision of the landscape and a global conception of architecture.
The 800 meter route is divided into two distinct zones. On the one hand, the path that climbs the hill and leads directly to the gates of the Acropolis and on the other, the path that connects this with Filopapo Hill, where the views of the city of Athens and the Acropolis itself are frankly magnificent.
It was also in the 50's when the greek authorities destroyed a significant fraction of the Athenian architectural heritage of the late s. XIX. Sensitized to such an atrocity, Pikionis decided to rescue part of that heritage and use pieces from the demolition material to build the pavement. In this way, that historical legacy destroyed would be part of the landscape of the rise to the Acropolis and reinforce that historic dialogue between yesterday and today.
Although the game is the same on both courses - Acropolis and Filopapo-, the layout of the pieces and geometric shapes vary so that the layout changes as the game progresses. Regular compositions give way to areas where the slabs are absolutely unequal. Occasionally, the rocks of the terrain itself slip between the small holes left by the elements arranged by Pikionis as a puzzle. Other times concrete elements appear creating curious figures on which the marbles and recovered ceramic pieces are embedded, in a meticulous work of craftsmanship.
In the magnificent work that Pikionis made in the surroundings of the Acropolis, architecture and landscape seek the balance between the historical and the new. Through shapes and textures, drawings and graphic compositions, it forces the walker to slow down his steaps to enjoy the magic of a complete landscape that envelops him. An admiration for the past that establishes a dialogue with the present, where respect turns into a work of art the carpet that guides the walker.
In 1951, Karamanlis, the Greek Minister of Public Works commissioned architect Dimitris Pikionis to redesign the slopes surrounding the Acropolis of Athens. The commission included not only redesigning the paths which provided access to the monument, but also the landscape planning, involving all the components around it: vehicles access and traffic organization, creation of parking lots, gardens and rest stops design, and the choice of vegetation. That is, an all-encompassing project intended to frame the approach to this magnificent example of Mediterranean culture.
Aware of the enormous responsibility the landscaping around the Acropolis involved, Dimitris Pikionis decided to devote himself to the task for as long as needed. As he himself stated, things should be done properly: "...My intervention in the area will be extremely delicate and I will have to bear a tremendous responsibility." And thus, the landscaping work, which started in 1954 didn't finish until 1958. There were four years of thorough work, along with pressure and criticism originated by ridiculous political time constraints.
Perhaps it was his passion for the arts, his research on metaphysical theories, the influence of symbolist painting on him, or the influence of Cezane's work that made Pikionis develop a poetic vision of the landscape and a global conception of architecture.
The 800 meter route is divided into two distinct zones. On the one hand, the path that climbs the hill and leads directly to the gates of the Acropolis and on the other, the path that connects this with Filopapo Hill, where the views of the city of Athens and the Acropolis itself are frankly magnificent.
It was also in the 50's when the greek authorities destroyed a significant fraction of the Athenian architectural heritage of the late s. XIX. Sensitized to such an atrocity, Pikionis decided to rescue part of that heritage and use pieces from the demolition material to build the pavement. In this way, that historical legacy destroyed would be part of the landscape of the rise to the Acropolis and reinforce that historic dialogue between yesterday and today.
Although the game is the same on both courses - Acropolis and Filopapo-, the layout of the pieces and geometric shapes vary so that the layout changes as the game progresses. Regular compositions give way to areas where the slabs are absolutely unequal. Occasionally, the rocks of the terrain itself slip between the small holes left by the elements arranged by Pikionis as a puzzle. Other times concrete elements appear creating curious figures on which the marbles and recovered ceramic pieces are embedded, in a meticulous work of craftsmanship.
In the magnificent work that Pikionis made in the surroundings of the Acropolis, architecture and landscape seek the balance between the historical and the new. Through shapes and textures, drawings and graphic compositions, it forces the walker to slow down his steaps to enjoy the magic of a complete landscape that envelops him. An admiration for the past that establishes a dialogue with the present, where respect turns into a work of art the carpet that guides the walker.
