"The Public Private House: Modern Athens and its Polykatoikia"
By: Tianna Sarra
“The Public Private House: Modern Athens and its Polykatoikia”
Lecture by Prof. Dr. Richard Woditsch, professor for Theory in Architecture
Professor Richard Woditsch, from the Nuremberg Institute of Technology, in Berlin, Germany visited Ardhi University on January 30th, 2020 as part of CityLab’s Lecture Series. The topic of his lecture was of The Private Public House: Modern Athens and its Polykatoikia. Now, what exactly is a Polykatoikia and how did Dr. Woditsch’s studies on the architecture in Athens connect to the audience?
What is Polykatoikia?
Prof. Richard Woditsch made it very clear what exactly polykatoikia means, and its purpose as a structure in modern day Athens. The Greek word Polykatoikia when broken down reads as Poly, which translates to multi, while katoikia, translates to living; therefore, Polykatoikia literally means multi-living. This type of building style ultimately is said to be the future of the city, based on Le Corbusier’s conceptual idea of the Dom-ino House. He explained that the geniality of Dom-ino is that its idea is so simple because of the generic nature of its design.
Further, he explained how the polykatoikia is defined by 9 fundamental constitutive parameters, one of them being elevators that resulted in switching the socioeconomic symbolism buildings hold. Meaning, the wealthy once resided on the lower level floors and less wealthy on the upper levels, yet now with the invention of elevators it has flipped.
A highlighted point stated at the beginning of his lecture referred to Athens’ uniqueness with its sea of white aesthetic and spatial differences, holding two points present:
1. There is one building type, therefore one typology and
2. This building type works in any part of the city, therefore it is multi-functional.
Based on these two points, he further explained that this means Athens has become an incredibly dense city with its very own gene more-or-less, copying its own characteristics. The city essentially is of a ‘copy and paste’ nature that lacks the need for architects, especially since Prof. Woditsch stated that 80% of Athens was built NOT by architects. Rather, it was builders that made the polykatoikia simple for the average person to construct, with no urban planning required. Since there was lack of architectural influence, Prof. Woditsch jokes about how the only way for Athens to gain a fresh start would be with the occurrence of an earthquake. With that being said, will this typology progress, let alone survive, into future architectural design?
As shown, the basic structure of the polykatoikia consists of platforms, pillars, and an either centralized or decentralized staircase. Although the building style has evolved over the years due to strict business laws, the polykatoikia holds a characteristic that allows the stoa, or covered walkway, to bridge the gap between being out in the city while simultaneously being inside the building. Ultimately, this building style blurs the lines between the public space (the street, the public uses inside the building) and the private (the home or private business space). An example of how this model would help “keep the city alive” can refer to how these buildings project their unique personalities to the city using balconies to broadcast advertisements.
How did this come to be?
A brief history lesson was provided on how this type of building style came to be, which helped give context to how Athens has developed over the years. As the Bavarian king in the 19th century tried to reorganize Europe, Greece was under much of Turkey’s influence alongside King Otto, bringing architects and planners to Athens from Germany. Athens appeared to be but a village during this time, said to have a population of roughly 10,000 people. It was only when the state decided to develop the law Antiparochi, where owning a piece of land could mean splitting the levels of the property on said land between more than one person. An example Prof. Richard Wodistch provided regarded having a landowner with a two story polykatoikia present, while another person coming and paying for an additional three stories on top. So long as the landowner continues paying for the land, while the new person pays for the additional three stories. The twist on this was that doing so is breaking the law, although the building itself is not illegal, rather the USE is.
Raised concerns and takeaways?
As an architect or future architect, especially in Tanzania, many questions were raised to whether the Polykatoikia is relevant or appropriate for cities today.
Only one typology? How so?
This is where the ‘copy and paste’ flow of Athens is denoting to. There are other typologies present, but these buildings are obviously for alternative purposes, such as stadiums or train stations. Although, the city is ever-changing, since there were lack of other typologies until the mid 80s when the ground floor of some polykatoikia buildings became parking lots for cars, cutting off the public use of said building. Therefore, the purpose of polykatoikias faced problems of maintaining the flow between city and building. Same goes for if a business on the main floor closed, causing problems for maintaining the flow for other businesses present on other floors.
What happens to the role of the architect?
Prof. Richard Woditsch explained architects must understand the parameters of their own architecture in order to transform. Meaning, with adopting vernacular architecture, architecture without architects, maybe combining modern with traditional styles will help in understanding what the locals need. Although a major problem with polykatoikia is the lack of reliance on architects, making it their duty to understand one’s heritage of their own country alongside traditions, and not forcing change just because of new styles elsewhere.
Is a mix use of private and public appropriate for a growing city?
There was advice to look at other growing cities as influence in building, accordingly, creating exclusive areas. With consideration of keeping the bottom floor of a polykatoikia a public practice, this would maintain the flow between buildings and the city to be open and fluid. Yet, the security of having private and public practices coexisting does not necessarily get addressed since societies operate uniquely to their circumstances.
Concluding thoughts…
Overall, the lecture provided insight to other types of architecture, particularly in Athens, with a German perspective. Professor Richard Woditsch produced an easy to understand flow of information, allowing the audience to listen, process, and respond to, with regards to design, purpose, and possible threats. Architects and soon to be architects in Tanzania were able to take an alternative form of architecture into perspective and evaluate the pros and cons of the polykatoikia through an obscure lens. All while allowing Professor Woditsch to ask in return from Tanzanians what could benefit places in Europe as the heat levels rise across a multitude of cities there.