Constantinos Apostolou Doxiadis
Greek architect (1913–1975)
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Theories
Doxiadis is the father of "ekistics", which concerns the science of human settlements, including regional, city, community planning and dwelling design. The term was coined by Doxiadis in 1942 and a major incentive for the development of the science is the emergence of increasingly large and complex settlements, tending to regional conurbations and even to a worldwide city . However, ekistics attempts to include all scales of human habitation and aims to learn from the archaeological and historical record by looking not only at great cities, but, as much as possible, at the total settlement pattern.
Doxiadis also coined the term entopia, coming from the Greek words εν ("in") and τόπος ("place").
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Influence
In the 1960s and 1970s, urban planner and architect Constantinos Doxiadis authored books, studies, and reports including those regarding the growth potential of the Great Lakes Megalopolis. At the peak of his popularity, in the 1960s, he addressed the US Congress on the future of American cities, his portrait illustrated the front cover of Time magazine, his company Doxiadis Associates was implementing large projects in housing, urban and regional development in more than 40 countries, his Computer Centre (UNIVAC-DACC) was at the cutting edge of the computer technology of his time and at his annual "Delos Symposium" the World Society of Ekistics attracted the worlds foremost thinkers and experts.
In Greece, he faced persistent suspicion and opposition and his recommendations were largely ignored. Having won two large contracts (National Regional Plan for Greece and Master Plan for Athens) from the Greek Junta he was criticised by competitors, after its fall in 1974, portrayed as a friend of the colonels. His visions for Athens airport to be constructed on the adjacent island of Makronissos, where political prisoners were held, together with a bridge, a rail link and a port at Lavrion were never realised.
His influence had already diminished at his death in 1975, as he was unable to speak for the last two years of his life, a victim of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). His company Doxiadis Associates changed owners several times after his death, the heir to his computer company remained but without any links to planning or ekistics. The Delos Symposium was discontinued, and the World Society of Ekistics is today an obscure organisation.
Works about Doxiadis have appeared in the Museum of Brisbane, Milani Gallery, Brisbane and feature in the To Speak of Cities exhibition at the University of Queensland Art Museum.
Awards
His awards and decorations are as follows:
- Greek War Cross, for his services during the war of 1940-41 (1941)
- Order of the British Empire, for his activities in the Greek Resistance and for his collaboration with the Allied Forces, Middle East (1945)
- Order of the Cedar of Lebanon, for his contribution to the development of Lebanon (1958)
- Order of the Phoenix for his contribution to the development of Greece (1960)
- Sir Patrick Abercrombie Prize of the International Union of Architects (1963)
- Cali de Oro (Mexican Gold Medal) Award of the Society of Mexican Architects (1963)
- Award of Excellence, Industrial Designers Society of America (1965)
- Aspen Award for the Humanities (1966)
- Order of the Yugoslav Flag with Golden Wreath (1966)