Nikos Valsamakis

Nikos Valsamakis ( Greek Νίκος Βαλσαμάκης , born July 17, 1924 in Athens ) is a Greek architect of functionalist modernism. He became famous for his spectacular villa designs in the 1960s. In 2001 he was appointed professor honoris causa by the Polytechnion on the 50th anniversary of his professional start .

Life

Valsamakis (actually: Valsamachi ) is a noble family in the Ionian Islands. Nikos Valsamakis grew up as the son of a shipowner family from Kefalonia mainly in Athens, where his father Andreas Valsamakis and his mother Penelope Lazarides lived for a time. Valsamakis is the Graecization of the name Valsamachi.

Nikos Valsamakis was first married to Martha Deligiannis and from 1965 to his colleague, the architect Maria Serdaris.

Valsamakis studied architecture at the Athens Polytechnic from 1945 to 1947 and from 1950 to 1953. His first building was the Semitelou 5 apartment building in Athens, which was strongly influenced by his role model, Giuseppe Terragni . The use of quarry stone on the facade was unusual for this period. The Ermou / Plateia Kapnikareas 9 office building in Athens followed. The most famous buildings are the villas designed by Valsamakis such as the Villa Lanaras in Anavyssos from 1963. His hotel buildings are characterized by a pronounced modularity , such as the Amalia Hotel Delphi from 1963, the White Rocks Hotel near Argostoli 1967–70 and the Amalia Hotel in Olympia 1977. The Hotel Amalia in Nafplio already shows postmodern features and is regarded as less successful.

Buildings (selection)

Apartment block Semitelou 5 in Athens, 1951
Amalia Hotel, Delphi 1963
Villa Lanaras, Anavyssos 1963
White Rocks Hotel, near Argostoli 1967–70
Amalia Hotel, Archea Olymbia 1977
Amalia Hotel, Nafplio
Robinson Club Daidalos, Kos 1988-91
Hotel Meteora, Kalambaka

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Valsamakis, Nikos
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Valsamakis, Nicos
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Greek architect
DATE OF BIRTH	July 17, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH	Athens