Architect Christos Floros of Athens, Greece says that the city is constantly facing "architectural cleansing" as war, rapid population growth, and greed sweep away historic buildings.
Reporter Mary Newsom is at a conference in Athens about the urban issues facing the Greek city. Floros spoke at the event about the many eras of demolition and ignorance about historic preservation that faces Athens:
"The city has had numerous eras in which the buildings of previous eras were simply wiped away. The most recent came with rapid population growth of the 20th century. Most of the 19th Century neoclassical buildings (which had, themselves, wiped away Ottoman and Byzantine architecture) were demolished. Much of the city is now vaguely Modernist-style buildings of little delight or distinction."
FULL STORY: Memory, Culture, and Architectural Cleansing
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