Restoration of neoclassical facades
The characteristics of Neoclassical architecture include stability, solidity, and grandeur, stemming from a desire to create a world that is pure, simple, and majestic, corresponding to the classical era. These buildings are distinguished by monochrome, clean surfaces with linear decorations and minimal embossed elements, gables, free colonnades, and other details found in ancient classical temples.
Neoclassical buildings are typically tall, with each floor being more than 4 meters high, featuring a symmetrical floor plan, symmetrical placement of windows, tall columns, generally Doric but sometimes Ionic, and often ending in triangular gables. With the establishment of the Greek state, settlements began to grow and expand beyond the walls of the fortresses, with Greece being built in a neoclassical manner. This model strongly influenced everything, and those who had traveled, such as merchants and ship owners, began to build neoclassical homes on the islands.
My first encounter with the spirit and elegance of neoclassical buildings was during my studies at A.T.E.S. (former Doxiadis) Art and Design School in Athens. We made imprints of neoclassical buildings in the Plaka area near the Acropolis, and I was fascinated by their richness and pluralism.
Many years later, I was thrilled when the owners of one of the few buildings with neoclassical characteristics on Paros asked me to restore it for them. I read extensively and traveled to Syros, where one can find a vast array of Greek neoclassicism, to study more about them. Eventually, I felt ready to undertake the task, and I was fortunate to find a group of skilled plaster craftsmen who knew the job from their years of experience working in Athens. We successfully completed the restoration, and last year, we completed the fourth one. I hope to continue restoring more neoclassical buildings in the two main market streets of Parikia, the capital of Paros.
