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C. A. Doxiadis | |
|---|---|
 Doxiadis teaching the principles of ekistics | |
| Born | (1913-05-14)14 May 1913 |
| Died | 28 June 1975(1975-06-28) (aged 62) Athens, Greece |
| Occupations |
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| Children | Apostolos K. Doxiadis |
| Practice | Doxiadis Associates |
| Buildings | Teacher–Student Centre, University of Dhaka (Bangladesh) |
| Projects | Islamabad (Pakistan) |
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Constantinos A. Doxiadis[a] (14 May 1913 – 28 June 1975), often cited asC. A. Doxiadis, was a Greekarchitect andurban planner. During the 1960s, he was the lead architect and planner ofIslamabad, which was to serve as the new capital city ofPakistan. He was later known as the father ofekistics, which concerns the multi-aspectual science of human settlements.[2]
Doxiadis is the father of "ekistics", which concerns the science ofhuman settlements, including regional, city, community planning and dwelling design.[2] 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[dubious –discuss]. 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 termentopia, coming from theGreek words εν ("in") and τόπος ("place").
In the 1960s and 1970s, urban planner and architect Constantinos Doxiadis authored books, studies, and reports including those regarding the growth potential of theGreat Lakes Megalopolis.[3] 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 ofTime 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 theGreek 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 ofMakronissos, where political prisoners were held, together with a bridge, a rail link and a port atLavrion were never realised.[citation needed]
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 ofamyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).[4] 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.[citation needed]
Works about Doxiadis have appeared in theMuseum of Brisbane, Milani Gallery, Brisbane and feature in theTo Speak of Cities exhibition at theUniversity of Queensland Art Museum.[5][6]
One of his best-known town planning works isIslamabad. Designed as a new city it was fully realised, unlike many of his other proposals in already existing cities, where shifting political and economic forces did not allow full implementation of his plans. The plan for Islamabad separates cars and people, allows easy and affordable access to public transport and utilities, and permits low-cost gradual expansion and growth without losing the human scale of his "communities".
InRiyadh, Doxiadis reoriented the city on a southwest-northeast axis, rendering "the planned city... similar to an immense mosque facing Mecca."[7] His work was also part of thearchitecture event in theart competition at the1936 Summer Olympics.[8]
His awards and decorations are as follows:[citation needed]
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