Alex Protopappas
Curriculum vitae
Alexandros Dimosthenis Protopappas is currently a PhD candidate at the Institute for the History and Theory of Architecture (gta) at the Chair of Prof. Maarten Delbeke.
He received his Diploma in Architecture from Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH), where he gained expertise on Islamic architecture/urbanism and the architecture of totalitarian regimes of the early 20th-century. In 2016, Alex completed his MAS program at gta ETHZ with a thesis on the Soviet architect Ivan Leonidov and the relationship of his ‘constructivist’ work to the Russo-byzantine tradition and the Orthodox icon in particular.
His doctoral project expands these concerns by studying the broader reception/appropriation of the Middle Ages in the Russian/Soviet and German-speaking avant-garde of the early 20th-century, based on a case study of Bruno Taut’s Alpine Architektur and Ivan Leonidov’s Sun City folios, as well as the analysis of ‘utopian’ writings from the architects’ immediate milieu.
His research interests relate to the historiography of the 20th-century avant-garde and the exploration of the romantic roots of modernism, as well as the legitimation of utopian architecture as a sociocultural practice.
Alex has worked in architectural offices in Greece and Switzerland, in the organization of art exhibitions, and as a field expert for academic excursions. He has contributed to the co-authored ETH publication “Städtebau als politische Kultur. Der Architekt Hans Bernoulli als Theoretiker” and is currently preparing the following articles: “The architecture of Ivan Leonidov between Orthodox tradition and avant-garde art” and “The Monument to the Third International: a modern icon."
He received his Diploma in Architecture from Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH), where he gained expertise on Islamic architecture/urbanism and the architecture of totalitarian regimes of the early 20th-century. In 2016, Alex completed his MAS program at gta ETHZ with a thesis on the Soviet architect Ivan Leonidov and the relationship of his ‘constructivist’ work to the Russo-byzantine tradition and the Orthodox icon in particular.
His doctoral project expands these concerns by studying the broader reception/appropriation of the Middle Ages in the Russian/Soviet and German-speaking avant-garde of the early 20th-century, based on a case study of Bruno Taut’s Alpine Architektur and Ivan Leonidov’s Sun City folios, as well as the analysis of ‘utopian’ writings from the architects’ immediate milieu.
His research interests relate to the historiography of the 20th-century avant-garde and the exploration of the romantic roots of modernism, as well as the legitimation of utopian architecture as a sociocultural practice.
Alex has worked in architectural offices in Greece and Switzerland, in the organization of art exhibitions, and as a field expert for academic excursions. He has contributed to the co-authored ETH publication “Städtebau als politische Kultur. Der Architekt Hans Bernoulli als Theoretiker” and is currently preparing the following articles: “The architecture of Ivan Leonidov between Orthodox tradition and avant-garde art” and “The Monument to the Third International: a modern icon."
