Redefining and Redesigning Modernity in the COVID-19 Era: The Case of Xenia Hotels in Greece

Abstract

The decades after second world war between 1950 and 1980 were characterized as the years of the great development for Greece and they were accompanied as expected, by a rapid urbanization and construction booming. During the same period the Greek society transformed socially, economically with women entering dynamically in the working class and tourism numbers rising exponentially. During the same period the modern movement in architecture expressed in the most accurate ay the emphasis on functionality, simplicity and flexibility in the forms and has been a landmark for designers ever since. The Greek National Tourism Organization commissioned at the same time the Xenia project, which included a number of modern hotels with emphasis on the location and architectural excellence. In present times societies and countries globally are called upon to face yet another challenge which is related to public health and safety and provide sustainable resilient options for the future. The main aim of this research is to explore the potential for modern buildings to reform and reshape in order to respond to the new challenge. The modern form is by definition flexible and sets the needs of the user or in this case the tourist, as a priority for the design. The challenge of this paper is to redefine the flow and functional diagrams of characteristic building of the modern period in order to respond to the post COVID 19 needs and protocols. For the purpose of this study 3 typologies of Xenia Hotels in Greece were chosen as characteristic examples of the modern period architecture in Greece. Their functional diagrams were redesigned to comply with the new emerging hygiene needs and the implication are discussed.