Architecture nominee

Athens is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world – yet it is quintessentially a metropolis of the 20th century. With the earliest records dating back to 1600 BC, it is the oldest capital in Europe, with a rich archeological heritage. At the same time, Athens represents one of the most extensive post-war urban sprawls in Southern Europe. A key feature defining Athen’s cityscape today is the juxtaposition of ancient, Ottoman and neoclassical architecture with modernist concrete.

The polikatoikia-dominated cityscape that characterises modern Athens was driven by a population growing from a little more than 100,000 at the turn of the 20th century to 3.7 million today. One out of three Greeks now lives in the city of Athens or in its suburbs.

POLIS is a large-scale visual study and book project dedicated to modern-day Athens. It explores and visually analyses the complex architectural layers the city is composed of.

Christoph Montebelli is a German and Austrian photography artist and writer working between Europe and Africa. He holds degrees from the universities of Rome and Yale, where he studied as a Fulbright scholar. His photographic work, which explores the visual impact of urbanisation and globalisation, in particular in Africa and the Mediterranean, has been exhibited amongst others in London, Casablanca and Berlin.