This week, The Usonian travels to Cuba.
Learn about Aaron Hamburger’s new historical novel, Hotel Cuba, which tells a remarkable true story of immigration, in this latest edition of The Usonian Interviews.
Thank you for reading!
Author: Harrison
Writer, Runner, and Reader.
New article in Ekistics and the New Habitat
In November 2011, the house of C.A. Doxiadis at Porto Rafti was demolished, part of the Apollonio community the architect built at the end of his life as a recreation of a traditional Cycladic island village. Perhaps the architect’s greatest work was destroyed.
I have written a brief description of the incident, as well as a description of my biographical project, that has been published in a special issue of Ekistics and the New Habitat. The issue is dedicated to the memory of Panayis Psomopoulos, a significant figure in the history of ekistics, “the science of human settlements” created by Doxiadis in the 1950s and 1960s. The new Ekistics journal is a successor to the original publication founded by Doxiadis.
You can find the article behind the paywall of the journal website. Below is the reference and DOI.
Blackman, H. (2022). The Demolition at Porto Rafti: Retracing Doxiadis’ Remarkable Life and Contested Legacy. [Special Issue] Ekistics-related research – A Critical Approach to the Ekistics Legacy. Ekistics and the New Habitat, 82(1), 91-94. https://doi.org/10.53910/26531313-E2022821464.
In the weeks to come I will also be writing about the Porto Rafti house in The World Planner, the Doxiadis-themed section of The Usonian newsletter.
Thank you, as always, for reading.
Read “The language of crisis” in The Usonian
This week, The Usonian presents a throwback piece of reporting, now an historical testament to a moment in the Mediterranean migration crisis.
Thanks for reading.
Read “In Solidarity” in The Usonian
This week in The Usonian, learn more about the Writers Strike in Hollywood, and the existential importance of the effort for the writing profession.
Thank you for reading!
Read “Salamis, city of revolt” in The Usonian
This week in The Usonian, we return to Famagusta, Cyprus, to take a look at the spectacular, classical ruins of Salamis.
You can find the article here. Thanks for reading!
Read “The Usonian Interview, No. 17: Ioanna Theocharopoulou on ‘Builders, Housewives, and the Construction of Modern Athens'”
This week in The Usonian, I’m thrilled to share this interview with architect and architectural historian Ioanna Theocharopoulou about her revelatory book on the urban form of modern Athens, a work recently adapted as a documentary film. Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to subscribe to The Usonian!
Read “A hundred years an architect” in The Usonian
Five years ago I had the extraordinary opportunity to interview Greek architect Athanasios Hadjopoulos, then 98 years old. Though frail, Hadjopoulos was razor-sharp, and he regaled me with tales of his international experiences with Le Corbusier, Oscar Niemeyer, C.A. Doxiadis, and Frank Lloyd Wright. This is the story of that encounter, which I am so pleased to share with you now [read it here].
The essay forms the second installment of my newsletter series The World Planner, about the life and times of global architect C.A. Doxiadis. Thanks for reading, and if this topic interests you, please consider subscribing!
Read “The World Planner” in The Usonian
I’m launching a new subset of my newsletter devoted to stories from my longtime research of Greek architect and planner C.A. Doxiadis.
Learn more about the project here, featuring a glimpse at Doxiadis’ CBS interview with Mike Wallace on the island of Delos (the birthplace of Apollo), on the eve of the first moon landing.
Read “The Garfield Memorial in Cleveland” in The Usonian
This week, The Usonian travels to Cleveland to uncover the story of a Neo-Byzantine monument to a forgotten American president.
You can find the post here. Thanks for reading!
Read “The devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria” in The Usonian
The earthquake in Turkey and Syria has led to a heartbreaking, humanitarian disaster in the region. Because I write a lot about this part of the world, I decided to write a little about the cultural background of Gaziantep and how you can support relief efforts in the two countries.
Read the post here.
Harrison Blackman 