Selection in a Nationwide Competition: Amiras, Viannos Memorial (1992)

In October 1992, the proposal by sculptor Antonis Pavlakis, in collaboration with architects K. Kyriakou and E. Chatzitzani, was selected in the nationwide competition organised by the community of Amiras, Viannos, in the Prefecture of Heraklion, for the creation of a major memorial work.

The memorial is dedicated to the memory of 450 local residents executed during the German Occupation. Work began on a 1,000-square-metre outdoor site outside Amiras to implement the selected proposal, completing an existing, earlier memorial through sculpture and architecture.

According to the proposal, the sculptural concept and form, extending across a large composition in “parolithos” stone, are in complete harmony with the architectural design and layout of the site. The arrangement and materials achieve complete balance and continuity with the surrounding environment.

The collaboration between sculptor A. Pavlakis and the architects successfully brings together aesthetics, psychological resonance and composition, linking the work to the historical event it commemorates and to the site’s practical use by visitors.

Taking all these factors into account, the judging panel — comprising sculptors from the Chamber of Fine Arts of Greece, architects from the Heraklion TYDK and the president of the community of Amiras — found the proposal worthy. It gives full weight to an act of remembrance commensurate with the great sacrifice of the 450 Cretans at Amiras, Heraklion.