With the widespread arrival of Artificial Intelligence, digital space emerges as the primary arena of our collective lived experience. Architecture—long tethered to material production and physical permanence—has undergone a decisive epistemic shift. In the last five years, architectural education has rapidly recalibrated toward computational thinking, algorithmic design, and synthetic environments, fundamentally redefining the architect’s role: no longer solely a master builder or craftsman, but a choreographer of spatial experience across hybrid, virtual, and networked realities.
Within this context, the architectural model—once the privileged mediator between idea and construction—has been largely displaced by immersive three-dimensional simulations, parametric environments, and real-time rendering. Space is no longer quantified exclusively in meters or cubic centimeters, but in pixels and vectors. Representation has ceased to be a secondary act; it has become the project itself.
The works gathered in this retrospective reflect a generation of architects for whom the city is as much a digital construct as a physical one. Urban landmarks, collective memories, folk myths, and speculative futures are recomposed into high-resolution proposals that operate beyond conventional constraints of feasibility or permanence. These projects do not seek immediate construction. Instead, they mobilize the internet as an expanded public realm—activating participation, feedback, and authorship through interactive platforms, virtual environments, and shared digital narratives.
What emerges is a renewed understanding of unbuilt architecture as a critical field of experimentation. Freed from the imperatives of capital, regulation, and gravity, these works foreground architecture as a cultural and cognitive practice—one capable of testing new spatial ethics, alternative social contracts, and emergent modes of (co)habitation.
Between 2020 and 2025, unbuilt architecture has asserted itself as a site where ideas are actualized, if not in concrete and steel, then in the collective imagination. In doing so, it repositions architecture as an evolving system of relations—visionary, participatory, and state-of-the-art.
The (2020–2025) BEST OF: (Unbuilt) Architecture retrospective list by Archisearch features some of the most compelling unbuilt works of the last five years; a generation of projects that redefine architectural authorship through speculation, digital craft, and critical imagination.
2025
Testbed: Hypnagogic Speculations on Pillows | Diploma Thesis by Dionysis Papas
Recognizing architecture’s complicity in an increasingly anxious and hyperactive world, Dionysis Papas in this diploma thesis, is working on how can we respond to the over-mechanization of everyday life? In our daily routines, the rhythms imposed by a society organized around productivity and constant activity force the body to adapt to schedules rarely aligned with its biological clock. By recording a glossary of sleep, and employing technologies and heterogeneous objects, a series of scenarios and artifacts were developed that do not attempt to control or impose sleep, but rather to expose and enhance its experience—encouraging users to reconsider the way they rest and dream.
Project title Testbed: Hypnagogic Speculations on Pillows
Typology Diploma Thesis
Academic semester September 2025
Student Dionysis Papas
Supervisor Katerina Kotzia
Institution University of Ioannina, Faculty of Architecture
Read more here!
Microtopia: assemblages of coexistence and exploration | Diploma Thesis by Maria Aikaterini Freskaki
In this diploma thesis of Maria Ekaterini Frescaki, six point situations/ conditions are the starting point for a study of free places/ sites that could potentially form an organized network of meeting and collectivization of residents.
Project title Microtopia: assemblages of coexistence and exploration
Typology Diploma thesis
Academic semester February 2025
Student Maria Aikaterini Freskaki
Supervisor Dimitris Gourdoukis
Institution Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, department of Architecture
Read more here!
Proposal for the Seafront of ‘Kalamia’ Korinthos – Panhellenic Architectural Design Competition | by Aimilia Karapostoli & Varvara Toura
This proposal for the Seafront of ‘Kalamia’ Korinthos Competition by Aimilia Karapostoli and Varvara Toura, is an attempt to shape a new urban identity linking natural beach forms with Corinth’s heritage, enhancing ecosystem resilience and sustainability.
Project title Proposal for the Seafront of ‘Kalamia’ Korinthos
Typology Panhellenic Architectural Design Competition
Organisation Municipality of Korinthos
Location Corinthos
Year 2024-2025
Architectural study Aimilia Karapostoli, Varvara Toura
Landscape Architecture study Dimitris Giouzepas, Alexandros Mpantogias
Landscape Architect collaborators Athina Papaioannou, Myrto Pediotaki, Maria Ploussou
Read more here!
A WHIMSICAL REUSE: Punta Bianca Suspended | Competition Entry by George Genovezos
George Genovezos’ proposal for the ‘Punta Bianca’ Architectural Competition concerns an architecture of adaptive reuse. The project invites the visitor to observe both the ruin and the surrounding natural landscape, drawing inspiration from the concepts of lightness and suspension. The design focuses on the building, choosing glass and metal as the primary materials, while the exterior landscape is deliberately left untouched.
Project title Punta Bianca Suspended
Typology Proposal for International Architecture Competition
Organiser Terraviva
Status Finalist
Location Agrigento, Italy
Year 2025
Architectural study George Genovezos
Read more here!
2024
Urban garden: cultivation as a medium for gathering and participating | Diploma Thesis by Ioannis Stratikis & Elli Merekoulia
Through the study of creating an urban garden, the diploma thesis “Urban garden: cultivation as a medium for gathering and participating” by Ioannis Stratakis and Elli Merekoulia, explores ways to reconnect the city and its people with nature and cultivation. At the same time, it aims to raise awareness and promote collective participation and action.
The chosen site of study is the area at the foothills of Alopevouni Hill in Athens, where the proposed intervention is designed to act as a filter between the city and the natural landscape of the hill. It extends into the urban fabric and accommodates both the garden and other public uses.
Project title Urban Garden: Cultivation as a medium for gathering and participating
Typology Diploma Thesis
Students Ioannis Stratikis, Elli Merekoulia
Supervisor Vasileios Ghikapeppas
Presentation Date September 2024
Institution National Technical University of Athens, School of Architecture
Read more here!
One line and one circle – Winery in Aidispos, Evia | by FOTIS ZAPANTIOTIS associated architects
FOTIS ZAPANTIOTIS associated architects is designing a winery in Aidipsos, Evia, drawing inspiration from archetypal forms: the line and the circle. The choice of a semi-underground structure serves both as a strategy for integrating the building into the landscape and as a form that supports the winemaking process itself.
Project title Winery in Aidispos
Typology Architecture
Location Aidipsos Evia, Greece
Area 1.450,00 sqm
Status Assignment, Permit
Design year 2024
Architecture FOTIS ZAPANTIOTIS associated architects
Principal architect Fotis Zapantiotis
Design team Zapantiotis Fotis, Zarani Alexandra, Agapaki Maria
Visualization STUDIO TAF
Civil engineer Mavrozoumis Dimitris•
Read more here!
2023
Descent to Lycabettus Hill: A Recreational Space Conceived Through Digital Speleology | Diploma Thesis by Chrysostomos Reizis
Narratives of collapse and urban legends are the theoretical starting points for the synthesis of a recreation center on the hill of Lycabettus. Chrysostomos Reizis’ thesis entitled “Descent to Lycabettus Hill: A Recreational Space Conceived Through Digital Speleology” is a visually intricate blend of urban/URL speleology.
Project title Descent to Lycabettus Hill: A Recreational Space Conceived Through Digital Speleology.
Typology Diploma thesis
Student Chrysostomos Reizis
Supervisor Leonidas Papalampropoulos
Web Design Esto Association
Sound Georgia Kalogeropoulou
Website https://descent-to-lycabettus.github.io/
Presentation Date September 2023
Institution School of Architecture, University of Patras
Read more here!
1-UP: Simulation of a Fantasy (for an island which could be Paxos) | Diploma Thesis by Spiros Anemoyiannis
Spyros Anemogiannis’ thesis takes the form of an adventure video game. Starting from a reflection on his place of origin and developing a personal methodology for synthesizing stimuli and references, the work moves between the imaginary and the real, the material and the dreamlike, the natural and the digital world.
Project title 1-UP: Simulation of a Fantasy (for an island which could be Paxos)
Typology Diploma Thesis
Student Spiros Anemoyiannis
Supervisor Dimitris Frangos
Presentation Date July 2023
Institution Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Architecture
Read more here!
ARchitecture: participatory urban design toolkit | Diploma Thesis by Valia Choulis & Orestis Pronios
In their diploma thesis entitled “ARchitecture: participatory urban design toolkit” Valia Choulis & Orestis Pronios investigate the organization of the participatory process in detail and at multiple levels and present a participatory design toolkit for public space. Three AR (Augmented Reality) mobile phone apps associated with different stages of the open design process act as digital tools – aids for understanding the place, sharing design knowledge, consulting, recording and visualizing user asspirations.
Project title ARchitecture: participatory urban design toolkit
Typology Diploma thesis project
Students Valia Chouli & Orestis Pronios
Supervisor Mattheos Papavasiliou
Presentation Year 2023
Institution School of Architecture, NTUA
Read more here!
“#makepublictrendyagain _ in the Baths of Kythnos” | Diploma Thesis by Evangelos Agatsas & Nancy Karagiannis
In their diploma work #makepublictrendyagain in the Baths of Kythnos, the students Evangelos Agatsas and Nancy Karagiannis, propose a functional hydrotherapy complex, with bath and hotel facilities and move around the development of an economic and energy ecosystem.
Project title “ #makepublictrendyagain _ at Loutra, Kythnos ”
Typology Diploma thesis project
Students Agatsas Evangelos – Karagianni Nancy
Supervisor Iris Lykourgioti
Presentation Date February 2023
Institution School of Architecture, University of Thessaly
Read more here!
D. Stefanakis, E. Koutsioubas, A. Mousmoulidis, F. Giamakou, N. Soulakis, M. Polymenidis, K. Trichias, G. Retsios, Th. Nanas, K. Christodoulou, E. Zanidaki, S. Tsiantou, and S. Giamakos won an Honorable Mention in the open architectural competition for the new Akademia Metro Station.
Honorable mention in the Open “Architectural Ideas Competition for the regeneration of the common area of the wider area of the new AKADIMIAS Metro station” was won by the proposal of Dimitrios Stefanakis – Studio 99, Evangelos Koutsioumpas – nonstatestudio, Athanasios Mousmoulidis – MID Studio, Foteini Giamakou – Giamakos Architects, Nikos Soulakis– S.Ar, Michael Polymenides – SpaceOP, Konstantinos Trichias – LAASTIK, Giannis Retsios, Themis Nanas, Kornilia Christodoulou (Students of Architecture), Eleftheria Zanidaki, Stelina Tsiantou (Landscape Architects), Sotiris Giamakos – Giamakos Architects. The proposal is part of a comprehensive approach for the public spaces of Athens with the urban planning interventions being part of an overall strategic planning. The area of the new “Akademias” station is studied as a “transition point” between the monumental center and the typical residential urban fabric. The proposal expands the intervention area and chooses a vivid architectural writing with many different materials and morphologies.
Project title Proposal for the “Architectural Design Competition for the renovation of the common space and the wider area of the New AKADIMIA Metro Station
Competition Typology Open Architectural Ideas Competition
Organiser ATHENS ANAPLASIS S.A.
Awards Honorable mention
Design Team Dimitrios Stefanakis – Studio 99, Evangelos Koutsioumpas – nonstatestudio, Athanasios Mousmoulidis – MID Studio, Foteini Giamakou – Giamakos Architects, Nikos Soulakis– S.Ar, Michael Polymenides – SpaceOP, Konstantinos Trichias – LAASTIK, Giannis Retsios, Themis Nanas, Kornilia Christodoulou (Students of Architecture), Eleftheria Zanidaki, Stelina Tsiantou (Landscape Architect), Sotiris Giamakos – Giamakos Architects
Urban consultant Commonspace Co-op – Athanasios Andritsos (Architect Engineer – Urban Planner), Ioannis Paraskevopoulos (Rural Surveyor Engineer– Urban Planner), Artemis Koumparelou (Architect Engineer – Geographer)
Transportation consultant POLINDE E.E – Emily Toumpoulidou (Civil Engineer – Transportation Expert)
Collaborators Nikolaos Chatzinikolaou (Civil Engineer), Panagiotis Dionisiou (Mechanical Engineer), Stavros Karapanos (Agronomist), Georgios Zervas (Civil Engineer– Hydraulics Expert), ENVISTA S.A (Environmental Experts), Evangelia Michailidou (Architect – Environmental Expert)
Location Athens, Greece
Read more here!
2022
Varosia. A Handbook for Remembering a Forgotten City | Diploma Thesis by Theiakou Georgia
This thesis, through a manual, aims to explore the city through memories of people who lived in Famagusta 48 years ago, reviving the city again. The image of the city is one of the biggest pressures this city can take. A pressure from residents to revive the image they have of this city. The last memories that have accompanied the refugees for so many years, make it more difficult to overcome this image because it can be seen as abandoning the dream of return.
Project title Varosia. A Handbook for Remembering a Forgotten City
Typology Diploma thesis
Student Theiakou Georgia
Supervisor Gourdoukis Dimitris
Presentation Date July 2022
Institution Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Read more here!
“Civitas Ludum” | Diploma Thesis by Dimitra Bitini & Eleni Eirini Mavridi
The Westworld tv series, which attempts to present a version of the playground of the future, inspired architecture students Dimitra Bitini and Eleni Eirini Mavridi, to explore in an architectural way, the concept of play in the context of the public life of a city. In their diploma thesis “Civitas Ludum”, which was presented at the Department of Architecture of the University of Patras, under the supervision of Professor Leonidas Papalambropoulos, the object of research and design, was the city of Patras, and specifically the areas and places where the chariots are made for the annual carnival that takes place in the city. These enclosed spaces are opened to the public, giving them for the first time the opportunity to observe and participate in the process of building the chariots, attempting to integrate the concept of play into public spaces and the lives of the inhabitants.
Project title Civitas Ludum
Typology Diploma Thesis
Students Dimitra Bitini, Eleni Eirini Mavridi
Supervisor Leonidas Papalampropoulos
Presentation Date March 2022
Institution School of Architecture, University of Patras
Read more here!
Re-mining Giali: a new scenario for the manufactured landscape _ baths and a power production facility | Diploma Thesis by Dimitrios Mitsimponas
The diploma thesis of Dimitrios Mitsimponas concerns the observation of Giali’s landscape, which was drastically transformed by anthropogenic factors. The purpose is to find a new scenario of constructed landscape that utilizes the geothermal energy of the area.
Project title Re-mining Giali: a new scenario for the manufactured landscape _ baths and a power production facility
Typology Diploma thesis
Student Dimitrios Mitsimponas
Supervisor Gavrilou Evelyn
Presentation Year 2022
Institution University of Thessaly, Department of Architecture
Read more here!
Live your (myth) death in Greece | Diploma Thesis by Evangelos Evangelou
Live your myth death in Greece is a constructed scenario, a translation of a survey that explores the complex sociopolitical environment of the Aegean region in Greece. In the year 2030, the refugee crisis is still on, stronger than ever, while tourists have become empathy-free, thirsty for drama and blood and hungry for new, surprising experiences. The global pressures lead the state of Greece to create a new kind of touristic experience, a contemporary version of the bloody shows of the ancient Romans, a live-action reality show that shares a glimpse into the refugee drama. Driven by their will to obtain their visa document, the incoming refugees are relocated to the Archipelago of Dipsa, an island that served as a place of exile in the antiquity, where they become the protagonists of a bloody show, a spectacle which becomes the grand attraction for the new generation of tourism.
Project title Live your myth death in Greece
Typology Diploma thesis
Student Evangelos Evangelou
Supervisor Katerina Kotzia
Presentation Year October 2022
Institution Department of Architecture, University of Ioannina
Read more here!
2021
“Rethinking Bauhaus” Competition Enrty | by Angeliki Tsamouridou & Selena Tsoukala
Angeliki Tsamouridou and Selena Tsoukala took part at the “Bauhaus Campus 2021” Architecture competition and designed a project titled “Rethinking Bauhaus”. The proposal aims to create an urban “magnetic field” that stands as a cultural meeting point in a flexible complex of buildings dedicated to architectural expression.
Competition title Bauhaus Campus 2021
Competition type Architecture Competition for Students
Project title Rethinking Bauhaus
Team Angeliki Tsamouridou, Selena Tsoukala
Date May 2021
Read more here!
LAMINA: object-e by D. Gourdoukis & K. Tryfonidou along with Ch. Tsaousidou, E. Papaspyrou, M. Nestora & G. Antoniadis win 2nd Prize at the open architectural competition “Redesign of Aristotelous Square and Axis”
object-e‘s entry, entitled “Lamina / 2021”, by Dimitris Gourdoukis & Katerina Tryfonidou along with Chrissa Tsaousidou, Eva Papaspyrou, Marina Nestora and Giannis Antoniadis won 2nd prize at the open architectural competition “Redesign of Aristotelous Square and Axis” aiming to reveal the hidden historical past of Thessaloniki while creating urban islands for social contact and communication, places where citizens can bring a part of their private lives into the public space.
Project title Lamina / 2021
Typology Open Architectural Competition “Redesign of Aristotelous Square and Axis”
Awards 2nd prize
Design team object-e | Dimitris Gourdoukis & Katerina Tryfonidou with Chrissa Tsaousidou, Eva Papaspyrou, Marina Nestora, Giannis Antoniadis
Read more here!
2020
The Great Staircase: Metropolitan Park in Hymettus | Diploma Τhesis by Filippos Lagos
Diploma thesis by Filippos Lagos, entitled “The Great Staircase: Metropolitan Park in Hymettus”, aims to create a vertical connection between the city of Athens and the top of mountain Hymettus while aspiring to change the view of Attica΄s residents related to nature and the problems that have arisen through the extensive use and waste of the natural landscape.
Project title The Great Staircase: Metropolitan Park in Hymettus
Typology Diploma Thesis
Student Filippos Lagos
Supervisor Evelyn Gavrilou
Presentation Date February 2020
Institution Department of Architecture, University of Thessaly
Read more here!
The inland of Megalopolis: olive grove’s fruit | Diploma Thesis by Christos Voutsas & Thomas Gkikas
Diploma thesis by Christos Voutsas & Thomas Gkikas attempts the organisation of Elaionas region in the greater area of Athens using as main design tool the principle of the garden which functions as the invisible grid that rearranges the space of Elaionas by revealing the characteristics of the place and the relationship of the city with nature.
Project title The inland of Megalopolis: olive grove’s fruit
Typology Diploma thesis
Students Christos Voutsas, Thomas Gkikas
Supervisors Tilemachos Andrianopoulos, Athanasios Spanomaridis
Presentation Date July 2020
Institution Collaboration between Schools of Architecture of National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) & University of Patras
Read more here!
Islands of Urbanities: the case of Varosha | Diploma Thesis by Georgia Maria Drakou
Diploma thesis by Georgia Maria Drakou, entitled “Islands of Urbanities: the case of Varosha”, refers to the idea of the city as an archipelago but also as an independent and autonomous inhabitable cell.
Project title Islands of Urbanities: the case of Varosha
Typology Diploma Thesis
Student Georgia Maria Drakou
Supervisor Yiannis Aesopos
Presentatio Date July 2020
Institution School of Architecture, University of Patras
Read more here!
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