Ioannis Despotopoulos ( el, Ιωάννης Δεσποτόπουλος, 7 January 1903 – 1992), also known as Jan Despo, was a Greek

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

born in

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prom ...

(modern Izmir),

Aidin Vilayet The Vilayet of Aidin or Aydin ( ota, ولايت ايدين, translit=Vilâyet-i Aidin, french: vilayet d'Aïdin) also known as Vilayet of Smyrna or Izmir after its administrative centre, was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

Biography

Despotopoulos was born in Smyrna,

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

in 1903; soon after he was born, his family moved to the island of

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mast ...

where he grew up. He moved to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

to study

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

. He was enrolled student at the National Technical University of Athens (N.T.U.A.) until he quit and left to study at the

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 20 ...

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

. He then moved to

Leibniz University Hannover Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover (german: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität), also known as the University of Hannover, is a public research university located in Hanover, Germany. Founded on 2 May 1831 as Higher Vocational Sc ...

, graduating from there in 1927. It was 1930 when he returned to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

. By 1943 (during the occupation of Greece by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

), Ioannis Despotopoulos became professor at the School of Architecture at the N.T.U.A. In 1946, he was discharged from his position at the university and he moved to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

for a period between the years 1947 and 1961. During his stay in Sweden, he worked as an architect and also taught at the

Polytechnic Institute An institute of technology (also referred to as: technological university, technical university, university of technology, technological educational institute, technical college, polytechnic university or just polytechnic) is an institution of te ...

s of

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

and Goeteborg. He returned to Greece in 1961 and appointed immediately as a professor at the N.T.U.A. until 1968 when he retired. He died in 1992.

Major works

* Church of the Magaziotissa on Chios * Municipal baths of Chios * Sotiria Sanatorium, Athens * Tripoli Sanatorium * Asvestohori Hospital * Chios Movie Theatre *Akadimia Platonos School Complex *

Athens Conservatoire The Athens Conservatoire () is the oldest educational institution for the performing arts in modern Greece. It was founded in 1871 by the non-profit organization Music and Drama Association. History Initially, the musical instruments that were ta ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Despotopoulos, Ioannis 1903 births 1992 deaths Bauhaus alumni People from İzmir People from Aidin vilayet Smyrniote Greeks Greeks from the Ottoman Empire National Technical University of Athens alumni Academic staff of the National Technical University of Athens 20th-century Greek architects Greek expatriates in Germany Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Greece Greek expatriates in Sweden