Sketches by Greek architect Alexandros Tombazis

a sketch of the The Church of the Holy Trinity at the Sanctuary of Fatima, Portugal

The Church of the Holy Trinity at the Sanctuary of Fatima, Portugal. This sketch by Alexandros Tombazis depicts the interior of the vast church he built with local architect Paula Santos to accommodate the thousands of pilgrims that flock to Portugal's Sanctuary of Fatima each year. Religious buildings, he says, are among his favourite commissions. 'Functionality in churches plays a role, of course, but much less so than in other projects. One has to focus on the atmosphere.' The church was completed in 2007

(Image credit: press)

By Ellie Stathaki

last updated 11 October 2022

in Features

Alexandros Tombazis may have entered his eighth decade but, as we showed in our September issue, the Greek architect and eco-pioneer shows no signs of slowing down. He heads a 60-strong office in Athens and leads about 20 realised and conceptual projects per year. With more than 800 projects under his belt - about 300 of them built - and at least 110 prizes gained in competitions, he is one of Greece's most prominent and successful living architects. Less known about Tombazis, however, are his skills as an artist. As he travels the globe, he is continually sketching, painting and taking photographs. Here he shows us a series of his energetic architectural drawings.

**The Church of the Holy Trinity at the Sanctuary of Fatima, Portugal**
A photograph of the completed interior, filled with pilgrims

A sketch of the Church of the Holy Trinity at the Sanctuary of Fatima, Portugal — Sketches of varying views of the exterior

**Helios 1, Greece**
A sketch of Tombazis 1970s Peloponnese retreat - the first house in Greece to use active solar technology. Set on a steep slope, the L-shaped house, with an open plan kitchen, living and dining area, and children’s bedrooms accessible by a set of playful wooden ladders, was designed around the north-facing views. The brick structure, half set into the slope, has a wooden frame and partial lead cladding.

Watercolor painting of Helios 4, Greece — **Helios 4, Greece**
A sketch of Tombazis’ more recent house for his daughter’s family, also on the Peloponnese plot. Although it adheres to similar eco-friendly principles to the first – with solar panels and a solar chimney that forms part of a natural air circulation system – it follows a markedly different aesthetic. The exposed concrete, geometric composition is dominated by cascading, planted roofs. An advocate of a bespoke, site-specific design approach, Tombazis explains: ‘I don’t think an architect should design instantly recognisable projects. Every work needs to start from a blank page.’

Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).