Director
The Laboratory of Urban Design (LUD) is one of the research units of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, School of Architecture at the National Technical University of Athens. It was established in 1995 (government gazette: FEK 32A/14.2.1995). LUD’s first director, Joseph Stefanou, obtained his doctoral degree at the University of Strasbourg and collaborated with Abraham Moles, a French communication theorist, engineer of electrical engineering and acoustics, and doctor of physics and philosophy.
LUD’s research activities are on areas of urban design and planning, i.e. planning of structured space (built and non-built) through spatial, sociological, anthropological, psychological approaches which allow a more complex and substantial study of spatial issues. LUD is investigating challenging problems in the relation between humans and their geographic space, identity and carrying capacity of a place, urban morphology and landscape as well as their representations.
Among the LUD’s objectives are the promotion of knowledge to students, scientists, urban planners and professionals, organization of interdisciplinary and interuniversity conferences, seminars, workshops and lectures, and publication of research outcomes.
The laboratory has strong cooperation with other research centers, universities and scientists worldwide. The Laboratory of Urban Design is currently headed by Professor Helene Haniotou and has one Post-Doctoral researcher and seven Doctoral students.
