Architecture entered my life long before I understood exactly what it meant. From my school years I knew this was what I wanted to do, even though I came from a family with no connection to the field and had no clear picture of the profession. I was captivated by the idea that there exists a place where logic and creativity meet. When I was admitted to the Polytechnic, I arrived with enthusiasm and a willingness to test myself, not yet knowing how demanding — yet how defining — this journey would prove to be.

At the school I learned many things, but above all I learned collaboration. How to work in a team, how to disagree constructively, how to defend an idea while at the same time re-examining it. Our professors stood not in opposition to us but beside us. I distinctly remember the phrase: “composition never ends — you must learn to put your pencil down.” Others told us they look at their own works years later and would want to change them. That honesty about the process taught us humility and a constant spirit of inquiry.
Composition became for me a deeply experiential process. The insistence on detail and the difficulty of knowing when to stop were lessons in maturity. At the same time, through professors who spoke to us about the “ethics of composition,” I learned that architecture is not only an idea but also a responsibility — towards the work, towards the people who build it, even towards the construction site itself. We were told that through a drawing you can earn the respect of an entire site crew. That sense of consistency and integrity remains a core reference point for me to this day.

During my years at the school I also met the person I would share my life with — Florian Liakos. We shared the same passion, each in our own way, and together with our partner Alexis Visvinis we continued after graduation through a difficult yet creative period. Architectural competitions became the natural continuation of that experience — collective work, perseverance and dedication. Nine years later, with our own practice FIORE Architects, I recognise that the way we work has its roots in the Polytechnic: in collaboration, in creative tension, and in the belief that composition is a continuous process of evolution.