Demetre Anastassakis

Demetre Basile Anastassakis (April 23, 1948 – July 27, 2019) was a Greek-Brazilian architect who worked mainly in the fields of social housing and urban planning. He was president of the Rio de Janeiro section of the Brazilian Institute of Architects (IAB) from 1994 to 1995 and national president of the same institution from 2004 to 2006. He received the distinction of Architect of the Year awarded by the Brazilian National Federation of Architects and Urbanists in 2006.

Biography Demetre was born in Athens, Greece, in 1948. He moved with his family to Nova Iguaçu, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, at the age of 8, in 1956. He graduated in architecture from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in 1973, obtaining a postgraduate degree in urban and regional planning from COPPE in 1975. He was arrested during the Brazilian military dictatorship for his involvement with the Communist Party of Brazil. Due to his origin, the architect was also known by the nickname of "Grego" (Greek).

Professional career As an architect, Demetre worked with his own practice and also founded and led a collective of architects and urbanists called Co.Opera.Ativa.

For his contributions to architecture, he received the Architect of the Year award from the Brazilian National Federation of Architects and Urbanists (FNA) in 2006. During this period, he was appointed head of the Brazilian delegation to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) meeting in Istanbul.

Demetre chaired the national IAB from 2004 to 2006, becoming a lifelong member of its Superior Council thereafter.

Notable projects

Among the notable projects he worked on are:

Novos Alagados (Rio de Janeiro); Historical Center of Salvador (PAR-BID Monumenta); Cidade de Deus (Rio de Janeiro); Bento Ribeiro Dantas (Rio de Janeiro); Barro Vermelho (Rio de Janeiro); Complexo da Maré (Rio de Janeiro); Retrofit Asdrúbal do Nascimento (SP); Moradas da Saúde in Porto do Rio de Janeiro; PAR Jacutinga (Mesquita-RJ);