Lydia Konstantinidou at ICOMOS EPWG Europe Meeting, Maastricht

On March 21–22, Lydia Konstantinidou represented ETSI Architects at the first ICOMOS Emerging Professionals Working Group (EPWG) Europe Meeting & Symposium, held in Maastricht, the Netherlands.

Bringing together emerging voices in heritage from across Europe, the symposium created a platform for dialogue around contemporary challenges, shared practices, and the evolving role of young professionals working within historic environments.

As part of the program, Lydia presented her paper titled:
“Emerging Professionals Beyond Borders: Knowledge Transfer Across Heritage Contexts.”

Her presentation explored the experience of working between different cultural and professional landscapes, reflecting on how knowledge developed through practice abroad can be meaningfully transferred and adapted to local contexts. Drawing from her own trajectory between Belgium and Greece, Lydia highlighted both the opportunities and challenges of navigating diverse approaches to heritage, construction, and design.

Central to the presentation were two ETSI Architects projects:
Teloneio Kardamyli and Kalderimi Pigi.

Through these case studies, Lydia shared the studio’s approach to restoration, where traditional craftsmanship and local construction techniques are not treated as nostalgic references, but as active and relevant tools within contemporary architectural practice. The projects opened a broader discussion on the role of craft today, particularly its capacity to inform sustainable, context-driven interventions that respect both material and cultural continuity.

Her contribution reinforced the importance of knowledge exchange across borders, while also underlining the value of grounding architectural practice in local expertise, materials, and ways of building.

The symposium marked an important moment for connection, reflection, and future collaboration among emerging professionals working in heritage across Europe.