Technion Institute of Technology Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning
Post-Doc Research in Architecture supported by a grant from the Ally Kaufmann Fellowship
2018
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2018
Bar Ilan University and Center for Urbanity, Bat Yam
Diploma - Public Participation Management
2013
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2013
Israel Standards Institute
Diploma - Green Building Assessor
2008
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2008
Columbia University - Ford Motor Company International Fellowship
Diploma for Community Leadership
1995
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1996
Ben Gurion University - J. Blaustein Desert Architecture Unit
Research on passive solar retrofit in existing housing blocks supported by a grant from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel and the Ministry of Education of Greece
Selected Portfolio
1986 - today
Architectural Sketching and Travel Journals
Portfolio of sketchbooks, exhibitions and sketching courses
1993 - today
The Synagogues of Greece
Portfolio of projects, media, publications
2003 - today
Elias Messinas Architect
Portfolio of projects
Research Fields
SINCERE EU Horizon Program
The second life of modern period architecture: Resilient and adaptive renovation towards net-zero carbon heritage buildings.
Cultural Heritage: The Synagogues of Greece - History and Architecture
Architectural traces of Jewish worship and memory in Thrace. Development of a hybrid digital tool for a monument documentation and highlighting through time and place.
Architectural traces and places of memory of Jewish worship in Thrace: Innovative applications of digital technology and entrepreneurship for their documentation & highlighting
Preservation of Synagogues in Greece: using digital tools to represent lost heritage
Plastic Waste to End-User 3D Printing
Leverage cutting-edge technology, materials science, and practical application to revolutionize recycling processes for 3D printing materials and 3D printing of new products.
Public Participation in Decision Making in Urban Planning and Environmental Policy
Participatory and Sustainable Design and Public Participation
Public Participation in Urban Planning: the City of Jerusalem
Teaching Areas
Core Ecological Issues - Master Degree Program, Faculty of Design
Final Project in Design Studies - Interior Design Department, Faculty of Design
Messinas, E. with Vassiliadis, I., (1997), The Synagogues of Salonika and Veroia, Gavrielides Editions Greece,
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Meir, I., Messinas, E. , (1998), Retrofit of existing housing stock: a feasibility case study, Maldonado, E., Yannas, S. (eds.), Environmentally Friendly Cities, Proceedings of PLEA'98, Lisbon, Portugal,
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Messinas, E., (1999), Late Synagogues of Greece Origins and Architecture the Relationship between Greek Synagogues and Medieval Spanish Synagogues the Bimah, Jewish Studies at the Turn of the Twentieth Century, Brill,
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Messinas, E., (1998), The synagogues of Greece, their architecture and relationship to the urban fabric and the jewish quarter: Comparative study of the history and architecture of the synagogues of northern Greece, their location in the Jewish quarter, and their presence in the urban fabric, from the fifteenth to the twentieth century, Doctoral Thesis, National Technical University of Athens,
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Messinas, E., (2011), The synagogues of Greece: A Study of Synagogues in Macedonia and Thrace, Bloch Publishing Company Inc., New York and Bowman & Cody Academic Publisher,
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Messinas, E. and Price, D. (ed.), (2016), ECOWEEK Book#1: 50 Voices for Sustainability, ECOWEEK,
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Messinas, E. and Kouinoglou, D., (2021), ECOWEEK Book#2: 15 Paths to Sustainability: From Innovation to Social Design, ECOWEEK,
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Messinas, E., (2021), I SYNAGOGI, Infognomon Editions, Greece,
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Messinas, E., (2022), The synagogues of Greece: A Study of Synagogues in Macedonia and Thrace: With Architectural Drawings of All Synagogues in Greece - Foreword by Samuel D. Gruber, Kindle Direct Publishing,
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Messinas, E. with Vassiliadis, I., (2022), The Synagogue of Veroia - Foreword by Samuel D. Gruber, Kindle Direct Publishing,
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Messinas, E., (2023), Kahal Shalom: The Synagogue of Kos, Ippokratis, Greece,
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Messinas, E., (2023), TO SYNAGOI, Infognomon Editions, Greece,
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Messinas, E., (2024), TO KAL, Infognomon Editions, Greece ,
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Messinas, E., (2025), The Synagogue, Infognomon Editions, Greece and Kindle Direct Publishing,
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Messinas, E., (2022), Public Participation: a sham procedure or a serious possibility and under what conditions?, International experience and rules, 10th Conference MEKDE-EMP,
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Messinas, E., (2025), Preservation of Synagogues in Greece: using digital tools to represent lost heritage, MDPI / Preprints ID,
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Messinas, E., (2025), Digital Preservation of Synagogues in Greece: combining high and low tech to bring lost synagogues back to life, CHNT 29 and Icomos Austria Proceedings,
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Experiences
2005-2022 Founding Chairman - Managing Director of Environmental NGO for Sustainable Design, NGO ECOWEEK, Aegina, Greece
2003-present ELIAS MESSINAS ARCHITECT URBAN PLANNER AND CONSULTANT ON SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
Grants & Awards
HIT - Student project competition “Green Prize” by Holon Institute of Technology Green Campus. Tutor in design studio and competition presentation. 3nd Prize. 2023.
HIT - Israel Green Building Council Student Project Competition “Low Carbon Future”. Tutor in design studio and competition presentation. 2nd Prize. 2021.
Galenica SA, Greece - Publication grant towards the book Messinas, E. Kouinoglou, D. (ed.). ECOWEEK The Book #2: 12 Paths to Sustainability. 2021.
Tallberg/Eliasson Global Leadership Prize - Nomination by the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem, Israel for global leadership prize. 2020.
Interior Design Greece - Prize for the interior renovation of the expansion of the Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki, Greece. 2020.
EU Prize for Cultural Heritage Europa Nostra Awards - Candidate: Architectural project Restoration of the Central Synagogue Monastiriotes, Thessaloniki, Greece nominated for EU Prize. 2018.
KK’L Call for Projects, Israel - Restoration of the Public Gardens of the historic Nature Museum in Jerusalem. 2018.
Goethe Institute Thessaloniki - Publication grant towards the book Messinas, E. Price, D. (ed.). ECOWEEK The Book #1: 50 Voices for Sustainability. 2015.
Bienalle di Venezia 10, Venice, Italy - Participation in catalogue of Greek participation titled: ‘The Aegean: a dispersed city’. 2006.
Sarfatty – Safra Foundation, Brazil - Publication grant towards the book ‘The synagogues of Greece’ (Bloch, 2011). 1999.
Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, New York, NY, USA - Publication grant towards the book ‘The synagogues of Greece’ (Bloch, 2011). 1999.
Samuel Kress Foundation, New York, NY, USA - Publication grant towards the book ‘The Synagogues of Salonika and Veroia’ (1997). 1996.
Graham Foundation, Chicago, IL, USA - Research grant towards the survey of the synagogues of Greece. 1994.
World Monuments Fund, New York, NY, USA - Research grant towards the survey of the synagogues of Greece. 1994.
Bezalel Academy, Jerusalem, Israel - Academic achievements prizes. 1985-1986.
Nomination for the Costa Carras European Citizens Awards for the Safeguard of Endangered Cultural and Natural Heritage by EUROPA NOSTRA and ELLINIKI ETAIRIA - Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage, Greece. 2025
"Thessaloniki Synagogues: Unknown Aspects of Local History" scientific consultant and architect in charge of the exhibited reconstruction of destroyed synagogues Talmud Torah Hagadol and Beth Shaul. Exhibition at the Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece (24/1/2024)
"Ashes and Tears on the lake ... The History of the Jews of Kastoria" scientific consultant and architect in charge of the exhibited reconstruction of the destroyed synagogue Aragon of Kastoria (1830-1948). Exhibition at the Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece (26/3/25)
