New Acropolis Museum

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Νέο Μουσείο Ακροπόλεως New Acropolis Museum

Established	2008
Location	Dionysiou Areopagitou Street Athens, Greece
Type	Archaeological Museum
Director	Dimitrios Pandermalis
Website	www.newacropolismuseum.gr

The New Acropolis Museum is a purpose built museum by architect Bernard Tschumi to house the archaeological findings related to the Acropolis Hill, in Athens (Greece). It is located near the Acropolis. President of the museum is the Aristotle University emeritus Professor of Archaeology, Dimitrios Pandermalis.

1 Design
- 1.1 Layout
2 Elgin Marbles
3 New Building
4 The project
5 Move of the Marbles
6 Controversy
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Design

The design by Bernard Tschumi was selected as the winning project in the second competition for the design of the New Acropolis Museum. Tschumi's design revolves around three concepts: light, movement, and a tectonic and programmatic element, which together "turn the constraints of the site into an architectural opportunity, offering a simple and precise museum" with the mathematical and conceptual clarity of ancient Greek buildings. Although some have attacked the museum's design as too contemporary, Bernard Tschumi argues, "Some people have said it is disrespectful to the Parthenon not to have Doric columns [on the new museum], but I am not interested in imitating the Parthenon. I am interested in [achieving] that level of perfection in my buildings, and for early twenty-first-century architecture to match it in its own way."^[1]

The construction of the new Acropolis Museum is complete. The museum is located at the southern base of the Acropolis hill, on the ancient road that led up to the "sacred rock" in classical times. Set only 280 meters from the Parthenon, the museum will be the most significant modern building erected so close to the ancient site. The transport of antiquities started on October 10, and which should be completed by the end of November 2007.

[edit] Layout

The base of the museum contains an entrance lobby overlooking the Makriyianni excavations as well as temporary exhibition spaces, retail, and all support facilities. There will also be a multimedia auditorium and a mezzanine bar and restaurant.

The design also incorporates almost 2,200 square meters of 3rd, 4th and 7th century archaeological excavations on the building site into the fabric of the museum as an extended exhibit; the replication, as far as possible, of the natural light and atmospheric conditions within the Museum as existed for the exhibits in their original location on the Acropolis; the achievement of balance between the Museum's architecture and that of the Rock of the Acropolis, the heritage Weiler Building and the facade of the neighbouring Acropolis Metro Station and finally and most critically, the capacity for visitors to simultaneously view the Parthenon sculptures and the Parthenon and the Acropolis.

"It's a museum inside the city, so we would like to be able to combine the most up-to-date technology and ancient materials. The two main materials are glass and marble. We will also use very beautiful pre-cast concrete. These materials are very respectful of the city of Athens as well as the Acropolis" - claims Tschumi.^[2]

[edit] Elgin Marbles

Although the return of the Elgin Marbles from the British Museum is not guaranteed, the design includes a rectangular glass gallery that will display the remaining Parthenon Marbles in Athens with the precise geometry and harmonious dimensions of the columned Parthenon, and point up those absent. Visitors to the museum will be able to see the Parthenon from the glass gallery. The orientation of the Parthenon Marbles, which will be exactly as the Parthenon, and their siting is hoped to provide an appropriate context for understanding the accomplishments of the Parthenon complex itself. The visitor's route will form a clear three-dimensional loop, affording an architectural promenade extending from the archaeological excavations to the Parthenon Marbles and back through the Roman period.

[edit] New Building

The museum contains excavation sites. The ruins are viewable by museum visitors. Due to Athens being in an earthquake zone construction on the site has strict structural concerns on account of priceless cultural artifacts, and the tens of thousands of daily visitors there. The layout of the exhibits are chronologically ordered ending at the famous frieze of the Parthenon Marbles. Nearly half of the original frieze is being withheld by the British Museum in London that dates back to the looting of the site just prior to Greek Independence from the vanquished Ottoman Empire. The museum will be open for the public in 2008.^[3]

At the outset, it was decided to "play down" the building itself and to address the dramatic complexities of the collection and the site with minimalist simplicity. If architecture can be described as the materialization of concepts, the building is about the clarity of an exhibition route expressed through three materials - marble, concrete, and glass. Within the unusual constraints of the site, the building ought to appear effortless and almost undesigned: a base of pilotis above the ruins, a middle section containing the main galleries, and a glass top at the summit containing the Parthenon Frieze. The goal of this orchestrated simplicity is to focus the viewers' emotions and intellect on extraordinary works of art.

[edit] The project

Three concepts turn the unusual constraints and circumstances of the museum into an architectural opportunity, offering a simple and precise artistic context with the mathematical and conceptual clarity of ancient Greece. When complete, the museum, with its exceptional and significant collection of classical Greek sculpture, will be arguably one of the most advanced in the world.

Blue Sky: A Concept of Light

More than in any other museum, the New Acropolis Museum makes careful use of natural light. Much as the daylight in Athens differs from that in London, Berlin, or Bilbao, so light for the exhibition of sculpture differs from the light involved in displaying paintings or drawings. The museum not only houses a specific collection but must also be preeminently a museum of ambient natural light, concerned with the presentation of sculptural objects within it.

People in Motion: A Concept of Circulation

The visitor's route through the museum forms a clear three-dimensional loop, affording an architectural promenade with a rich spatial experience that extends from the archaeological excavations to the Parthenon Marbles and back through the Roman period. This movement sequence is akin to a narrative that develops chronologically from the early slope findings through artifacts from the Archaic period to the Parthenon Marbles, ending with sculptures from the Roman Empire. The spatial narrative combines linear movement through space with artistic and historical storytelling. Movement in and through time, always a crucial dimension of architecture, is an important aspect of this museum in particular. With more than 10,000 visitors daily, the path through the museum artifacts is designed to be of the utmost simplicity.

A Base, A Middle, and A Top

(A programmatic concept turned into architecture)

The base of the museum design 'hovers' over the existing archaeological excavations on pilotis^[4]. This level contains the entrance lobby as well as temporary exhibition spaces, retail space, and all support facilities. The middle is a large, double-height, trapezoidal hall that accommodates all galleries from the Archaic period to the Roman Empire. A mezzanine level includes a bar and restaurant with views toward the Acropolis, and a multimedia auditorium. The top comprises the rectangular Parthenon Gallery arranged around an indoor court. The glass enclosure of the gallery provides ideal light for sculpture in direct view of the historical reference point of the Acropolis. The Parthenon Marbles will be displayed in the gallery so as to be visible from the Acropolis above. The design of the enclosure is intended to protect both the sculptures and visitors against excessive heat and light, and makes use of state-of-the-art glass technology. The orientation of the Marbles will be exactly as it was at the Parthenon centuries ago, and their setting will provide an unprecedented context for understanding the accomplishments of the Parthenon complex itself.

[edit] Move of the Marbles

An operation to move the historic artifacts for a 400 meters distance from the Acropolis rock to the new museum started on Sunday, 14 October 2007, and will continue cautiously for six weeks, involving three giant cranes. The antiquities, which had not left the rock for 25 centuries, are insured for 400 million Euros. Greek officials expressed their hope that the new museum will help in the campaign for the return of the Elgin Marbles.^[5]^[3]

[edit] Controversy

Just as the New Museum is finished and is preparing to open, a controversy has erupted over the proposed demolition of two historic buildings. These are in front of the museum, numbers 17 and 19 Dionysiou Areopagitou Street,^[6] facing the Acropolis (seen in front of the triangular terrace in the above photo). Mr. Tschumi has been showing a photoshop image of the space in front of the museum with the two buildings and the four-storey tall trees removed. The Greek Government has apparently obliged by de-listing the historic buildings (one is Neo-Classical^[7] and the other an Art Deco^[7] masterpiece unique in Athens).^[6] Protests against the proposed demolition are coming from international agencies such as INTBAU,^[6] ICOMOS, and many prominent architects and historians.^[7]

At the centre of the storm is composer Vangelis Papathanassiou. He owns the neo-classical house targeted for demolition because, apparently, it spoils the view of the Acropolis from the museum’s restaurant. He has accused the government of “architectural terrorism”. Every entry in the competition for the museum design assumed that the buildings under threat would remain [1].