New Acropolis Museum I, Athens
CULTURE-EDUCATION
LINEAR FORMATIONS

NEW ACROPOLIS MUSEUM I, ATHENS

1990

Construction of the New Acropolis Museum in either one or more – according to the competitions announcement – of the three spots proposed would be an intervention of crucial significance not only for the city itself, but also for the wider archaeological site in question – if, that is, the officials that make the respective decisions had the courage and imagination necessary, in our view, to look far beyond the present, into the future.

Both spots could hardly accommodate a space meeting the vast requirements of the New Acropolis Museum: the Centre for Acropolis Studies and the Conference Centre together with storing rooms referred to in the competitions announcement.

For this crucial reason, unfortunately recognized today even by non-specialists, we divided the project among three spots, as allowed in the competitions terms. For the sake of brevity we are only presenting here the Acropolis Museum and not the spaces meant to serve related activities, such as the proposed space in the area of Makriyiannis and the space making use of the museum already standing on the rock of the Acropolis.

The museums exhibition spaces, the spaces housing administration offices and all auxiliary spaces have been placed in the area of the Koili – an integral part of the promenade through the citys unified archaeological sites. The cavity formed by the ground in the area of the Koili receives the museums building, which surrounds it by means of its exhibitions spaces.

An atrium, its dimensions precisely matching those of the Parthenon frieze, provides enough space for a life-size display of the monument while allowing visitors to freely circulate below, gradually ascending from the bottom of the cavity through a route that spirals upward; through spaces specifically designed to house important older finds, ultimately reaching the room housing the Parthenon sculptures.

A66: SA, DA, A. Kounalaki

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
NEW ACROPOLIS MUSEUM I, ATHENS, 1991. ATELIER 66. THE ARCHITECTURE OF DIMITRIS AND SUZANA ANTONAKAKIS. ATHENS: FUTURA
TOURNIKIOTIS PANAYOTIS
2007