The National Archaeological Museum of Athens, one of the most important museums in the world devoted to ancient Greek art, will be expanded and revamped.
The Ministry of Culture announced on Monday the winning entry for the New National Archaeological Museum selected by an international committee.
The winning design belongs to the architectural offices of David Chipperfield Architects and Alexandros N. Tombazis & Associates SA.
The committee was set up in April 2022 for the New National Archaeological Museum and also includes an upgrade of the old museum, a subterranean extension, and its link with the historic building Acropol-Akros on Patission (or 28th Oktovriou Avenue), the street the current museum is on.
According to the ministry, the committee considered the following points in selecting the finalist: incorporation of elements of a creative relationship between the old and new buildings; quality of spatial experience; sensitivity to museological challenges; integration of urban design in the city; and innovative solution of viability and environmental design issues.
National Archaeological Museum with a dynamic focus to the future
Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said all submitted proposals were noted for high quality, aesthetic, and vision and were faithful to the criteria set out by the committee.
“We want to have an extroverted museum, in constant dialog with society, and with a dynamic focus to the future,” she noted. The presentation of the winning plan’s details, she added, will take place in February within the presence of the Greek Prime Minister.
The committee included seven members, besides the minister, three Greek nationals, and four foreign ones. Foreign participants included archaeologists Pierre B. Ducrey and Louis Godart, historian and Lowgill Publishing Chief Christopher Hudson, and architect Meejin Yoon.
Funding for the draft architectural plan was provided to the ministry by the Nikolaos and Irini Lemos family.
The National Archaeological Museum of Athens is the largest archaeological museum in Greece. It was founded at the end of the 19th century to house and protect antiquities from all over Greece, thus displaying their historical, cultural, and artistic value.
The museum has an imposing neo-classical design, which was very popular in Europe at the time and is in accordance with the classical-style artifacts that it houses.
Its massive collections, numbering more than twenty thousand different exhibits, display the complete panorama of Greek civilization.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
