Designed to be Europe's first green museum, the Archaeological Museum of Athens will be built on the site where Akadimia Platonos, or Plato’s Academy stood in ancient times.

Founded by Plato in 387 BC in ancient Athens, the academy was known for hosting informal gatherings where great thinkers of the time came together to discuss a broad range of subjects from philosophy and politics to physics and astronomy.

The archaeological site is currently in a state of disrepair, and the new museum will not only reflect the spirit of the location but also include some of the open-plan ideas of the academy, integrating greenery and public spaces.

The new museum will house unique artefacts excavated during work in the city over the past decades, which number about 300,000 pieces and are currently not on display, according to an official statement from city authorities.

Archaeological Museum of Athens

Planned as a climate neutral project, the proposed 14,300sqm building will be constructed using sustainable materials and will feature four wings enclosing a square. An open amphitheatre with 500 seats is also part of the design.

The museum will almost entirely be constructed underground under an existing park at the site.

According to designers Tsolakis Architects, the design for the new Archaeological Museum of Athens focuses on the harmonious symbiosis of two regional conflicting forces – the impenetrable and continuous mass of the city, and the enclosed grove of the Plato Academy with the archaeological excavations.

Archaeological Museum of Athens

“The building program of the museum presupposes the construction of a large volume that will be imposed on the grove, limiting the surface of the valuable public space. Instead, the majority of the museum's surface is developed underground and locally affects the terrain, creating smooth outcrops and pits that enhance the horizontal topography. The museum interacts with the existing field and is harmoniously transformed into a building ground,” the architects explained.

“The architectural approach supports the innovation of the museum as it emphasises topography, urban planning and public archaeology, since it creatively integrates both the axes of the landscape and the urban planning of the city, while embracing on the one hand the archaeological finds within the space, on the other hand relationship of open and closed, public and private.”

With the museum being underground, the roofs emerge from the ground, presenting sloping, walkable surfaces, extending the existing planted area of the grove while at the same time ensuring comfortable conditions of natural lighting and ventilation, for both visitors and employees.

Images: Tsolakis Architects

Branko Miletic

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