ARGO SHIP MUSEUM
OPEN ARCHITECTURAL COMPETITION - HONOURABLE MENTION
LOCATION: VOLOS, GREECE YEAR: 2014
TEAM: DIMITRIS THOMOPOULOS, MANOLIS VENIERAKIS, XENIA KARALI, MINA ROUSSOU, IOANNA GEORGITSOPOULOU, NIKOLETTA KANELLOU
PUBLICATIONS: DIVISARE / GREEKARCHITECTS / DOMES MAGAZINE #133
A museum in the port city of Volos in eastern Greece to host the replica of Argo, the legendary ship on which according to Greek mythology, Jason and the Argonauts sailed to retrieve the Golden Fleece.
The site in the city of Volos is cut off from its close surroundings. However, it is part of a linear zone areas of public functions, the park Champ de Mars, Exhibition - Athletic Center and the Polytechnic School . This zone can acquire their way into the center of the city of Volos, offering significant potential to enhance the area.
The main exhibit of the proposed museum, the reconstructed ship Argo, is a highly symbolic and historical artifact. The particularity of these symbols and the complexity of the construction of the modern reproduction, mandates the creation of an environment that brings out them without undermining its significance. Main synthetic aim was to design a building without morphological references and structural tensions, to highlight the importance of standing centrally exhibits, a shell for Argo.
The building is expressed as a simple geometric prism. From the main volume of the mass portions are removed, creating a series of internal courtyards through which the natural light penetrates to selected areas. In this compact volume which is intended to protect the basic showpiece, openings targeting selected viewing points of the city, the park and the sea. Those strategies create a continuous alternation of closed and open space that meets both the needs and the nature of the museum.