MUSEUM FOR UNDERWATER ANTIQUITIES
Redesign of the existing cereals’ stock house building facilities (SILO) and its surrounding open space into a Museum for Underwater Antiquities and Regeneration of part of the Piraeus Port Authority (OLP) Coastal Zone
INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURAL COMPETITION - HONOURABLE MENTION - BEST PROJECT of the years 2009-2013: DOMES international review of architecture
LOCATION: PIRAEUS, GREECE YEAR: 2012
TEAM: DIMITRIS THOMOPOULOS, NIKOLETTA KANELLOU, LEDA KREMMIDA, MYRTO MATALA, ILIAS PITSIOS, MANOLIS VENIERAKIS, THEOFILOS ZACHOS, ANASTASIOS KANELLOS
PUBLICATIONS: ARCHDAILY / GREEKARCHITECTS / ARCHINECT / DOMES MAGAZINE #122
exhibitions: Industrial heritage: Regeneration and Sustainability, Greek Architecture Panorama 2014
The proposal’s goal is to create an experiential space that stimulates the visitors’ senses through their exploration in the museum’s interior. The design of the museum was based on the interpretation of the museological preliminary study and its adaptation by locating the permanent exhibition space within the silo complex.
The six sections of the exhibition concern two separate topics: the first five refer to underwater antiquities, while the sixth one is related to the silo building and its original use. This distinction is increased by developing the sixth topic throughout the rest exhibition, rather than remaining strictly separated. The design concept is that the visitors’ circulation in the museum follows proportional the function’s route of the original use of the building.
The former port area and the highway separates the city from the sea access. Concept design of the regeneration of the coastal zone of OLP, is the creation of a new Pier Culture and its connection with the city through the activation of adjacent open spaces and the archaeological site. The area in which the new cultural activities are sited form a band with supra local character, a promenade for residents and visitors to the sea, and around it a more localized, creative space for relaxation and recreation, a park for Piraeus.
The configuration of the area of recreation converses more with the character of the port area, despite coming into conflict with him. And this as the current image has for years in the collective memory of the city being an active part of it. The overall design of the modeling process the concept of progressive recovery of the nature of human intervention.