MORE ABOUT: The New Acropolis Museum- Athens, Greece

MORE ABOUT:
Acropolis Museum
15 Dionysiou Areopagitou,
Athens 117 42

Built: 2001-2009
Architects: Bernard Tschumi
Local Architect: Michalis Photiadis
Size: 210,000 sq. ft
Budget: $80,000,000
Structural Engineers: ADK and ARUP
Civil: Michanniki Geostatiki and ARUP
Lighting: ARUP, London
General Contractor: Aktor

The New Acropolis Museum rests atop an excavation site, contains glass floors which allow visitors see the site below, and has a rotating top section which houses marbles from the Parthenon Frieze .

Sketch portraying site challenges.

An early sketch of different levels and their purpose.

Sketch of visitor’s route through museum.

Photo: Bernard Tschumi Architects

Each section focuses on the specific purpose behind it as the bottom portion accents the ruins, the middle section follows the adjacent street plan, and the top portion allows visitors to see the Parthenon.

Floor plan at 92.5 meters.

First floor plan.

Photo: Bernard Tshcumi Architects

Third floor plan.

Photo: Bernard Tschumi Architects

The museum protects an excavation site as it rests on stilts; engineers worked with archeologists to decide where to place support columns. The museum is also located near a subway and in an earthquake zone.

Photo: Bernard Tschumi Architects

A glass ramp and floor on the lower level allows visitors to see the archeological excavations below.

The top of the museum rotates and places the marbles of the Frieze in their original position, as the upper gallery is the same size and orientation of the Parthenon.

Photo: ARCHITECT Staff

The upper portion of the museum is encased in glass which allows ideal lighting for sculptures and utilizes contemporary glass technology, protecting visitors and artifacts from excessive heat.

Photo: Nikos Daniilidis

Case study by: Erica Ortiz

ARE 320K, Fall 2010

Books (UT Libraries) :
Bure, Giles de. Bernard Tschumi. Basel, Switzerland: Birkhauser Verlag AG, 2008.

Walker, Enrique. Tschumi on Architecture: Conversations with Enrique Walker. New York, New York: The Monacelli Press, 2006.

Website Articles:
Bernard Tschumi Architects. (2009, July 13). Retrieved from http://www.arcspace.com/architects/Tschumi/

Museum History. Retrieved from
http://www.theacropolismuseum.gr/default.php?pname=History&la=2

http://www.newacropolismuseum.gr/eng/

Acropolis Museum. Retrieved from http://www.tschumi.com/projects/2/

The New Acropolis Museum. (2010, May 30). Retrieved from
http://parisworkingforart.wordpress.com/2010/05/30/new-acropolis-museum-by-bernard-tschumi-architects/