zafiris
December 11th, 2004, 01:20 PM
Full article from archaelogy.org: http://www.archaeology.org/online/reviews/acropseum/index.html
and
http://www.archaeology.org/0407/newsbriefs/acropolis.html
http://www.archaeology.org/online/reviews/acropseum/jpegs/outside.jpeg
In The New Acropolis Museum, the Onassis Cultural Center has brought another fine short-term exhibit to New York. It features preliminary drawings, artist's renditions, a large-sized model, and 3-D video walk-through of architect Bernard Tschumi's design for the new museum now being built at the foot of the Athenian Acropolis.
At the start of construction, ancient remains were found at the building site, raising concerns that part of ancient Athens would be sacrificed for the museum. An extensive excavation was undertaken, revealing foundation walls, drainage pipes, and other remains from private houses of the fourth-sixth centuries A.D. and a seventh-century residence with a large hall and round tower. Given the magnitude of the finds, the museum's design was altered both to limit damage to the ruins and to incorporate them into the overall experience of visitors. A system of support columns, strategically placed so as to disturb the archaeological remains as little as possible, holds the museum aloft. (It is said to be able to move on the columns, limiting damage in case of an earthquake.)
The museum's first floor has an auditorium and lobby between which a wide ramp leads up to the second floor. Transparent sections in the ramp's floor allow visitors to gaze at the exposed archaeological remains below. Along the sides of the ramp and as freestanding installations there will be artifacts recovered from the Sanctuary of the Nymphs, the Sanctuary of Asklepios, and elsewhere on the slopes of the Acropolis. The second floor will include a hall with Archaic period finds from the Acropolis on one side and, on the other, a hall containing post-Parthenon finds--including the sculptures and friezes from the Nike Temple and the Karyatids from the Erechtheion--and the Roman collection. The Parthenon gallery, a glass enclosure of the same size and orientation as the temple itself, occupies the third floor.
When I first saw a rendering of Tschumi's design for the museum, I had misgivings about it fitting into the local environment and being a suitable a home to the treasures of the Acropolis. It seemed big, intrusive, and flashy, more about the architect than the monuments and sculptures. I was wrong. If you have had doubts, go to The New Acropolis Museum and see if they aren't answered.
http://www.archaeology.org/online/reviews/acropseum/thumbnails/horsie.gif http://www.archaeology.org/online/reviews/acropseum/thumbnails/people.gif
http://www.archaeology.org/online/reviews/acropseum/jpegs/inside.jpeg
http://www.archaeology.org/0407/newsbriefs/jpegs/acropolis1.jpeg
and
http://www.archaeology.org/0407/newsbriefs/acropolis.html
http://www.archaeology.org/online/reviews/acropseum/jpegs/outside.jpeg
In The New Acropolis Museum, the Onassis Cultural Center has brought another fine short-term exhibit to New York. It features preliminary drawings, artist's renditions, a large-sized model, and 3-D video walk-through of architect Bernard Tschumi's design for the new museum now being built at the foot of the Athenian Acropolis.
At the start of construction, ancient remains were found at the building site, raising concerns that part of ancient Athens would be sacrificed for the museum. An extensive excavation was undertaken, revealing foundation walls, drainage pipes, and other remains from private houses of the fourth-sixth centuries A.D. and a seventh-century residence with a large hall and round tower. Given the magnitude of the finds, the museum's design was altered both to limit damage to the ruins and to incorporate them into the overall experience of visitors. A system of support columns, strategically placed so as to disturb the archaeological remains as little as possible, holds the museum aloft. (It is said to be able to move on the columns, limiting damage in case of an earthquake.)
The museum's first floor has an auditorium and lobby between which a wide ramp leads up to the second floor. Transparent sections in the ramp's floor allow visitors to gaze at the exposed archaeological remains below. Along the sides of the ramp and as freestanding installations there will be artifacts recovered from the Sanctuary of the Nymphs, the Sanctuary of Asklepios, and elsewhere on the slopes of the Acropolis. The second floor will include a hall with Archaic period finds from the Acropolis on one side and, on the other, a hall containing post-Parthenon finds--including the sculptures and friezes from the Nike Temple and the Karyatids from the Erechtheion--and the Roman collection. The Parthenon gallery, a glass enclosure of the same size and orientation as the temple itself, occupies the third floor.
When I first saw a rendering of Tschumi's design for the museum, I had misgivings about it fitting into the local environment and being a suitable a home to the treasures of the Acropolis. It seemed big, intrusive, and flashy, more about the architect than the monuments and sculptures. I was wrong. If you have had doubts, go to The New Acropolis Museum and see if they aren't answered.
http://www.archaeology.org/online/reviews/acropseum/thumbnails/horsie.gif http://www.archaeology.org/online/reviews/acropseum/thumbnails/people.gif
http://www.archaeology.org/online/reviews/acropseum/jpegs/inside.jpeg
http://www.archaeology.org/0407/newsbriefs/jpegs/acropolis1.jpeg