Museum of Underwater Antiquities
PIRAEUS CULTURAL COAST AND MUSEUM OF UNDERWATER ANTIQUITIES INTERNATIONAL IDEAS COMPETITION
Location: Piraeus, Greece
Year: 2012
Status: Completed
Area: 15000 sq.m.
Team: S. Zerefos, C. Tessas, I. Armeni, N. Bekiari, K. Hatzopoulos, T. Moumiadis, T. Antonakaki, M. Tzafeta
This proposal aims at interventions that are sustainable in an environmental and economical level, while communicating an impressive identity and creating an iconic character for the cultural coast and the surrounding urban areas. The architectural design of the Museum of Underwater Antiquities interprets the infrastructure of the old silo in a creative and inventive way. The new proposed reception building of vertical circulation on the northeast side of the silo marks the project communicatively and morphologically. It is the main connection between the exhibition spaces, forming distinct visits through the thematic areas, either linearly or independently, using the new building as the backbone of the museum experience. By distincting between the old and the new, the visitor has a simultaneous tour, on one hand, of the history of the building as a grain storage warehouse and on the other, the naval tradition of Greece, through the exhibition spaces. The main ground pathway provides a continuity between interior and exterior spaces. New transparent shading devices are added on the existing building integrating energy efficient photovoltaic glass sheets on a metal structural system. On the two long facades perforations create sets of lighted holes that work as media facades where artists’ and visitors’ events of cultural interaction can take place. On the Cultural Coast, apart from the Museum of Underwater Antiquities, also proposed are the Museum of Immigrants, the space of open air cultural events, the Unknown Sailor Memorial, the Aquarium, the ships’ visiting space and the «Tastes of the World» catering and exhibition area. Next to the main pedestrian axes lie outdoor activities, such as squares, recreations areas and an open air sculpture gallery. Also, the redesign of the sea front on graded levels, a play with the water, creates a physical integration between sea and land. Environmental management also plays a vital role in the proposed scheme. Building reuse is on its own a kind of recycling, significantly reducing CO2 emissions during the construction phase. Bioclimatic architecture principles are applied for natural lighting and ventilation. For cooling, mist and a water tank are proposed, filtering the air and bringing temperature down 2 to 3 οC, while rainwater is collected for other uses. On the energy side, the photovoltaic window glass panels that cover the new building of the museum save energy and produce up to 15% of the total building energy consumption, while large rooflights provide adequate natural lighting for interior museum spaces.
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