Cohesive framework

Conceived as a new architectural landmark for South Tyrol, the Museum Depot responds to the need for a centralized facility dedicated to the protection, conservation, and public accessibility of the region’s cultural assets. The project rethinks the fragmented system of existing depots, consolidating diverse collections into a unified structure that accommodates over one million objects, ranging from artworks and museum holdings to archaeological finds and audiovisual archives.

 

Programmatic Integration

The proposal addresses a dual objective: to operate as a highly efficient preservation facility while simultaneously engaging with the cultural and institutional demands of the region. Rather than functioning as a series of isolated storage units, the building establishes a cohesive framework that integrates research, conservation, and exhibition. Offices, laboratories, workshops, storage areas, and public galleries coexist within a single architectural system, fostering collaboration and exchange between institutions.

The spatial organization prioritizes relationships and workflows, structuring the program around a central courtyard that introduces natural light into the working environments while offering visual and physical access to a landscaped outdoor space. This arrangement enhances both functionality and user experience, positioning the depot as an active cultural infrastructure rather than a purely technical repository.

 

 

 

Spatial Strategy & Sustainability

A key aspect of the design lies in the careful distribution of functions across different levels. Storage and exhibition spaces are located underground, ensuring stable climatic conditions essential for the long-term preservation of sensitive artifacts. Above ground, administrative and research functions benefit from daylight and visual permeability, creating a balanced working environment.

Circulation is conceived as a continuous and legible system, connecting the various programmatic elements while reinforcing their interdependence. The interior is defined by clear spatial sequences and controlled transitions, allowing both staff and visitors to navigate seamlessly through the building.

 

Design Philosophy

The architectural form draws from the vernacular typologies of South Tyrol’s alpine and valley regions, translating traditional elements into a contemporary language. A raised, pitched roof defines the building’s silhouette, while the street-facing entrance opens into a transparent and welcoming foyer.

Partially embedded into the ground, the structure reduces its visual impact and establishes a sensitive relationship with the surrounding landscape. The green roof extends the natural terrain, reinforcing continuity between the built form and its environment. This integration is further emphasized by the material palette and the modulation of volumes, which echo local architectural references while maintaining a distinct contemporary identity.

The main entrance connects directly to the urban fabric and adjacent plaza, while additional access points through underground parking ensure functional efficiency. At the heart of the interior, a sculptural spiral staircase acts as both a spatial and symbolic element, linking the exhibition spaces below with the public and administrative areas above.

Upon completion, the Museum Depot will not only provide optimal conservation conditions for previously dispersed collections but will also reposition them as accessible and active components of the region’s cultural landscape, reinforcing their value within both local and broader contexts.

 

Reflection of the City

The new National Gallery building, now incorporating a major expansion and museological upgrade of its exhibition spaces, constitutes an important landmark in the contemporary urban landscape of Athens: to the pre-existing building of 9,720 m², which is listed as a modern monument, an additional 11,040 m² was added, more than doubling the functional spaces to a total of 20,760 m².

 

Design Philosophy

Through the new proposal, additions were implemented between the two units of the historic building (“Building A” facing Vasilissis Sofias Avenue and “Building B” facing Michalakopoulou Street), at the point where they are connected by a bridge above the location of the Ilissos riverbed, while underground spaces (“Building C”) were also opened where the groundwater level permits. The interior of the complex was completely redesigned.

The new building volumes, characterized by large glass surfaces, clearly stand apart from the architecture of the preserved building, with its exposed reinforced concrete structure and white marble infill elements. On the Michalakopoulou Street side, the new National Gallery gained an additional floor, while in the void between the two old wings an additional depth of three levels was added.

In the garden created south of the historic main entrance, the Gallery acquires an independent entrance, while the configuration of the surrounding landscape recalls the presence of the Ilissos river, through the creation of a water channel and the extension of greenery. The museum also features visitor circulation ramps with views toward the city skyline, elevators and staircases, full accessibility for people with disabilities, and modern security systems.

 

 

Spatial Organization

The entrance to the building complex takes place through a multifunctional space of 910 m², where in addition to control, information and visitor services, multiple digital information systems provide access to content about the building, the collections and the activities of the Gallery.

The main Gallery shop is also located there, equipped with versatile display cases. From the reception area visitors can move either towards the exhibition spaces of the permanent collections or towards the temporary exhibition areas, as well as to the 350-seat amphitheater or the café.

The interior architecture and the museographic study shaped the spaces accessible along the visitor routes. The museological core of the National Gallery consists of the permanent exhibition halls on the first and second floors of Building B, where the permanent collection of Greek painting and printmaking of the 19th and 20th centuries is presented, the permanent exhibition hall on the second basement level of Building C, where the permanent collection of Western European painting and printmaking is displayed, as well as the halls for rotating exhibitions on the third floor of Building B, where the continuously expanding collections of Contemporary Art (20th and 21st centuries) are presented through a rotating program.

In the permanent exhibition halls, spatial organization is mainly achieved through the placement of fixed exhibition panels that extend across the full height of the space, contributing to the narrative continuity of the exhibits. Through the use of these panels, the path of the gaze is designed through the revelation and concealment of spatial depth, while directions and visual perspectives are created, encouraging multiple associations and readings of the exhibits and forming central configurations as thematic focal points.

 

 

Museography and Exhibition Strategy

In these halls, suspended ceilings with general and accent lighting have been installed, incorporating a translucent elastic sound-absorbing membrane, while the exhibition walls and panels with a final fiber gypsum board surface allow for the hanging of artworks.

The exhibition panels are supported by the floor and the structure of the translucent ceiling, allowing cable routing inside them from the ceiling wiring system. Similarly, cable routes along the perimeter walls are placed at their upper termination. The exhibition space, beyond the exhibition surfaces, is equipped with display cases that enrich the exhibited material with drawings, watercolors and prints, while the artwork security systems allow the identification of each work individually and the immediate monitoring of any change in its condition.

In the halls for rotating exhibitions, in order to address special requirements, a suspended ceiling system was implemented that ensures uniform general lighting, isotropic distribution of accent lighting for the exhibits, as well as the possibility of supporting exhibition panels and hanging exhibits or projection systems. In addition to the permanent collection exhibition halls, the second basement of Building C hosts the temporary exhibition hall, where the suspended ceiling–lighting–display system used in the rotating exhibitions of the permanent collection has been extended in order to provide a suitable supporting background.

At the junctions between exhibition halls and the horizontal and vertical circulation areas of the building, circulation, signage and information nodes are defined and marked by wood cladding on the walls and ceilings. The visitor route is structured as a sequence of exhibition halls and circulation nodes where visitors can orient themselves and redesign their route, obtain digital information about the content of each exhibition hall and view additional exhibition material related to the content of the halls in specially designed display cases.

Overall, the extensions and reconstructions include new exhibition spaces of 2,230 m², modern art storage facilities of 1,645 m² and a space dedicated to educational programs. The new museum is equipped with state-of-the-art conservation laboratories, administrative offices, as well as a library that develops across two floors. It also includes two café-restaurants, with the second, located on the top level of the building, offering panoramic views toward the Acropolis, Mount Lycabettus and the Saronic Gulf.

In the new building, 1,000 works can be displayed as part of the permanent collection, whereas previously the old building could accommodate no more than 400 works. The new temporary exhibition hall approaches 2,000 m², while the storage spaces can house up to 10,000 artworks.

 

Layered continuity

Located in the heart of Jingdezhen’s Imperial Kiln Historic District, the regeneration of a former porcelain factory complex proposes a contemporary strategy for historic preservation through what the architects describe as a “Plugin Architecture” approach. Rather than replacing the existing structures, the intervention introduces new architectural insertions within and around the historic fabric, revitalizing the site while maintaining its cultural and spatial continuity. Jingdezhen – renowned as China’s “Porcelain Capital” – has been associated with porcelain production for more than a millennium, making the careful integration of new architectural elements within this context particularly significant.

 

Design Philosophy

The core concept of the project is based on a system of architectural “plugins”— new spatial modules inserted into existing buildings to enhance functionality while preserving their historic character. These contemporary interventions upgrade the aging workshops and support structures to accommodate new programs such as offices, meeting rooms and guest accommodations.

Rather than imitating historical forms, the inserted modules are intentionally expressed as modern architectural elements. Their clear visual distinction establishes a dialogue between old and new, reinforcing the layered history of the site while enabling the complex to function as a contemporary cultural destination. Circulation elements such as staircases and walkways are introduced both inside and outside the structures, improving connectivity and enabling the adaptive reuse of previously fragmented spaces.

 

 

Glass Pavilion & Lighting

At the center of the site stands a three-story glass pavilion that functions as a new architectural landmark within the historic district. Designed as a transparent volume topped with a traditional double-pitched roof clad in clay tiles, the structure houses exhibition spaces and a café while acting as a focal point for the main public square.

The contrast between the transparent glass enclosure and the surrounding masonry buildings establishes a clear architectural dialogue between contemporary design and historic context. The roof appears to float above the glazed structure, reinforcing the sense of openness and creating a spatial extension of the public square into the building interior. From a distance, the pitched roof emerges among the surrounding tiled rooftops, subtly referencing the traditional architectural language of Jingdezhen.

Carefully integrated lighting design plays a crucial role in reinforcing the pavilion’s architectural presence, particularly after sunset. Warm recessed luminaires embedded within the timber soffit of the roof evenly illuminate the glass envelope, transforming the pavilion into a softly glowing lantern within the historic courtyard. Inside, discreet linear and point lighting accentuate the brick core and the vivid orange circulation elements, highlighting the layered spatial composition while maintaining a restrained and atmospheric ambiance. The transparency of the façade allows interior light to spill into the surrounding public square, strengthening the visual connection between interior activity and the historic urban fabric.

 

 

Materials & Urban Circulation

The project reinforces the relationship between interior and exterior space through the careful treatment of the courtyard landscape. Brick paving extends from the public square directly into the interior of the glass building, dissolving the boundary between inside and outside.

Within the courtyard, the paving transforms into stepped surfaces that accommodate changes in elevation while simultaneously functioning as informal seating areas. On the opposite side of the square, a series of barrel-vaulted brick rooms form the building’s base, anchoring the new structure within the historical material language of the site.

To improve accessibility and spatial continuity across the complex, one of the existing buildings was rotated, merging two separate courtyards into a single shared public space. This reconfiguration allows visitors to move fluidly between the public square, the glass pavilion and the surrounding workshops, effectively transforming the former industrial compound into a cohesive cultural environment.

Located adjacent to Chimney Square, the project sits within a dense historical landscape that includes the Imperial Kiln Museum and the archaeological remains of the Imperial Porcelain Factory to the west, while the historic Xu Family Kiln – the oldest and most complete preserved wood-fired kiln site in Jingdezhen – lies to the north. Within this historically layered setting, the project establishes a careful balance between preservation and contemporary intervention, transforming the former industrial site into a vibrant public destination that celebrates both the legacy and the future of porcelain culture.