The post Museum Depot in South Tyrol, Italy was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

Transparent dome

On the northeastern edge of the University of Cyprus campus in Nicosia, an artificial hill rises from the terrain, completing the natural landscape shaped by Aronas Hill and the Kalogeros river. Seamlessly integrated into its surroundings, it appears less as an intervention and more as a quiet geological inevitability – an architectural gesture that feels as though it has always belonged there.

Design Philosophy

Beneath this constructed topography lie the Information Center and the Library of the University of Cyprus, named after Stelios Ioannou in recognition of the decisive donation by his widow, Ellie Ioannou, which set the long-envisioned project into motion. What emerges is not merely a repository of knowledge, but a landmark that redefines the relationship between architecture and landscape.

Designed by Pritzker Prize laureate Jean Nouvel, the complex embodies the French architect’s enduring preoccupation with light, materiality and contextual integration. Rather than imposing a monumental object onto the campus, Nouvel conceived a 15,700 m² structure that dissolves into the earth. The building unfolds across five levels, two of which are embedded underground, while the remaining three are contained within the 40-metre-wide artificial hill.

Custom Structure

The dome-like membrane that envelops the structure is rendered in an abstract composition of natural hues, reinforcing its dialogue with the Cypriot terrain. Transparent yet technologically advanced, the envelope allows daylight to penetrate deep into the interior while incorporating sophisticated solar protection systems that enhance the building’s bioclimatic performance. The result is an architecture that is both visually restrained and environmentally responsive.

A pivotal element of this strategy is the heliostat: a 24-metre-high, five-metre-thick conical structure clad in louvers. Acting as a light-harvesting device, it captures and redirects sunlight into the heart of the building, channeling it even to the lowest levels. This sculptural mechanism not only reinforces the project’s environmental agenda but also dramatizes the interior spatial experience.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the reading room at ground level. Arranged around the perimeter of a central atrium, 31 glazed study cubes function as intimate enclaves within the larger collective space. Bathed in filtered daylight, they form a rhythmic constellation of transparent volumes – quiet sanctuaries for concentration within an open, communal setting.

Context Integration

The building has quickly assumed the status of an architectural reference point in Cyprus, particularly for younger generations. Its planted landscape alternative – the constructed hill rather than a conventional green roof – demonstrates a deliberate departure from predictable sustainable tropes. Instead, the project proposes a more immersive integration of architecture and site, where enclosure, terrain and climate operate as a unified system.

As an institution, the library houses an extensive collection spanning the full spectrum of scientific knowledge, including approximately 600,000 volumes, 40,000 digital titles and 10,000 audiovisual items. It stands as a contemporary ark of knowledge – both protective and open – where physical and digital media coexist within a spatial framework defined by light and earth.

The interior further reflects the Ioannou family’s longstanding engagement with art. Significant works tracing the historical continuum of Cyprus are displayed alongside pieces by contemporary Cypriot artists, embedding cultural memory within the architectural narrative. In this synthesis of landscape, technology, knowledge and art, the Stelios Ioannou Library transcends its institutional function, positioning itself as a spatial manifesto for learning in the Mediterranean context.

The post University of Cyprus Library was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

Urban village

One of the greatest challenges in the design and construction of the Municipal Nursery School of Glyfada was to reassert the architect’s role as a key contributor in the creation of a new public building.

Prefabrication System

A second challenge lay in foregrounding the prefabrication system selected for the building’s implementation. The entire structure was transported from the production factory, and the total construction time amounted to six months. The prefabrication system, defined by the competition’s prerequisites, significantly shaped the building’s form, as the basic module had to be transportable by truck.

Design Philosophy

The central idea of the project was for the nursery school to respond to the scale of its users and to reproduce a model of an urban village, while a key compositional element was the archetypal image of a house as perceived by a child. Its repetition defined the new units, such as the classroom, which consists of three modules, and ultimately the entirety of the nursery school complex.

The competition brief required a single-storey structure, a prefabricated system, and a building footprint equal to the total built area. The limited internal communal spaces of the nursery are a direct outcome of these provisions.

Materials & Sustainability

The nursery school was designed so that all classrooms have three free sides, arranged around a central courtyard, while smaller patios create internal vistas from the shared spaces.

An effort was made for simple materials and conventional construction methods to produce a distinctive composition with a low energy footprint. The internal walls were constructed with a thickness of 10 cm in order to maximize interior space, while the external walls and roofs were clad with external insulation – a relatively bold approach, as it had not previously been implemented in Greece. In this way, together with the construction of pergolas from marine plywood and, naturally, the careful placement of openings, the building operates sustainably, creating conditions of comfort for the children’s activities.

Planting will soon become a fundamental component of the composition, as large plane trees will provide shade to the central courtyard and other trees will accentuate the distinct character of each season.

The project received a Distinction at the 2017 Hellenic Institute of Architecture (HIA) Architecture Awards, in the category of Public and Communal Buildings.

The post 4th Municipal Nursery School of Glyfada was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

Glass bridges

The Tianjin Juilliard School serves as a dynamic center for performance, practice, research, and interactive exhibitions, with communal spaces intentionally designed to welcome the public into the creative and performative process of music.

Design Philosophy

As the first performing arts institution in China to offer a U.S.-accredited Master of Music degree, it provides graduate programs in orchestral studies, chamber music, and collaborative piano. The school also offers a pre-college program for students ages 8–18, an instrumental training program, adult education courses, and a robust schedule of public performances.

Functional Organization

The 350,000-square-foot campus is located in the Yujiapu Financial District. The building consists of four faceted pavilions that house a 690-seat concert hall, a 299-seat recital hall, a 225-seat black box theater, as well as administrative offices, faculty studios, and rehearsal spaces. Five glass bridges span a large public atrium that extends the surrounding park into the building, creating an open and welcoming environment where students, visitors, and concertgoers can gather, relax, and observe informal performances and rehearsals. These bridges contain classrooms, teaching studios, and practice rooms enclosed in transparent glass, promoting both visual and auditory access to music study and encouraging spontaneous as well as structured interaction among students, faculty, and visitors.

Technological Integration

Echoing the design language of The Juilliard School in New York, the Tianjin campus incorporates advanced telecommunications and video conferencing technologies to foster close collaboration between the two institutions. The Juilliard Imagination Space, for instance, is a digitally connected exhibition venue capable of hosting livestreamed performances between Tianjin and New York, reinforcing the school’s global academic and artistic exchange.

The post The Juilliard School Tianjin was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

The post Flaxman Library Renovation | School of the Art Institute of Chicago was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

Architectural Competition

The “Magnifica Fabbrica” International Design Competition, promoted by the Municipality of Milan with the Fondazione Teatro alla Scala, has selected as the winning entry the design proposal of the Italo-Spanish group composed of FRPO Rodriguez y Oriol and WALK Architecture & Landscape of Madrid and SD Partners of Milan. 

The competition brief envisages the creation of the new site for the Teatro alla Scala laboratories and warehouses and the expansion of Parco della Lambretta, with the aim of regenerating the area located in the Lambrate district, once occupied by the Innocenti car manufacturer plant and now involved in a urban regeneration process. 

The intention is to create a new cultural, artistic and production centre, bringing all the phases of the creative process into close proximity, from design to production, offering the public the chance to take part in the birth of the shows, and to bring citizens closer to the world of theater. 

In addition to that, the expansion of Parco della Lambretta is aimed to become a real landmark for the district, as well as a place for gathering and leisure time. It will include the recovery and integration in the park of the so-called “Palazzo di Cristallo”, a monumental testimony of industrial archaeology.

The designers responsible for the winning proposal are: Pablo Oriol and Fernando Rodriguez for FRPO, Juan Tur Mc Glone for WALK and Massimo Giuliani, Alessandro Viganò and Beatrice Meroni for SD Partners. 

The multidisciplinary team also included Studio Gibelli, Ing. Luca Stefanutti, Agroservice, TRM and Mecanismo Ingegneria. 

The competition was divided in two phases in an open anonymous form and received a total of 59 entries.

Programmatic units

Milan, a metropolis in constant movement, dynamic and productive, always reinventing itself, today opens its secret heart. A heart in which others beat, with different rhythms, moved by skillful hands that forge treasures invisible to most. Vibrating center of the city and meeting point between industriousness and genius, La Scala and the Magnifica Fabbrica, are called today to take a new step in the history of the city.

Technology, culture and landscape

Magnificent for its size and location, the new Fabbrica will open its treasures to the public view to reveal the work of artists who create true works of art for La Scala shows. The Magnifica Fabbrica will thus be able to reveal its light and illuminate the renewal of the city, rebuilding a new balance between technology, culture and landscape, caring for the environment as a home, and reconnecting the living fabric of the city.

Biodiversity Green Factory

The expansion of the Parco della Lambretta will accompany the new Magnifica Fabbrica as the driving force behind the transformation of the ex-Innocenti area, whose soul will be the recovery of the grandiose structure of the Palazzo di Cristallo, the former production site for millions of lambrettas that have filled the streets of Italy and the world, and that will become a Green Biodiversity Factory, a place for citizens to participate in a great collective work of art, to fill the future of the city with green.

Canals, meadows, and rows of trees

The Parco della Lambretta project exemplifies a balanced relationship between natural resources and human activities, conceiving the landscape as a resilient green infrastructure. It is based on a circular concept of the water cycle, an element that has characterized the development of the city, inspired by the traditional elements of Milan’s agricultural heritage: canals, ditches, meadows, pedestrian paths and rows of trees, offering a natural environment and a usable public space for all. Water regains its leading role and becomes an indissoluble link between the Parco and the Fabbrica through the Water Gardens, a large green infrastructure for natural phytopurification, which will offer unique educational and sensory experiences.

Zero Energy Building

The Magnifica Fabbrica will be a ZEB (Zero Energy Building), it will produce more energy than it will consume, with a 3,600 kW photovoltaic system on the translucent roof and a gigantic open-cycle geothermal system, which will contribute to the purification of groundwater. The aim is to create a more rational and sustainable place, where La Scala’s production, rehearsal and storage operations can be combined in a very precise spatial design, responding to the needs raised by the Teatro alla Scala in the international competition.

The Torre dell’Acqua, a symbol of renewal

The new building and the park merge into the Piazza della Torre dell’Acqua, a symbol of renewal. The Space of Dreams sits at the head of the Fabbrica, a large container of visions of the future, where La Scala will be the protagonist of a revitalization that will involve schools, associations, companies, institutions, organizations.

Magic behind the scenes

Beginning and ending in the square, the Anello is a journey that will take the visitor to discover the magical world “behind the scenes”: more than 65,000 square meters of production spaces for sets, tailors, props, dressing rooms, rehearsal rooms, warehouses and deposits. The new Magnifica Fabbrica will be open those who wish to witness the cultural and creative life that is hidden in this attractive heart.

The post Magnifica Fabbrica was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

The new Limassol Terminal is the first purpose-built building for cruise ships on the island of Cyprus. Stretching 350m down the east pier as a series of elliptical shells, it replaces the old industrial shed which had provided basic services for many years. Irwin kritioti architecture was awarded the first prize in the competition set for the new building. The terminal was completed shortly before the global pandemic brought the cruise industry to a faltering halt. It re-opens this summer to welcome new passengers aboard for the 2021 season and take its position in the cruise itinerary of the Mediterranean.

The harbor site for the terminal is located within the principal port of Cyprus- a busy multi-purpose facility. The main point of entry for the shipping containers that serve the island’s trade also provides a stopover for warships en route to the Levant, as well as serving as the docking point for the many cruise ships that tour the eastern Mediterranean. In this oversized industrial context, the new terminal required a strong visual identity, while also providing a place of calm for transient passengers.

Approaching Cyprus by ship, the first view of the new building is the undulating roof of titanium zinc, whose aspect changes according to the time of day and the season. The linear scale and rounded forms of the terminal ensure that it stands distinct amongst the heavy ships and cranes that surround it. Disembarking, the passengers pass through ovoid halls, where walls and ceilings are replaced by a continuous wooden plank surface. These are animated by reflections of the sun and water from the huge portal windows and the polished floors. The white wooden board interiors refer to shipbuilding of the past, and provide a striking contrast with the darker ribbed metal of the exterior forms. Direct views from the dock to the harbour promote the linking of the land with the sea. For those who are not embarking on a voyage, this allows previously unseen views into the workings of the busy port.

The terminal has a projected annual turnover of half a million passengers. Despite being a controlled border with all the necessary custom and security requirements, the building has managed to remain visually open & permeable. In doing so, it avoids the potential labyrinthine layouts and deep spaces that can occur in transit buildings. An early decision by the architects to simplify the brief into distinct operational shells, each connected to the outside view, allowed for a building which is simple to service and easy to navigate.

A further decision by the design team was to allow for alternative uses of the terminal spaces outside of the cruising season. Weddings, conferences, and exhibitions can be hosted for local audiences in the arrival halls, which would otherwise remain dormant in the off-season. A ‘Skybar” located on the roof welcomes non-travelers, as well as those on a cruise. As Limassol continues to expand west towards the port, the multi-use building provides a platform to integrate local city life with the dynamic activities of the harbour. 

irwinkritioti architecture

Charis Solomou

Richard Irwin

Alkis Touvanas

The post Cyprus Cruise Terminal was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

The design of the school building in Portugal starts from the imaginary of the treehouse, where the main idea of being in contact with nature and discovery, allows to stimulate learning from a concept that meets the methodology used in school.

Casa da Árvore appears as one of the first moments in which children have contact with the world of architecture in relation to nature.

The idea of connecting ​​classrooms to outer space was the starting point for the development of this project. This premise, coupled with large windows, allowed to create classrooms where the interior space appears as an extension of the exterior, thus creating a strong connection with nature.

The patios and porches allow children to fully use the space, and the structure itself was designed as an integral part of the patio furniture.

The choice of materials used is in accordance with the concept of the project, where the use of natural cork as a cladding material in the eaves connects us with nature. The stereotomy itself was crafted like pieces of a puzzle, creating a rhythm on the façade that allows for different appropriations and movements. The concrete of the walls was treated in a particular way, almost alluding to the roots of the trees, where you can see the inert materials that make up and support the structure resting on a pavement in earth tones that reinforces the imagery of the Casa da Árvore.

Contaminar Arquitetos

Fernando Guerra | FG+SG

The post Casa da Árvore was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

The Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin is an icon of twentieth-century architecture. Planned and built from 1963 to 1968, the steel and glass structure is the only building designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in Europe after his emigration to the USA.

After almost fifty years of intensive use, the listed building required a comprehensive refurbishment. The existing fabric has been refurbished and upgraded to current technical standards with a minimum of visual compromise to the building’s original appearance. The functional and technical upgrades include air-conditioning, artificial lighting, security, and visitors’ facilities, such as the cloakroom, café, and the museum shop, as well as improving disabled access and art handling.

The necessity of an extensive repair of the reinforced concrete shell and the complete renewal of the technical building services required an in-depth intervention. In order to expose the shell construction, around 35,000 original building components, such as the stone cladding and all the interior fittings, were dismantled. After their restoration and modification where necessary, they were reinstalled in their precise original positions.

The key to the complex planning process for this project was finding a suitable balance between monument conservation and the building’s use as a modern museum. The unavoidable interventions to the original fabric within this process had to be reconciled with preserving as much of the original substance as possible. Though the essential additions remain subordinate to the existing design of the building, they are nevertheless discreetly legible as contemporary elements. The refurbishment project does not represent a new interpretation, but rather a respectful repair of this landmark building of the International Style.

David Chipperfield Architects

The post Neue Nationalgalerie was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

Το ρεπορτάζ της Χαράς Τζαναβάρα, που γράφτηκε για το ek magazine, είναι η πρώτη εκτεταμένη παρουσίαση του κτιρίου του νέου Μουσείου της Ακρόπολης, που έγινε μόλις είχε ολοκληρωθεί η κατασκευή του, το 2007. Αναδημοσιεύεται από το αρχείο μας, με πρωτότυπο φωτογραφικό υλικό του Νίκου Δανιηλίδη και του Παναγιώτη Βουμβάκη, οι οποίοι αποτυπώνουν το κτίριο και τον περιβάλλοντα χώρο του πριν ολοκληρωθεί η τοποθέτηση των εκθεμάτων.

Και μόνον η αίθουσα του Παρθενώνα αρκεί για να κατατάξει το νέο Μουσείο της Ακρόπολης ανάμεσα στα ξεχωριστά κτίρια του πλανήτη μας. Την ίδια στιγμή τα πολύτιμα εκθέματα, με κορυφαία την πομπή των Παναθηναίων, που μετακόμισε μετά από σχεδόν 2.500 χρόνια από τον φυσικό τους χώρο, αδικούν κατά κάποιον τρόπο την αρχιτεκτονική δημιουργία, αφού από μόνη της συνιστά ένα τεχνικό και καλλιτεχνικό επίτευγμα.

Αυτό το «πάντρεμα» της αρχαιότητας με την τεχνολογική εξέλιξη ήταν από την αρχή το μεγάλο ζητούμενο, που σύμφωνα με την επιτροπή του διεθνούς διαγωνισμού κατάφερε με τη μεγαλύτερη μαεστρία το αρχιτεκτονικό δίδυμο των Τσουμί και Φωτιάδη, που ξεχώρισαν ανάμεσα σε 14 ομάδες που είχαν υποβάλει τις προτάσεις τους.

Εν αρχήν η …η θέση του κτιρίου, που βρίσκεται μόλις 300 μέτρα από τον ιερό βράχο, κυριολεκτικώς στη σκιά της Ακρόπολης. Το δεύτερο στοιχείο ήταν τα πολύτιμα εκθέματα, που με το ειδικό βάρος τους έδειχναν από την αρχή ότι θα εξαφάνιζαν τον τρίτο παράγοντα, το κτίριο. Αυτό το δεδομένο επισημάνθηκε από τους δύο αρχιτέκτονες, οι οποίο ακριβώς γι’ αυτό επέλεξαν να σχεδιάσουν ένα «μη κτίριο». Πολύτιμα εργαλεία τους ήταν τα δομικά υλικά, κυρίως το γυαλί, που μεταπλάστηκαν σε μια σύνθεση που δεν επιβάλλεται και δεν προκαλεί, παρά τον αδιαμφισβήτητο όγκο της.

«Μ΄ όλους τους ασυνήθιστους περιορισμούς που επιβάλει η θέση του μουσείου, το έργο προκύπτει αβίαστα και χωρίς επιτηδευμένο σχεδιασμό: η βάση-πιλοτή πάνω από αρχαία κατάλοιπα, το μεσαίο τμήμα με τις κύριες αίθουσες έκθεσης και η κορύφωση του κτιρίου με τη γυάλινη επίστεψη με τα γλυπτά του Παρθενώνα. Στόχος αυτής της ενορχηστρωμένης απλότητας είναι να επικεντρωθούν τα συναισθήματα και ο νους του θεατή στα εκπληκτικά έργα τέχνης», σημειώνει ο Μπερνάρ Τσουμί, δίνοντας με αυτές τις λίγες γραμμές την πεμπτουσία της κατασκευής.

Η τελική επιφάνεια του κτιρίου καλύπτει 20.000 τετραγωνικά, αρκετά λιγότερα σε σχέση με τους αρχικούς σχεδιασμούς και ξεδιπλώνεται σε τρία επίπεδα, καθένα από τα οποία έχει το δικό του χαρακτήρα. Αυτή η τριχοτόμηση των ενοτήτων, εκτός του ότι υπηρετεί υποδειγματικά τη λειτουργικότητα των χώρων, εξασφαλίζει την καλύτερη ένταξη του κτιρίου στο περιβάλλον, αξιοποιώντας στο έπακρο και τις κλίσεις του φυσικού εδάφους.

Η κεντρική είσοδος είναι από τον πεζόδρομο της Διονυσίου Αρεοπαγίτου, με μια σκάλα πλάτους 24 μέτρων που οδηγεί σχεδόν κατευθείαν στα πολύτιμα εκθέματα. Καλύπτεται από ένα γεωμετρικό στέγαστρο, που είναι προσβάσιμο από το εσωτερικό του κτιρίου. Μπορεί να λειτουργήσει ως καφέ και γωνιά υπαίθριων εκθέσεων, αφού έχουν προβλεφθεί κινητά χωρίσματα. Ο επισκέπτης εντυπωσιάζεται από έναν διαφανή διάδρομο, που λειτουργεί ως οδηγός αλλά και ως μέσο για την ανάδειξη των θησαυρών του νέου μουσείου. Εξίσου ενδιαφέρουσα όμως είναι η «πίσω πόρτα», προς την πλευρά της Ροβέρτου Γκάλι, όπου βρίσκεται ο υπόγειος χώρος των ανασκαφών. Η εικόνα είναι επιβλητική και επιλέξαμε να ξεκινήσουμε από τα «υπόγεια» τη νοερή μας ξενάγηση στο νέο μουσείο.

Στην πραγματικότητα τα υπόγεια είναι τέσσερα. Η κατεδάφιση των κτιρίων που απαλλοτριώθηκαν έφεραν στο φως σημαντικές αρχαιότητες, με αποτέλεσμα να χρειαστεί να προσαρμοστούν οι αρχικοί σχεδιασμοί με βάση τα νέα δεδομένα. Ιδιαίτερα χρονοβόρα ήταν η διαδικασία θεμελίωσης, αφού χρειάστηκε να τοποθετηθούν εφέδρανα, πάνω στα οποία στηρίχθηκαν 94 κυλινδρικές κολώνες, που δημιουργούν την αίσθηση στον ανυποψίαστο επισκέπτη ότι το μουσείο αιωρείται. Η λύση αυτή λειτουργεί ως προστατευτικό κέλυφος για τις αρχαιότητες και παράλληλα όμως εξασφαλίζει την αντοχή του κτιρίου σε ενδεχόμενο σεισμό έντασης 10 βαθμών της κλίμακας Ρίχτερ. Είναι από τις υψηλότερες προδιαγραφές που έχουν επιστρατευθεί για τεχνικό έργο στη χώρα μας και οι δοκιμές χρειάστηκε να γίνουν σε εξειδικευμένο εργαστήριο στο Σαν Ντιέγκο της Καλιφόρνιας. Οι μελετητές επέλεξαν το γυαλί για το κοινόχρηστο δάπεδο ώστε να αναδειχθούν με τον πιο αποδοτικό τρόπο τα πολύτιμα ευρήματα των ανασκαφών. Πρόκειται για δείγματα τριών διαφορετικών περιόδων της αρχαίας Αθήνας και αυτό το γεγονός υπογραμμίζεται με διαφοροποιήσεις των τεχνικών μέσων, όπως ο διαφορετικός φωτισμός.

Η δεύτερη ιδιαιτερότητα που έδωσαν οι αρχιτέκτονες στο μουσείο είναι ο ορθογώνιος πυρήνας από μπετόν, που διαπερνά το κτίριο από τη βάση του ως την κορυφή και λειτουργεί ως σηκός για την υποδοχή της ζωφόρου του Παρθενώνα. Οι μελετητές επέμειναν να έχει τις ίδιες διαστάσεις, αλλά και τον ίδιο προσανατολισμό με τον σηκό του αρχαίου ναού, παρόλο που η επιλογή αυτή δημιουργεί μια απόκλιση σε σχέση με τον προσανατολισμό του υπόλοιπου κτιρίου. Η κατασκευή αυτή λειτουργεί και ως υποδοχέας για το φυσικό φως, που φθάνει ως τα έγκατα του κτιρίου.

Το μεσαίο επίπεδο είναι ο κυρίως χώρος υποδοχής του επισκέπτη, που καταλαμβάνει περίπου 4.000 τετραγωνικά. Για όσους θα επιλέξουν τη βόρεια είσοδο, από την πλευρά του Παρθενώνα, θα υπάρχουν όλες οι εξυπηρετήσεις ενός σύγχρονου μουσείου. Έχουν προβλεφθεί γωνιές για τα πωλητήρια, το αναψυκτήριο με θέα προς την αρχαιολογική ανασκαφή, καθώς και ένα αμφιθέατρο που μπορεί να φιλοξενήσει έως και 200 άτομα. Δίπλα έχει κατασκευαστεί η γωνιά περιοδικών εκθέσεων, καθώς και ένας χώρος έκπληξη. Πρόκειται για την αίθουσα εικονικής πραγματικότητας, όπου θα προβάλλονται φιλμ για την Ακρόπολη, τον Παρθενώνα, τα Προπύλαια, το ναό της Νίκης, καθώς και για όλες τις αναστηλωτικές εργασίες που έχουν πραγματοποιηθεί. Θα δίνεται επίσης μια γεύση από το αρχείο μελετών της υπηρεσίας συντήρησης μνημείων Ακρόπολης, ενώ θα υπάρχουν στοιχεία από τη φωτοθήκη και τη σχεδιοθήκη της αρχαιολογικής υπηρεσίας. Στο Virtual Theater τα υλικά θα έχουν τρισδιάστατη εικόνα και θα δίνουν ακριβή στοιχεία για όλα τα σημαντικά μνημεία της αρχαιότητας. Το αρχιτεκτονικό ενδιαφέρον σε αυτή τη ζώνη εστιάζεται στα πλευρικά πετάσματα, ενώ ένα περιμετρικό κάθισμα επιτρέπει στους επισκέπτες να απολαμβάνουν τα εκθέματα και από απόσταση. Κυριαρχούν επίσης οι μεταλλικές κυλιόμενες σκάλες και τα ασανσέρ.

Το πιο ενδιαφέρον τμήμα του μουσείου είναι αναμφισβήτητα η επιβλητική αίθουσα του Παρθενώνα, που καταλαμβάνει έκταση 3.200 τετραγωνικών. Η διατάσεις του χώρου, 21 επί 80 μέτρα, αλλά και το ύψος του, ακολουθούν την γεωμετρία του Παρθενώνα. Το ύψος της είναι τέτοιο που ξεπερνά το γειτονικό διατηρητέο κτίριο Βάϊλερ. Χάρη στους γυάλινους περιμετρικούς τοίχους το φυσικό φως φθάνει παντού και δίνει την αίσθηση ότι τα πολύτιμα εκθέματα εξακολουθούν να βρίσκονται στον φυσικό τους χώρο. Η επιλογή της θέσης για τα γλυπτά της ζωφόρου έγινε με τέτοιον τρόπο ώστε οι επισκέπτες να έχουν την αίσθηση ότι παρακολουθούν τα μνημεία σαν να βρίσκονται στην αρχική τους θέση, στην Ακρόπολη.

Ένα επίπεδο πιο κάτω διαμορφώνεται άλλη μία ξεχωριστή αίθουσα, που φιλοξενεί τις Καρυάτιδες του Ερεχθείου, που συμπληρώνουν με τον καλύτερο τρόπο αυτό τον νοερό περίπατο στην αρχαιότητα.

Στην ταράτσα έχει προβλεφθεί χώρος περίπου 400 τετραγωνικών, όπου θα λειτουργήσει καφέ με μοναδική θέα προς τον ιερό βράχο. Αλλά και ο περιβάλλων χώρος προβλέπεται να αποτελέσει όαση πρασίνου για το ιστορικό κέντρο. Η έκταση που έχει απαλλοτριωθεί φθάνει τα 7.000 τετραγωνικά και έχει ήδη ξεκινήσει η διαμόρφωσή του.

Αν σήμερα το νέο μουσείο της Ακρόπολης αποτελεί καμάρι για όλους τους Έλληνες, δεν πρέπει να ξεχνάμε τις περιπέτειες του όλου εγχειρήματος, που ξεκίνησε το 1974, μαζί με τη μεγάλη επιχείρηση συντήρησης των μνημείων της Ακρόπολης. Συνέπεσαν με το αδιαχώρητο στο μουσείο, ένα κτίσμα του 1865 με επιφάνεια μόλις 1.450 τετραγωνικά.

Στα χρόνια που μεσολάβησαν δεν έλειψαν τα προβλήματα, που έφθασαν σχεδόν κοντά στη ματαίωση. Με καθοριστικό κριτήριο την επαφή του μουσείου με τον αρχαιολογικό χώρο, είχε επιλεγεί από τον τότε πρωθυπουργό Κωνσταντίνο Καραμανλή το οικόπεδο Μακρυγιάννη. Οι δύο πανελλήνιοι αρχιτεκτονικοί διαγωνισμοί (1976 και 1979) δεν κατέληξαν σε πρώτο βραβείο, ενώ είχαν ακουστεί οι πρώτες φωνές για ανεπάρκεια του προσφερόμενου χώρου.

Η υπόθεση πήρε νέα δυναμική στη δεκαετία του ΄80, με τη σφραγίδα της τότε υπουργού Πολιτισμού Μελίνας Μερκούρη, που συνέδεσε το νέο μουσείο με την επιστροφή των γλυπτών των κλεμμένων Μαρμάρων. Ο νέος αρχιτεκτονικός διαγωνισμός του 1990 προέβλεπε τρεις θέσεις: Του Μακρυγιάννη, την Κοίλη και τον χώρο στο σημερινό εστιατόριο «Διόνυσος». Νικητές αναδείχθηκαν οι Ιταλοί Νικολέτι και Πασαρέλι, αλλά το θέμα κόλλησε λόγω προσφυγής του συλλόγου αρχιτεκτόνων. Παρενέβη το ίδρυμα Μ. Μερκούρη για να ξεπεραστεί το εμπόδιο, ενώ ο όγκος του κτιρίου μειώθηκε σε σχέση με τις αρχικές προβλέψεις των 45.000 τετραγωνικών.

Χρειάστηκε να φθάσουμε στο 1995, με τη δημιουργία του Οργανισμού Νέου Μουσείου Ακρόπολης, για να ξεκινήσει το μουσείο με σωστές βάσεις. Το εμβαδόν του κτιριακού συγκροτήματος είναι πλέον 24.000 τετραγωνικά, που και αυτά στη συνέχεια στρογγυλεύτηκαν αφού ένα μέρος του οικοπέδου είχε ήδη παραχωρηθεί για τις ανάγκες του εντυπωσιακού σταθμού «Ακρόπολη» της γραμμής του μετρό. Στόχος ήταν να είναι έτοιμο το μουσείο την άνοιξη του 2004, όμως δεν έλειψαν και πάλι τα εμπόδια. Οι απαλλοτριώσεις προκάλεσαν δικαστικές εμπλοκές, ενώ καθυστέρηση έξι χρόνων έφεραν και οι αρχαιολογικές ανασκαφές σε σημεία που ήταν κρυμμένα κάτω από τις πολυκατοικίες της οδού Ρ. Γκάλι. Μέχρι να φθάσουμε στην εφαρμογή της μελέτης των αρχιτεκτόνων Τσουμί-Φωτιάδη, είχε μεσολαβήσει μια δύσκολη διετία (2002-4) με 35 μηνύσεις σε βάρος της Α΄ Εφορείας Ακρόπολης, αλλά και της διοίκησης του Οργανισμού, που τελικώς απαλλάχθηκαν. Μεταξύ των μηνυτών ήταν και ο Π. Τατούλης, που τον Μάρτιο του 2004 ορίστηκε υφυπουργός Πολιτισμού, γεγονός που δεν τον εμπόδισε στη συνέχεια με τη νέα του θέση να λάβει μέτρα για την προώθηση των έργων.

Όλα αυτά αποτελούν παρελθόν και την ερχόμενη άνοιξη οι επισκέπτες της Ακρόπολης θα έχουν την ευκαιρία να δουν για πρώτη φορά ευρήματα από όλες τις περιόδους του ιερού βράχου.

Bernard Tschumi , Μιχάλης Φωτιάδης

The post Νέο Μουσείο Ακρόπολης was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

Architect Amelia Tavella has just completed the rehabilitation and extension of the Convent Saint-François, in Santa-Lucia di Tallano, Corsica. This partially ruined building from 1480, listed as a historical monument, had been abandoned for a very long time.

“I believe in higher and invisible forces. The Convent of Saint Francis of Saint Lucia in Tallano, built in 1480, is part of this belief. Housed high up, on its promontory, it was a defensive castle before being a place of prayer, of retreat, chosen by monks aware of the absolute beauty of the site. Faith rallies to the sublime. 

With its back to the cemetery, it overlooks the village it is watching. It has a front and a backstage. An olive grove is like a collar at its feet, a happy garden of heavenly food. In front, the spectacle of the Corsican mountains, a dizzying merry-go-round of passes and ridges that seem to move in the direction of the clouds and change their dress with the seasons. Here pulses the heart of Alta Roca. The beauty there is religious, supernatural.

Nature has grown inside the building, slipping between the stones, and then transformed into a plant armor that protects against erosion and collapse. A fig tree is included in the facade. The horn, the wood, the roots become structural, replacing the lime which would not have withstood the test of time. An essential component of the historic monument, we have honored this nature which will have long protected the dormant building before its resurrection.We have chosen to keep the ruins and replace the torn part, the phantom part, in copper work, which will become the House of the Territory. I walked in the footsteps of the past, connecting beauty to faith, faith to art, moving minds from before to a form of modernity that never alters or destroys. The ruins are marks, vestiges, imprints, they also tell the foundations and a truth, they were beacons, cardinal points, directing our axes, our choices, our volumes. Building after ruins is the past and modernity embracing each other, making the promise never to betray each other. One becomes the other and no one is erased. It is an interweaving of an older time in a new time which does not undo, which does not recompose, but which links, attaches, grabs, two unknown and not foreign parts, one of which becomes the extension of the other. in a sort of transfiguration. I have always built this way on my Corsican island, like an archaeologist who brings together what was and what is and what will happen; I do not remove, I hang, bind, affix, slide, resting on the initial ground, on the original work: the copper reveals the stone, the monument and it sacralizes the ruiniform and poetic state. The ruin is like the radiographic image of a structure polished and undone by time and suddenly magnified because it is raised and held by a reversible frame, a light frame, itself doomed to transform, to become a second skin and to possess a story. I liked the idea of a possible return to ruin, that the copper could be undone – this possibility is a courtesy, a respect, to the past, to Corsican heritage.I built the Maison du Territoire by aligning myself with the original massing. By mimicry, I reproduced the silhouette of the pre-existing building. Like the mountain scene, I retraced the blueprint, concerned with a symmetry of Beauty, nothing should strike the eye. I am haunted by the obvious. Each work is a work of love. Love of the place, of the building, of its mutation as one could say of a species which transforms itself from what it has been. The copper allowed a gesture of softness, it is feminine like stone. Unlike granite, however, it approaches its grandeur, by its preciousness and its propensity to capture the light, to reflect it, sending it back to the sky like the prayers of the monks and the faithful who address themselves to the Most High. 

Its moucharabiés direct the light inwards, light captured and diffused as if it were passing through the stained-glass window of a church. A noble and dazzling material in the first sense of the term, copper transforms the place into an experience. The sun falls there and carries away.”

Amelia Tavella

The post Convent Saint-François was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

This competition proposal for the redesign of the townhall square of Farsala, a small town in central Greece, draws inspiration from the centuries-old history of the city and the wider area, which has been an important passage between the north and south of the mainland.

Through its 4000-year history, the area has faced multiple and important military conflicts as a battlefield for ancient Greeks, Romans, Ottomans, and modern Greeks. At the same time, Farsala is considered the birthplace of Achilles, the mythical Iliad hero. Achilles’s figure is not only the epitome of the unbeatable heroic warrior, but also connected with the turbulent transition from the old era of heroes to the upcoming era of the city-states.

Inspired from these historical facts and mythologies, the proposal employs the concept of “conflict” and depicts it in the paving design of the new square. Multiple clashing square-shaped parts whose geometry affects one another shape a paving that begins from the entrances to the square leading to its center, where the proposal suggests repositioning Achilles’s statue, alongside the central floor fountain.

The initially square-shaped parts are each time reshaped because of the clashes between them. These reshaped parts consist of a zone of exposed concrete at their perimeter, while their inner segment contains sequential parallel zones of local stones and marbles that are either new or recycled from the site.

The flowerbeds and the floor fountains follow the same design logic. Small bumps with trees and low vegetation shape the flowerbeds that surround the central part of the square forming a garden, which aims to advance and enrich the microclimate of this public space. The multiple floor fountains placed at key points of the garden enhance the presence of nature in the square, offering moments of play and surprise. The floor fountains at the central part of the square and at the garden are concealed in the paving. Brass ribbons designate the drainage zone of the fountains, an area that appears as a continuation of the paving. Water surprises the visitor of the space by jumping out from the nozzles concealed in the paving, and it either creates an ephemeral shallow pond, or drains directly using the nozzles drainage system. The design of the lighting fixtures as brass bells refers to the Byzantine history of the area, while timber and marble seating equipment is positioned in a way to follow the paving pattern.

Oikonomakis Siampakoulis Architects

The post New Farsala Square was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

The project draws inspiration from imagery uniquely associated with Fuzhou: the Jinshan Temple. This is a rare example of a temple structure built in the middle of a river in China. John Thomson was one of the first photographers ever to travel to the country and provided Western audiences with some of the first glimpses into the Far East. In the album Foochow and the River Min, which documented his legendary journey up the Min River, Thomson captured the ancient structure in its original state resting serenely above a floating rock in 1871. This would become a lasting image unmistakably identified with the city of Fuzhou.

Conceived as an urban artifact and drawing from the historical roots of the city of Fuzhou, the Relic Shelter internalizes a piece of distinct heritage at a time when rapid new development has eroded traditional culture and identity. The client’s brief posed the unique challenge of creating an enclosure for a Chinese artifact – the wooden structure of a high-ranking Qing dynasty official’s residence, replete with ornamental carvings and intricate joinery. Relocated from Anhui to its new home in Fuzhou, the Hui-style structure is enshrined as the inhabitable centrepiece of a new teahouse.

Envisioned as a house atop a rock, the teahouse is elevated above a rammed concrete base, while its sweeping copper roof echoes the roofline of the enclosed architectural relic. Its core material, rammed concrete, is a modern homage to the traditional earthen dwellings of the region, emphasizing a raw monumentality. Visitors are presented with two images of the building upon approach: the upright silhouette of the form, and its mirrored reflection duplicated in the surrounding pool of water.

A series of contrasts play out among elements that are bright and dark, light and heavy, coarse and refined, as visitors enter the grand hall where the structure of the ancient residence is situated. Sky wells penetrate the roof, bringing natural light into the depths of the enclosure and illuminating the priceless artifact on display. Only upon reaching the mezzanine does the structural configuration of the building begin to reveal itself. The hovering metal roof is lifted 50 cm off the solid base by copper-clad trusses to introduce a sliver of continuous illumination around its periphery. Wrapping itself around the historical wooden structure, the mezzanine space allows visitors to appreciate intricate carpentry details at eye level.

The basement level includes a secondary arrival lobby housing a rotunda, a sunken courtyard, and tasting rooms. At the top of the rotunda, a carved oculus capped by the glass is submerged beneath the pool in the courtyard above. It filters the sun through a thin film of water, creating a mesmerizing play of reflections.

Neri&Hu Design and Research Office

The post Teahouse in Fuzhou was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL) is New York’s new central circulating library, built within the 1914 shell and steel frame of the Mid-Manhattan Library which it replaces, the 16,722 m² building is topped with a spectacular angular roof and public rooftop amenities to make a new urban icon on Fifth Avenue.

SNFL is a new-generation library for all New Yorkers, with special facilities for young users, adult learning, and business. It offers the perfect contemporary complement to NYPL’s world-famous Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (SASB), located across Fifth Avenue from SNFL. SASB opened in 1911, designed by architects Carrère & Hastings in a glorious Beaux-Art style, and receives over 1.7 million visits a year as the mothership of NYPL’s reference collections.

Mecanoo and Beyer Blinder Belle’s concept was to leverage the synergy of SNFL and SASB and bring them together as NYPL’s Midtown Campus. New features at SNFL reflect this harmony between the buildings: long tables that recall the impressive scale of those in SASB’s Rose Main Reading Room, ceiling artwork in the Long Room that echoes the neo-classical paintings set in SASB’s ceilings, and the use of classic materials including natural stone, terrazzo, and oak.

SNFL’s ground floor is arranged around an internal street that runs beneath a floating linear canopy of wood beams, from the Fifth Avenue entrance to the welcome desks. Located on one side are elevators, stairs, and a mezzanine balcony. On the other side, a rectangular opening in the floorplate reveals the lower ground floor, which houses a Children’s Library and Teen Center. The Children’s Library play area enjoys natural light, and the Teen Center has a dedicated staircase and study and media rooms decorated with bold and whimsical commissioned murals by artist Melinda Beck. An internal window in the lower ground floor allows visitors to see SNFL’s book-sorting machine in action.

SNFL has an annual circulation of two million items, and this sheer volume generates challenges in access, organization, and storage. The design solution offers more space, more books, more seats, and lower shelves. The heart of the library is the Long Room, a new space that truly brings the idea of a library into the old structure, which was originally designed as a department store. A triple height void has been cut into it, 9m (31 feet) wide and rising 26m (85 feet) from the second story to a vibrant new abstract ceiling artwork by Hayal Pozanti.This dramatic linear atrium separates three floors of flexible, daylit reading areas on one side and five levels of book stacks on the other, a creative and efficient solution to balancing the need for a browsable collection and the desire for more public reading room space. Book stacks are a vertical means of storing books dating back to the nineteenth century, and here they are revived to give open access for library users. Through the library’s 40th Street windows, passers-by will see the northern end of the book stacks, visible as a continuous vertical wall of book spines welcoming New Yorkers into the space to browse.

The Long Room’s atrium wall at the southern end is deep red, and perforated with new windows to bring light from a pocket park to the south. Its distinctive look assists wayfinding. Ramps gently slope to connect the different floor heights of the book stack levels and reading areas. The reading areas extend from the atrium to the Fifth Avenue facade, and have bespoke reading tables assembled in situ, many supported by the building’s original steel frame. These oak-surfaced tables stretch up to 20 meters (66 feet) in length. Readers at these tables sit in chairs designed in collaboration with Thos. Moser exclusively for NYPL branch libraries.

Above the Long Room, the fifth and sixth floors host the Business Center and the Pasculano Learning Center facilities. SNFL’s vertical arrangement of programs improves the user experience and journey of learning. The materiality of the library contributes to that user experience, for example in terrazzo flooring and travertine presented in the elevator banks.

SNFL now delivers to the Midtown cityscape a sensational new public roof attraction and a striking sculptural addition. Elevators and stairs continue to the seventh floor, which is built at the original building’s roof level. This new floor has pitched wood slat ceilings and contains a flexible 268-occupant conference and event center. An L-shaped roof terrace runs above the 40th Street and Fifth Avenue facades and includes a roof garden and an adjacent indoor café. It is Manhattan’s only free, publicly-accessible roof terrace and offers staggering Midtown views, including across Fifth Avenue to the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building and surrounding skyscrapers.

Above the seventh floor, a dramatic new roof slopes up to cover mechanical equipment, reaching 56m above street level. Its angled pitches, and a patinated copper-colored aluminum surface, are inspired by Manhattan’s Beaux Art copper-clad mansard roofs, two 1904 examples of which are visible from the terrace. As a new native New Yorker, the form also nods to the tapering spires of New York’s art deco skyscrapers and faceted facades of its newer towers. This spectacular roof is to be ‘a Wizard Hat for all New Yorkers!’

Mecanoo , Beyer Blinder Belle

John Bartlestone , Max Touhey

The post Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.