The new Archaeological Museum of Athens will be established at Plato’s Academy and will be the first “green” archaeological museum in Greece. It will be bioclimatic and will not have any environmental impact, as well as provide easy access for people with disabilities. This building, which will house the archaeological museum of the city of Athens, will extend over 14,362 sq.m. Parking with a total area of ​​2600 sq.m. it will be underground. An outdoor amphitheater with 500 seats is planned to be built in the vicinity, and inside the museum are the buildings of the “International Auditorium of the Academies”. In addition, as part of the promotion of Plato’s Academy, the municipality of Athens is planning to restore green spaces with the creation of a park in terms of sustainability and sustainability. The new museum will feature thousands of unique finds from excavations in various parts of Athens over the past decades and finds from excavations of the underground.

The first “green” museum of our country aims, together with a wider space, to become an international center for the development of scientific, artistic and, in a broader sense, cultural activity, emphasizing the eternal role of Athens from ancient times to the present day.

The New Museum of the City of Athens is part of the pioneering project of the Plato Academy, which includes archaeological excavations revealing a priceless part of our history, the creation of a park of the future based on new bioclimatic design, and the creation of a modern, green Museum of the City of Athens.

The eminent architect Giorgos Tsolakis, whose firm won the competition to build the Museum, spoke exclusively to APE-MPE about the inspiration, planning, execution and vision of the new creation of the city of Athens.

“The new Athens Archaeological Museum aims to present the unknown treasures found in Athens and explain the historical development of the city,” notes Mr. Tsolakis, and continues: “Wandering through the park, you realize that nature is the protagonist of the area. Traces of the architectural elements of the gymnasium, ruins that outline the boundaries of ancient buildings, help us to recall the memories of the past of this place and activate our imagination. Among the gardens, monuments to famous citizens, heroes and gods grow, in the passages and in the atriums of the gymnasium, historical figures of the world intellectual world are taught …

At the entrance there is an inscription “Ageometritos medeis izito”. Geometry for the ancient Greek philosophers, and especially for Plato, was not just a practice of exploring and solving questions of space. The spiritual dimension of the principles of geometry serves the justice of the universe and is aimed at the emergence of harmony. In this sense, Ageometrite is not one who does not know geometric theorems, but one who does not understand the relationship of a part to a common whole and then acts unjustly. The application of geometry, a sober and fair measurement of the earth, organizes the apparent chaos in a harmonious way, balancing the natural world with the artificial. The aforementioned condition of the perception of space, the relationship between the pre-existing and the new, the general and the partial, was the main guideline in the planning of the Athens Archaeological Museum.

Between the smooth islands of greenery, clear linear paths appear that converge towards the center. The dynamics of these routes seem to have a catalytic effect on the land, creating a crack in the flat topography of the grove. Now a walk through the grove introduces us to the interior of the exhibits, revealing the different dynamic state between the open public space and the contemporary museum.

Four new footpaths create a central hub and a swirling movement that links the city and the grove with the museum and its individual functions antidiametrically and at different levels. The morphological approach of the museum refers to the modern translation of the archetypal temple pavilion, where its introverted typology is transformed into an extraverted system. The proposal highlights the design of the public space, including the museum, archaeological site, recreational and sports areas, and encourages participation. The design principles of the new Archaeological Museum project a vision of the Athens of the future. A city that connects building infrastructure with natural terrain and landscape, a city that respects, highlights and harmoniously coexists with its history, taking into account all its inhabitants.

The alternation of indoor and outdoor spaces and the possibility of viewing the interior of the museum from different points of view are meant to create a relationship of intimacy between the museum and the visitor, which will make even ordinary passers-by feel comfortable passing through its doors or exchanging messages about.

Thus, the museum becomes “transparent” both in its external characteristics and in the management of its internal space, allowing a creative dialogue both with antiquities in the surrounding space and with the internal space, the city and its people,” Mr. Tsolakis.

The bidding procedures for the project were completely transparent, notes Chronis Akritidis, head of the company “Regeneration of Athens S.A.”, which “led” the tender, APE-MPE.

“The competition, which began in August 2022 and ended in early January 2023 with open and transparent procedures, has proven that compliance with the rules at all stages of the competition process does not cause delays, has acceptance and they are (always) completed on time,” says Mr. Mr Akritidis. During the tender, data and information were requested from 153 interested parties, 17 proposals were submitted, of which 16 were considered valid, three prizes and two commendations were awarded. The jury consisted of Mr. Turnikiotis Panagiotis (Architectural Engineer, NTUA Professor, Chairman of the Committee), Papanikolaou Morphos (Architectural Engineer), Penelope Kougianou (Architectural Engineer), Marda Nelli (Architectural Engineer, NTUA Professor Emeritus) and Glenty Alexandros ( civil engineer, representative of organizational authority). “In the context of this competition, an exhibition was organized in which outstanding proposals were presented to the public, as well as other works,” says Mr. Akritidis, emphasizing that “the aim of this new museum is to highlight the values ​​of politics and sciences that flourished in Athens, to illuminate the private and public life of the citizens who created the Acropolis and the Parthenon, and at the same time be a living organization and an international pole for the development of scientific, artistic and, more broadly, cultural activities that will constantly allude to the timeless metropolitan role of Athens from antiquity to the present day.