By Tracy F. Ostroff
Associate Editor

International architect, educator, and theorist Bernard Tschumi, AIA, dean of Columbia University’s School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, is no stranger to worldwide competition, but he has indicated that the New Acropolis Museum is bringing him particular satisfaction because of the improbability of winning this Greek building commission. The Swiss-born Tschumi is now navigating the design and political sensibilities of the project, all in time for a groundbreaking this summer and completion for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens.

The Organization for the Construction of the New Acropolis Museum, a privately regulated organization supervised by the Greek Ministry of Culture, headed the international competition and chose Bernard Tschumi Architects, working in conjunction with Athens-based architect Michael Photiadis, from a broad field of entrants. The competition has stalled several times in the past two decades, in part because of the finds from recent excavations, which will be a focus of Tschumi’s designs.

The glass gallery of the new museum will allow visitors a view of the Acropolis, some 800 feet away, and seeks to upgrade the way the country’s artifacts are preserved and presented. The Greek government also hopes the building will serve as a catalyst for the return of the Greek sculptures known as Elgin’s or the Parthenon Marbles, now held by the British government and on display at the London’s British Museum.

The architect noted that this project offered a “triple challenge”:
• Providing a suitable setting for an exceptional collection comprising significant sculptures of classical Greece and one masterpiece, the Parthenon Frieze
• Designing a museum on a complex site hovering over excavations, while aiming at maximum transparency through expanses of glass, all in the hot climate of an earthquake region
• Making an architectural statement for a major museum located at the foot of the Parthenon, arguably one of the most influential buildings of all time.

Minimalist simplicity
Tschumi organized the project into three overarching concepts to turn its unique constraints into “architectural opportunities.” First, abundant natural light adds depth to the presentation of the artwork. For example, a glass enclosure at the building’s top level will provide ideal lighting for sculptures that use a direct view of the Acropolis as a visual backdrop. This enclosure’s glass expanses will of necessity incorporate technologies to protect the sculptures and visitors from excessive heat and light.

The second concept, a clear circulation path, guides visitors through a chronological narrative in a three-dimensional loop. The path features ongoing, on-site archeological excavations of ruins from the third, fifth, and seventh centuries AD. In addition, visitors will view archaeological finds from the sanctuaries of Asklepios, Nymphe, Aphrodite, and Eros. The path will culminate in the frieze of the Parthenon Marbles. As the architect explains, nearly half of the frieze currently resides in the British Museum in London, and its restitution is “the object of major political struggles.”

The third concept embraces the classic program of “base, middle, and top.” The base “hovers over the existing archaeological excavations on pilotis” and contains the entrance lobby, temporary exhibition space, retail space, and all supporting facilities. An entrance ramp above excavated ruins “mirrors the symbolic ascent to the Sacred Rock of the Acropolis,” according to the architect. The middle—a double-height, column-punctuated trapezoidal plate—accommodates all galleries from the Archaic period to the Roman Empire, as well as a mezzanine level housing a multimedia auditorium and restaurant with views toward the Acropolis. The 34,500-square-foot top floor replicates the proportions and orientation of the Parthenon itself via a rectangular gallery arranged around an indoor court. From this level, visitors can view the city of Athens and the actual Parthenon. The hope is for the Parthenon Marbles to be displayed in this gallery so as to be visible, for those with keen eyesight, from the Acropolis above.

“The Parthenon was the highest point of culture and worship,” Tschumi told the Columbia University News Service. “The museum is a place that records those achievements. The museum will stage the work of that era while asserting a new identity.”

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