Abstract
Acropolis literally means “city on the edge”. In Greek, Acropolis means “Highest City”. The word Acropolis, Greek in origin, is associated primarily with the Greek cities Athens, Argos, Thebes, and Corinth. The most famous example is the Acropolis of Athens is known worldwide as “the Acropolis”. The most famous building of Acropolis is the Parthenon.
Acropolis was rebuilt under the leadership of Pericles during the Golden Age of Athens (460–430 BC). Phidias, a great Athenian sculptor, and Ictinus and Callicrates, two famous architects, were responsible for the reconstruction. During the 5th century BC, the Acropolis gained its final shape. After winning at Eurymedon in 468 BC, Cimon and Themistocles ordered the reconstruction of southern and northern walls, and Pericles entrusted the building of the Parthenon to Ictinus and Phidias.
25 centuries later, the Acropolis of Athens was formally proclaimed as the pre-eminent monument on the European Cultural Heritage list of monuments on 26th of March 2007.
The building of the Acropolis Museum in this particular site was envisioned in 1976 by Constantinos Karamanlis, Greek Prime Minister (1974-1977) and is located in the historical area of Makriyianni, southeast of the Rock of the Acropolis, on Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, Athens.
On 20th of June 2009, this unique project has come to its completion. The Acropolis Museum with 4.000+ exhibits, built on the slopes of Acropolis, during an astonishing grand opening ceremony, has opened its doors to the public for first time.
This 175,000,000$ project, has 250,000 square feet total area and took about 8 years to complete.
Background
The monuments of the Acropolis have withstood the ravages of past centuries, both of ancient times and those of the Middle Ages. Until the 17th century, foreign travelers visiting the monuments depicted the classical buildings as being intact. This remained the case until the middle of the 17th century, when the Propylaia was blown up while being used as a gunpowder store.
30 years later, the Ottoman occupiers dismantled the neighboring Temple of Athena Nike to use its materials to strengthen the fortification of the Acropolis.
The most fatal year, however, for the Acropolis, was 1687. In 1687, many of the building's architectural members were blown into the air and fell in heaps around the Hill of the Acropolis, caused by a bomb from the Venetian forces. Foreign visitors to the Acropolis would search through the rubble and take fragments of the fallen sculptures as their souvenirs…
It was in the 19th century that Lord Elgin removed intact architectural sculptures from the frieze, the metopes and the pediments of the building.
The old Acropolis Museum
In 1833, the Turkish withdrew from the Acropolis. Immediately after the founding of the Greek State, discussions about the construction of an Acropolis Museum on the Hill of the Acropolis began.
In 1863, it was decided that the Museum be constructed on a site to the southeast of the Parthenon and foundations were laid on 30 December 1865. The total space of old Acropolis museum was about 800 square meters (8611 square feet). The building program of the old Museum used a simple formula:
- Height of museum building <= height of the stylobate of the Parthenon.
With only 800 square meters of floor space, the building was rapidly shown to be inadequate to accommodate the findings from the large excavations on the Acropolis that began in 1886.
A 2nd museum was announced in 1888, the so-called Little Museum. Final changes occurred in 1946-1947 with the 2nd Museum being demolished and the original being sizably extended to about 2000 square meters (21527 square feet) (50m × 20m building)
By the 1970s, the old Acropolis Museum could not cope satisfactorily with the large numbers of visitors passing through its doors. The inadequacy of the space frequently caused problems and downgraded the sense that the exhibition of the masterpieces from the Rock sought to achieve!
Project Initiation!!!
The new Acropolis Museum was firstly conceived by Constantinos Karamanlis, Greek Prime Minister, in September 1976. He also selected the site, upon which the Museum was finally built 4 decades later!!! With his penetrating vision, Constantinos Karamanlis defined the need and established the means for a new Acropolis Museum. This new Acropolis Museum would be equipped with all technical facilities for the conservation of the invaluable Greek artifacts. Main goal was to eventually re-unite all the Parthenon sculptures!!!
For these reasons, architectural competitions were conducted in 1976 and 1979, but without success… Ten years later, in 1989, Melina Mercouri, the Minister of Culture, started a campaign for the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum. Melina also initiated an international architectural competition for the design of the new Acropolis museum.
The results of this competition was annulled following the discovery of a large urban settlement on the Makriyianni site dating from Archaic to Early Christian Athens. This new discovery now needed to be integrated into the New Museum that was to be built on this site.
The Acropolis Museum is located in the historical area of Makriyianni, southeast of the Rock of the Acropolis, on Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, Athens. It is only 300 meters from the Acropolis Hill, 2 kilometers away from Syntagma, Athens main city square and next to Acropolis Metro station.
The Museum entrance is at the beginning of the pedestrian walkway of Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, which constitutes the central route for the unified network of the Athens's archaeological sites.
In the year 2000, the Organization for the Construction of the New Acropolis Museum announced an invitation to a new tender, which was realized in accord with the Directives of the European Union.
It is this Tender that has come to fruition with the awarding of the design tender to Bernard Tschumi with Michael Photiadis and their associates and the completion of construction in 2007.
The project was co-financed by The Hellenic Republic and The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The total budget was €130 million (about $175 million USD). The customer of the project was Mr. Dimitrios Pandermalis, President of the organization for the Construction of the New Acropolis Museum.
The positive Project Stakeholders where The Government, All the Greeks worldwide and the society. Amongst the negative Project Stakeholders was the British Museum because the Greece would eventually ask for the return of the Elgin marbles and some land owners next to the new Acropolis museum.
The design of the new museum
Professor Dimitrios Pandermalis, President of the Organization for the Construction of the New Acropolis Museum, stated for the design of new Acropolis museum:
“The design was chosen for its simple, clear, and beautiful solution that is in accord with the beauty and classical simplicity of the Museum's unique exhibits and that ensures a museological and architectural experience that is relevant today and for the foreseeable future.”
The General Contractor was AKTOR SA, one of the leading Greek construction companies. Leonidas Pakas was the Project Manager and Costis Skroumbelos was the Architectural Consultant. More people involved on the project are:
| Architect: | Bernard Tschumi Architects New York/Paris |
| Associate Architect: | Michael Photiadis ARSY Ltd, Athens, Greece |
| Structure Consultant: | ADK and Arup, New York |
| Mechanical and Electrical Consultant: | MMB Study Group S.A. and Arup, New York |
| Civil Consultant: | Michanniki Geostatiki and Arup, New York |
| Lighting Consultant: | Arup, London |
| Glass Consultant: | Hugh Dutton Associates (HAD) |
The product of the project
| Floors: | 3 mail levels and two intermediate levels |
| Full site area: | 23,000 square meters / (250,000 square feet) |
| Floor Area: | 21,000 square meters / (226,000 square feet) |
| Exhibition Space: | 14,000 square meters / (150,000 square feet) |
| Number of Columns in Excavations: | 43 |
| Number of Columns in Archaic Gallery: | 28 |
| Dimensions of Parthenon Gallery: | 39 x 84 meters |
| Dimensions of the Frieze: | 21 x 58 meters |
| Number of Glass Panels in Parthenon Gallery: | 348 |
| Total Area of Glass Panels: | 1302 square meters |
| Theater: | A 250 square meter theater with 180 seats is fully equipped with projection facilities and a translation booth. |
| Café, Terrace, and Store: |
A 770 square meter restaurant opens onto a public terrace with views of the Acropolis. Shading devices designed by Bernard Tschumi Architects are subtly incorporated into the overall scheme, allowing for year-round use during the day and night Two 125 square meter shops are located on level +0 and +2 |
Materials used
The materials used on the project were:
- Structure: Reinforced concrete and steel
- Glass Façade: Purified ‘low iron’ glass with an invisible selective UV coating and printed frit
- Inner Core: Precast and cast-in-place concrete with acoustical dampening perforations
- Skylights: Frosted glass panels
- Railings: Glass panels with steel handrails
- Floors: Beige marble for galleries; dark marble for circulation; heat strengthened, laminated safety glass with textured dots to prevent slippage
- Displays: Marble pedestals, glass vitrines, and steel niches
Project Schedule
The project schedule dates are shown on the next table:
| Competition Announced: | • Spring 2001 |
| Architect Announcement: | • September 2001 |
| Design Completed: | • August 2002 |
| Groundbreaking: | • September 2003 |
| Building Completion: | • September 2007 |
| Transfer of Artifacts: | • September 2007 through December 2007 |
| Limited Public Viewing of Installation: | • Winter 2008 |
| Public opening: | • June 20, 2009 |
The 5 Collections of the Acropolis Museum
- The Gallery of the Slopes of the Acropolis
- The Archaic Gallery
- The Parthenon Gallery
- Propylaia, Athena Nike, Erechtheion
- From the 5th c. BC to the 5th c. AD
1st collection: The Gallery of the Slopes of the Acropolis
After crossing the ground floor lobby towards the turn styles of the Museum, the first collection lies before the visitor.
An ascending, wide glass-floored gallery houses finds from the slopes of the Acropolis.
The occasionally transparent floor provides a view of the archaeological excavation, while its upward slope alludes to the ascent to the Acropolis.
The Gallery of the Slopes of the Acropolis houses finds from the sanctuaries that were founded on the slopes of the Acropolis, as well as objects that Athenians used in everyday life from all historic periods.
On the left hand side, finds from some of the key sanctuaries of the slopes are exhibited.
On the right hand side, finds from the smaller sanctuaries and settlements that developed on the slopes of the Hill are displayed.
2nd collection: The Archaic Gallery
Archaic is the period throughout the 7th century BC, until the end of the Persian Wars (480/79 BC). This period is characterized by the development of the city-state and the transition from aristocracy to tyranny and, eventually, democracy.
In the Archaic Gallery, for the first time, visitors have the opportunity to view exhibits from all sides as three-dimensional exhibits.
With the benefit of the changing natural light, visitors can discern and discover the delicate surface variations of sculptures and select the vantage point from which to observe the exhibits.
In the south side of the Gallery, depictions of young women (the Korai), the horse riders (the Hippeis) and many other provide a striking picture of the Acropolis in the Archaic Period.
3rd collection: The Parthenon Gallery
In the centre of the Parthenon Gallery on the 3rd floor, the visitor can observe a video presentation about the Parthenon and the sculptural decoration of the monument.
In the same area are presented ancient marble inscriptions recording detailed cost records of the construction of the Parthenon and the statue of Athena Parthenos.
As a result, visitors are informed on how democratic bodies functioned in the 5th century BC.
The installation of the frieze of the Parthenon on the rectangular cement core that has exactly the same dimensions of the Parthenon enables a comprehensive viewing of the details of the frieze, as one takes the perimetric walk of the Gallery.
4th collection: Propylaia, Athena Nike, Erechtheion
The descent of the visitor from the 3rd floor back to the 1st floor, to the last gallery of the Museum, affords views of unique works that became prototypes for subsequent periods from antiquity to today.
For the first time ever, it is possible to view the coffered ceiling of the Propylaia and the sculptures from the parapet of the temple of Athena Nike, and finally, the Caryatids – or Korai of the Erechtheion at close proximity on the balcony overlooking the Gallery of the Slopes of the Acropolis.
The main monuments that constitute the Classical Acropolis are the Propylaia, the temple of Athena Nike and the Erechtheion.
- The Propylaia, the monumental entrance to the Acropolis, were built in 437-432 BC, following designs by the architect Mnesikles, in order to replace the earlier gateway (the Archaic Propylon).
- In 427-423 BC, the temple of Athena Nike was built, perhaps by the architect Kallikrates, on the bastion southwest of the Propylaia, to replace an earlier small temple on the same site.
- The Erechtheion is the last of the Periclean buildings. Construction began during the Peace of Nicias (421-415 BC) and ended after 410 BC.
5th collection: From the 5th c. BC to the 5th c. AD
The exhibition concludes at the north side of the 1st floor gallery. Impressive portraits, Roman copies of classical masterpieces and depictions of philosophers and historical figures are the exhibits covering the period from the 5th century BC to the 5th century AD.
These collections of the Museum include the Sanctuary of Artemis Brauronia, the votives of the Classical and Hellenistic Periods and the votives of the Roman Period.
Opening Ceremony
On 20th of June 2009, this unique project has come to its completion. On this date, the new Acropolis Museum in Athens, Greece, built on the slopes of Acropolis, during an astonishing grand opening ceremony, has opened its doors to the public for first time.
More than 300 honored guests had the opportunity to visit the new Acropolis Museum during the opening ceremony. At the present time, the Museum has 4,000+ exhibits.
The President of the Museum, Mr. Dimitrios Pandermalis stated:
“The new Acropolis Museum was designed with two objectives: the first to offer the best conditions for the exhibition of its exhibits and secondly to be a Museum that welcomes and befriends its visitors. A walk through its galleries is a walk through history – between the masterpieces of the Archaic and Classical periods, but also in the ancient neighborhoods of Athens. The Museum offers many opportunities for rest and recreation, as well as a visitor friendly environment for some of the most emblematic works of antiquity.”
Mr. Antonis Samaras, the Greek Minister of Culture stated:
“Welcome to the new Acropolis Museum. 188 years since the declaration of the Greek Independence, 33 years since Constantinos Karamanlis took the far-sighted decision to built it in this particular site, and 27 years since the campaign of Melina Merkouri, a duty is fulfilled and a dream is realized!”
New busines case: “Return home, the Elgin Marbles!”
Now a new project has been initiated in the hearts of all Greeks worldwide and many others million people on earth: to return home, the Elgin Marbles.
Elgin Marbles, also known as the Parthenon Marbles, are a collection of classical Greek marble sculptures, inscriptions and architectural members that originally belonged to the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens. Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1799–1803, had obtained a controversial permission from the Ottoman authorities to remove pieces from the Acropolis. From 1801 to 1812 Elgin's agents removed about half of the surviving sculptures of the Parthenon, as well as architectural members and sculpture from the Propylaea and Erechtheum. Today, Elgin Marbles are displayed in the British_Museum.
Summary
This unique PROJECT of a LIFETIME to build the new Acropolis Museum has undergone a lot of challenges: From selecting the right place to build it, securing the funds and relocating the marbles from Acropolis. But, the unique result is astonishing!!!