David Chipperfield Architects Berlin has won the contest to revamp and enlarge the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, located in the capital's Exarcheia neighborhood, which possesses one of the world's major collections of prehistoric and ancient art. The original neoclassical edifice raised by Ludwig Lange and Ernst Ziller, dated 1866-1874, has over time been complemented with additional constructions.

The winning design takes inspiration from Lange's work. The existing plinth is stretched all the way to the street, and two levels of underground galleries are added. In a single gesture this generates approximately 20,000 square meters of new space, and also a garden roof for public use. Respecting the building's heritage value, the extension seeks to blend in with the complex, and walls of compacted earth strike a contrast with the historical spaces. The expansion contains the institution's main public functions (ticket office, store, restaurant, auditorium, exhibition halls), which are organized symmetrically. A courtyard at the heart of the premises connects old and new.

The scheme was drawn up with Wirtz International, Tombazis & Associate Architects, wh-`ingenieure, Werner Sobek, and Atelier Brückner.

© Filippo Bolognese Images