David Chipperfield Architects Unveils Winning Design for the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, Greece

Written by Christele Harrouk
Published on February 16, 2023

Selected from a shortlist of 10 proposals, David Chipperfield’s design won the competition for the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, Greece. Housing one of the world’s most important collections of prehistoric and ancient art, the National Archaeological Museum, will undergo refurbishment and extension works, including a subterranean addition with a roof garden. The proposal was developed together with Wirtz International, Tombazis & Associate Architects, wh-p ingenieure, Werner Sobek, and Atelier Brückner.

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Located in the Exarcheia district of Athens, the original structure of the National Archaeological Museum was designed by Ludwig Lange and Ernst Ziller in 1866-1874. The neoclassical project has received several additions over time. “Refurbished and extended to meet today’s standards of quality, openness, and sustainability”, the winning proposal of David Chipperfield Architects Berlin extends the existing building to the street, and adds two floors of subterranean galleries, generating 20,000 m2 of extra space and a lush green park on the roof open to all.

The proposal draws on the essence of Lange’s original design — a romantic philhellenic idea of an urban landscape, articulated through lush open areas within the dense city grid — taking the monumental building as a starting point and framing it with nature.

Respecting the original value of the building, and the topography, the new project “forms a harmonious ensemble of spaces, finding a balance between old and new”. The extension will include the museum’s main public functions: ticket desk, shop, restaurant, auditorium, and permanent and temporary exhibition spaces; and the project puts in place a new façade that “communicates openly with its urban surrounding”.

Upon entering the museum, visitors walk through two floors of continuous, flowing exhibition space that leads them to the existing building. A refined architectural language of pure and clear volumes, diagonal views and rammed-earth walls contrasts with the historical spaces.

Designed by Belgian landscape architects, Wirtz International, the landscape references 19th-century parks. Accessible from all directions, the outdoor area also generates a sunken, sheltered inner courtyard that binds together the old and new, providing a gathering place for everyone.