The results of the Piraeus Underwater Antiquities Museum Competition were recently announced with the collaborative team of architects Antonopoulos Evangelos, Vetta Thalia, Gavalas Georgios, Riga Maria – Kiriaki, and Stamouli Anastasia, and Pilarinou Maria announced as the first place winner. The challenge was for the design of a new landmark for the city and the port of Piraeus, with main reference to the culture, quality tourism and sustainability as well. Piraeus Port Authority is organizing an open exhibition with all the proposals that were submitted to the competition at the “Petrini” (Stonebuilt) Warehouse – future Museum of the History of P.P.A. and Museum of Immigrants – within the zone of the Cultural Coast. The opening of the exhibition is planned on 28th March 2013.
Second Place: Uleia Andrei, Traian Bompa, Cristina Chelarescu
Team’s Description: The architectural concept is based on the intention to expose the objects recovered from the sea
bed not as relics, some meaningless dead objects but as objects partially recovering the original meaning. The museum is structured around a strong vertical gesture, situated in a monumental space derived from ancient amphorae as well as the shape of ships. The building is simultaneously a ship that develops and supports the idea of the journey and an amphora built a symbol for the idea of content. The journey is not only the one that brought the antiquities to sea but also the one that the archeologists take in order to discover them. It is a trip back and forth between civilizations, in search of content, of truth. The duality of the architectural concept emphasizes the initial functional duality: a building for grain storage and a component of a transport network.