Shortlisted Project (pre-finalist), Open Architectural Competition for the New Cyprus Archaeological Museum in Nicosia
team: Ch. Theodoropoulos (team leader), A. Verteouri, E. Livani, N. Marda, F. Anastasiadis
The New Cyprus museum is a low-rise, open protected museum, that invites visitors to stroll in its gardens, and enjoy cultural and educational activities. The
whole museum is covered by a bioclimatic, translucent canopy, under which, exhibition, administrative and public spaces are linked together with a series of
gardens. The gardens form a space of commons, a social hub bringing together visitors and citizens of Nicosia. Moreover, they create an open entrance hall
to the exhibition spaces. The canopy is equipped with a light control system, distilling the natural light to the interior spaces, while offering shade in the
exterior, and thus, protecting from the excess heat in the summer.
The main exhibition space is characterized by the presence of cocoon structures that house exhibitions, offer a gaze to the sky, and a view of the storage
rooms of the museum, in the basement. These are inspired by the Neolithic settlements of Cypriot history. Their double skin controls light and allows for
natural ventilation, thus playing an important bioclimatic role in controlling the inner microclimate.
