AMS

The proposal for the new archaeological museum in Sparta is articulated around four strategic gestures: the central axis, the memory boxes, the superimposition of historical layers and the diachronic/meaningful axes.
The central axis that crosses the Museum’s ground floor is a reference to the perpetual connection between earth and sky and the gradual excavation of the Laconian land with its important archaeological past.
The need to move sequentially from chronological section to section shapes the time frames as separate spatial entities that enclose exhibits and information and are designed distinct from the defined thematic areas. And while archaeological museums often present the past in a linear way with sequences of linear phases, the design attempted here, shapes the placement of the sections in such a way that the visitor is allowed to freely choose which phase of the past to visit autonomously and/or in relation to other eras.
Furthermore, horizontal and diagonal axes are proposed, which function as connections and as “breathers” between the different sections of the exhibition. At the same time, they form the axes of connection with the natural landscape of the region and its emblematic elements, namely the water area of the Eurotas River and the mountain ranges of Taygetos.
Finally, the conceptual axis is a reminder of the people who co-shaped the cultural history of Laconia, as described in the museological study.