Archaeological park at the ancient gates of Piraeus

The project refers to the design and implementation of an archaeological park at the site of the main gates of classical Piraeus. The project had been awarded 1st prize at a national architectural competition and is currently under construction.

The archaeological site is approached as a local submersion of the ancient city which is extended underneath and in parallel to the contemporary city. Pylis street is treated as the last street of contemporary city overlooking the archeological site on a lower level, a balcony of today towards our past. It is proposed as a pedestrians zone and acts as a threshold by comprising the entrance to the archeological site, by connecting the site to a local museum of ancient wall constructions and by providing space underneath for all necessary facilities.

The archaeological site itself is internally differentiated between an ‘intra muros’ part which is designed as an extension of the Hippodamean grid towards the monument and an ‘extra muros’ part which is designed as a landscape, as it used to be the whole area outside the walls. Thus, the archaeological site is framed by two distinct in design and character schematic sub-places which are respectively representative of the urban grid and the landscape. At the same time this kind of open framing, allows twe gates and their connecting wall to be considered not as a local monument only but part of an extended defense like which passes through the archaeological park.

vgan@central.ntua.gr