The highest advisory bodies of the Ministry of Culture, the Central Council of Modern Monuments and the Central Archaeological Council, unanimously approved all of the preliminary studies submitted—architectural, structural, and electromechanical—for the expansion and upgrade of the National Archaeological Museum, the most important and richest repository of ancient Greek art in the world.

The architectural design of the project has been undertaken by Chipperfield-Tompazis Architects. The project studies began after the Greek Parliament ratified the €40,000,000 sponsorship agreement in April 2024, on behalf of Spyros and Dorothy Latsis, in memory of Ioannis and Erietta Latsis, which covers the financing of all the studies. The studies concern the entire building block and museum complex, which also includes the Epigraphic Museum, unique in its kind internationally.

The Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, stated: “Greece is acquiring the National Archaeological Museum it deserves. The architectural identity of the National Archaeological Museum is a complex result of a combination of neoclassical principles and later modernist interventions. The existing building, while retaining its historical character, has been adapted over time to the functional and museological needs of each era. The existing exhibition spaces of the Museum were designed in the second half of the 19th century and responded to the needs, number of visitors, and museological concepts of that era. However, the more than doubling of the number of visitors made it imperative to review and modernize the architectural data. The expansion and upgrading of the National Archaeological Museum, through the proposed interventions, will give the monument a unified character, removing the irregularity and disjointedness of the interventions and additions made to the buildings of the complex, will restore elements of the original structure and upgrade its function, meeting the requirements of a modern museum of international standing. In addition, the building complex itself, as well as the public garden, will become a landmark and attraction for the capital. The redesign aims to transform the Museum into a dynamic hub for extroverted activities, as it includes a research center dedicated to antiquity and an open, universally accessible center for culture and entertainment with a public garden. Particular emphasis is placed on eliminating the building’s existing pathologies, such as humidity and water ingress, strengthening its earthquake resistance, upgrading its energy efficiency, improving accessibility, and enhancing its sustainability. For the first time, the appropriate environmental conditions for the display and exhibition of antiquities, such as humidity, sunlight, and temperature, are ensured, both in the extension of the Museum and in several rooms of the historic building.

The architectural proposal for the expansion and promotion of the National Archaeological Museum has the following main objectives: a. the creation of a public park as a gift to the city, b. the promotion of Greek identity to an international audience, c. the expansion of the Museum’s functions and exhibition spaces and its promotion as a beacon of national culture. The intervention strategy includes building expansion for the development of new infrastructure and exhibition spaces with respect for the neoclassical facade, the creation of a new imposing main entrance on Patission Street with a square and public foyer, the enhancement of the internal cohesion and accessibility of the monument through the creation of connections with the monument building, as well as the creation of an open, green public park with a bistro and courtyard, offering a high-quality urban space. At the same time, the monument building will be enhanced through the renovation of the 1950s halls, interventions in the central axis to improve the structure and orientation, and the reinforcement of the research center with modern laboratories and offices. Visitor facilities will be upgraded with a central foyer, lockers, cloakroom, sanitary facilities, restaurant, amphitheater, shop, and temporary exhibition spaces.

The plan provides for the upgrading of the museum’s exhibition and support areas: approximately 17,000 antiquities will be exhibited in two thematic areas, 13 sections, dozens of subsections, and focused stories, while the areas of the three Prehistoric Collections (Neolithic, Cycladic, and Mycenaean) will be increased from 1,100 square meters to 2,500 square meters. The temporary exhibition space will more than double (from 429 m² to approximately 1,033 m²), with separate storage and logistics areas, while new educational program spaces will be created, increasing from 50 m² today to 178 m². The storage areas for antiquities and general use will be modernized and increased from 3,367 square meters to 4,296 square meters, while the conservation workshops will reach 1,707 square meters from 856 square meters. The library space will be expanded from 201 m² to 289 m², the historical photographic archive from 39 m² to 91 m², with new storage areas of 142 m², and the internal atriums will also be utilized, creating a modern, functional, and educationally rich environment.

The preliminary architectural study for the “Expansion and Upgrade of the National Archaeological Museum” aims to comprehensively upgrade the area of Exarchia, Patissia, and Metaxourgeio, creating a new cultural axis that will connect the Museum with the National Technical University of Athens, the Acropolis, and Pedion tou Areos Park. The project aims to make the Museum a landmark of the city, create a research center dedicated to the study of antiquity, and offer an open, universally accessible public garden that will serve as a center of culture and entertainment. The expansion is considered necessary, as the existing exhibition spaces were designed in the 19th century and no longer meet modern needs, while the increase in visitors requires new architectural solutions. At the same time, plans are in place to remedy the building’s pathologies, reinforce its earthquake protection, and upgrade its energy efficiency for sustainable operation.

The new study allows the exhibition of antiquities in two thematic areas and dozens of sub-sections, while the spaces of the Prehistoric Collections are more than doubled, as are the spaces for temporary exhibitions, educational programs, and conservation. At the same time, modern workspaces for staff, special entrances and corridors for the transport of antiquities, as well as state-of-the-art laboratories and storage areas are being created. For visitors, the study provides for modern reception facilities, a shop, an amphitheater, and a restaurant, with the possibility of extended opening hours, universal accessibility, and an open public garden with a refreshment area. The presentation of the antiquities follows a coherent chronological narrative from the Neolithic Age to Late Antiquity, offering visitors a comprehensive experience.

The proposal for the park in the extension of the National Archaeological Museum seeks to create a dialogue with Ziller’s historic building (1889) and revive the aesthetics of the romantic park of the era. The design is based on helical paths that offer a sense of unlimited movement and an illusion of depth and scale. Along the route, lawns appear in concave or elevated forms, while shrubs limit the view, enhancing curiosity and the sense of greater space.

The approved central museological concept includes a complete visitor route, outlining the evolution of Greek civilization from the Neolithic Age to Late Antiquity. The complete tour of the exhibition guides visitors through four different building levels, two in the extension and two in the monument building. A central axis is introduced to provide visitors with a clear narrative and orientation in both the extension and the monument. The axis on the lower level of the extension is organized around a central atrium, providing natural light and orientation, while also displaying key objects representing the different exhibition periods. In the monument building, the sequence of exhibition rooms along the central axis offers a variety of scales and natural lighting conditions to enhance the visitor experience. The evolution of Greek sculpture over time is presented from the Archaic to the Classical period as visitors move from one hall to another.

In the extension, the permanent collection has two distinct spatial qualities: 1. Free-flowing galleries offering large, flexible rooms with diagonal views and contact with natural light where possible, and 2. Smaller, isolated rooms (cabinets), which allow for a wide variety of material finishes and a contemplative visitor experience. The central water feature in the basement is exceptional, offering visitors the aforementioned orientation and atmosphere of natural light.

Adjacent to the archaic hall, the side rooms include four educational rooms, which can be flexibly joined together or separated depending on the size of the group. These educational spaces are deliberately located in the center of the Monument, highlighting the importance of cultural education within the Museum. The direct connection to the exhibition is complemented by access to the upper level of the north courtyard café for outdoor learning. Adding all the spatial qualities and natural lighting conditions of each part of the building, the variety of rooms allows the Museum not only to display each object in the best possible way, but also to enrich the visitor’s experience. The internal connection of the monument with the extension is crucial for the chronological museum route, the flow of visitors, the visitor experience, and the daily operations and logistical infrastructure of the Museum, such as secure routes for staff and objects.

At the museum entrance on Patission Street, there is a grove of plane trees that follow the level of the sidewalk, while the horizontal growth of their canopy maintains an unobstructed view of the building. this planting helps reduce airborne dust particles from the surrounding streets, limit direct sunlight and surface temperatures through evapotranspiration, ensuring a welcoming and pleasant space even on the hottest days of summer, while also serving as a “vestibule” or waiting area before entering the museum. The park is accessible to all via stairs, elevators, and ramps, with the main network of paths having a fixed width of 2.5 meters and the different levels connected by ramps made of reused existing marble cubes. after midnight, the park closes, with a fence integrated into the vegetation on the north, south, and west sides and gates at the three main staircases.

The basic design principles of the preliminary electromechanical study follow the architectural, structural, and museological studies, and are fully coordinated with the planting and lighting studies. The proposed installations were selected based on a) the protection of the exhibits, b) ensuring suitable temperature, humidity, and air quality conditions in the spaces, both for people and for the exhibits, c) energy saving and sustainability, and d) the ease of passage of all types of networks to ensure easy maintenance and the possibility of future expansion. This includes the design of plumbing installations, active fire protection, special installations for natural gas, argon, vacuum and compressed air in the Museum’s laboratories, air conditioning, heating, ventilation, electrical current installations, and elevators.

The existing building is divided into two sections, which are characterized by fundamentally different load-bearing systems. Over the decades, the two sections underwent successive phases of intervention and renovation. The resulting heterogeneous structure was examined and evaluated in detail in the structural study. Based on this analysis, and in combination with the necessary adjustments due to architectural and museological design, as well as the requirements of the electromechanical installations, the necessary structural interventions were optimized to meet all seismic load-bearing capacity requirements and functionality-usability issues.

Historical and architectural development of the National Archaeological Museum

The National Archaeological Museum was inaugurated in its current location in 1889. Its main entrance is on Patission Street, while the building complex is bordered by Vasileos Irakleous, Bouboulinas, and Tositsa Streets. The original architectural design was drawn up in 1865 by Ludwig Lange and subsequently modified by Panagiotis Kalkos, Armodios Vlachos, and Ernst Ziller, retaining the basic layout with two internal courtyards. The chronological development is as follows:

1871–1889: Construction of wings (Kalkos, Vlachos, Ziller). In 1889, the west facade and the central hall were completed, in the Neo-Hellenistic style and in accordance with the principles of the Athenian Trilogy.
1903–1906: Extension of the east wing (Anastasios Metaxas).
1932–1939: New three-story east wing (Georgios Nomikos) for halls, storage rooms, workshops, and administrative offices. Academic style on the outside, simple aesthetics on the inside.

1940–1941: Hiding of exhibits due to World War II.
1947–1964: Interventions by Patroklos Karantinos based on modernist principles, renovation of the entrance hall, technical infrastructure, and aesthetic departure from the 19th century.
1970–2016: Structural interventions, reinforcements after the 1999 earthquake, and upgrades for the 2004 Olympic Games.