Haima

Like an arab tent which lifts its white canvas and reveals its precious contents, the new archaeological center of Punta Umbría is designed as a simple and light architecture, opened to the surrounding landscape and to all society. The building is set into a very important area of the city, due to the archaeological roman remains and the beautiful landscape of the estuary. These two elements influence the building, which is shaped like a light pavilion which almost doesn't touch the ground. It generates a generous covered space, as a public plaza, protecting the archaeological dig and allowing the museum to be put in strong relationship with the same remains and the landscape without disrupting the visual axis between road, water and the skyline of Saltés Island. The museum looks for a neutral and quiet expressivity, so as to underline the importance of the archaeological rest which is the true protagonist of the intervention. The strategy of opening visual axes and paths that break the white box transform it into a multi-relationship space where the whole society can express the interest in discovering its own cultural roots.

project team: Alessandro Tessari, Matteo Bandiera, Nicola Di Pietro, German Pro Lozano
project: Archaeological museum. Punta Umbria, Spain
status: International competition. First prize. Ongoing
Date : 04.2011
client: City council of Punta Umbria