Lechaion Visitor Centre

The area for this project is complex and it is located in a mixed landscape situated in the hinterland of contemporary Corinth.

This site could be seen as the icon of the “terrain vague� which characterised the Greek landscape.

This harbour is testament to the dependence of Corinth on trade from the 6th century BC onwards.

The area designated as an archaeological site now appears like a park, overgrown with reeds and different species of tree. The small hills at the entrance to the harbour, created from the excavation of the harbour itself, are perhaps the most striking example of this today.

Presently the basilica is being actively excavated by the 25th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities. Work on the surrounding area has not yet been undertaken. The site could therefore be considered an important missing piece in the archaeological understanding of the Isthmus, and it is possible that decades of excavations will be required to develop our understanding of the ancient harbour.

ACROCORINTH

LECHAION SITE

MODERN CORINTH

CORINTH CANAL

ACROCORINTH

ANCIENT CORINTH

MODERN CORINTH

LECHAION SITE

1:10000 group model

MODERN CORINTH

LECHAION SITE

ANCIENT CORINTH

View from Acrocorinth to the site

EASTERN HILL

STU DIO 2 LECHAION SITE

WESTERN HILL

BASILICA

KEY VIEWS BUILDINGS MATERIALS

Groups: Byzanthine Archaeological site, North of inner harbour Ancient Archaeological site, South of inner harbour Industrial area South boundary Coastal edge

View from the top of a hill nearby the site

ANALYSIS OF THE SITE. GROUP SURVEY

C O A S TA L E D G E

BYZANTHINE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE, NORTH OF INNER HARBOUR

INDUSTRIAL AREA

ANCIENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE, SOUTH OF INNER HARBOUR

SOUTH BOUNDARY

The site is divided in different parts.

In the western half of the site, there are industrial activities like a flour mill, a logistics company and a timber yard; these activities seem to have developed along the main road and the flyover which connects the site to the village of Ancient Corinth.

The eastern half of the site is representd by the archaeological area.

The most relevant space is where the remnants of the 6th century Basilica of St. Leonidas have been found: the Basilica was the largest church in the Early Christian world and it clearly represents the extraordinary wealth of Corinth which endured until the earthquake of the 7th century.

The basilica is sited on land which has been acquired by the Greek government, within a clearly fenced archaeological site that encompasses the surrounding ancient harbour of Lechaion.

Aerial view of the site

CURRENT SITUATION OF THE SITE

ACROCORINTH MODERN CORINTH

SELECTED BUILDING AREA

INNER HARBOUR

BASILICA

Panorama view showing the relation with the context

1:1000 PLAN SHOWING BUILDING AND PATHWAYS

1. Main road 2. Car park 3. Existing path from the entrance 4. Visitor centre 5. Path connecting to the existing one 6. Existing path leading to the Basilica 7. Basilica

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EAST SIDE

WEST SIDE

BASILICA

1:1000 group model

EXISTING ENTRANCE FROM THE MAIN ROAD

CAR PARK

VISITOR CENTRE

EXISTING WAY TO THE BASLICA

3D CAD model showing the entrance and the path through the site

1:1000 group site model with proposal

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BASILICA

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VISITOR CENTRE

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CAR PARK

1:1000 group site model + visitor centre

1:1000 group site model + visitor centre

PROCESS SKETCHES, PICTURES AND RENDERS WHICH LED TO THE FINAL DESIGN

Visitor centre idea. Perspective sketch

Visitor centre location. Sun path and orientation

Visitor centre + path to the Basilica

Visitor centre design idea

First visitor centre render within the context

Visitor centre plan sketch

Visitor centre views

1:200 visitor centre model attempt + lanscape

1:100 visitor centre model version

Further visitor centre design ideas

Further visitor centre design ideas

Visitor centre plan sketch introducing the piazza

Visitor centre render in the Inner harbour

Visitor centre render. Top oh the western hill

RELATION WITH THE INDUSTRIAL SITE

Industrial area elevation sketch

Visitor centre section sketch

View from the bridge to inner harbour and the Industrial area

SEA

WESTERN HILL

VISITOR CENTRE

EASTERN HILL

MAIN ROAD

1:200 long section. 600 meters long section from the sea to the main road

1:500 LOCATION PLAN

1. Existing path coming from the entrance 2. Piazza 3. Visitor centre 4. Bridge 5. Archaeologists office 6. Inner harbour 7. Path connecting to the Basilica

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1. Existing path coming from the entrance

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2. Piazza 3. Visitor centre 4. Bridge 5. Archaeologists office 6. Inner harbour 7. path connecting to the Basilica 8.Existing path !.500 model with proposal

1:200 BUILDING PLAN Groung Floor

1. Benches 2. Exhibition space 3. Reception 4. Toilets

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1:200 BUILDING PLAN First Floor

1. Cafeteria 2. Kitchen 3. Inside tables 4. Outside tables 5. Archaeologists office

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1:200 BUILDING LONG SECTION

1. Benches 2. Exhibition space 3. Reception 4. Toilets

Section cut

CAFETERIA + KITCHEN

RECEPTION + EXHIBITION SPACE ARCHAEOLOGISTS OFFICE + WORKSPACE

END OF THE EXHISTING PATH

1:100 BUILDING SHORT SECTION

1. Benches 2. Exhibition space 3. Reception 4. Toilets

Section cut

CAFETERIA

EXHIBITION SPACE BRIDGE

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2. Piazza 3. Visitor centre 4. Bridge 5. Archaeologists office 6. Inner harbour •

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Render + context. Final design

It took a great variety of skills and a carefully planned strategy in order to get to the final design result of the visitor centre in the Lechaion site.

Firstly the landscape where it sits on offers many possibilities of designing a building but at the same time it does constrain what your intentions might be.

This is an archaeological area and the main obstacle is to keep everything in place without destroying or altering the ground where important archaeology ruins can still be retrieved.

The chances of building new infrastructures with no restrictions is unlikely to achieve.

This is the reason why several designs have been conscientiously reviewed for the realisation of the project before ending up with the final result.

The key point in this project is to create and highlight its relation with the landscape.

The meaning of the visitor centre in terms of design is to create two buildings which resemble the nearby hills: they are not a natural element of this land but they were made by excavating the inner harbour.

As strange as they could appear in this type of landscape the hills stand out from it making the flat terrain around them more dynamic. Similarly the two buildings laid down as two entities that make a distinction with the rest and they are crossed by a 100meters long bridge that connect one side of the harbour to the other.

Paradoxically the relation building-landscape appear to be lost.

Progressing with the stages of the design, the visitor centre became something which can take a position by itself: it does indeed create its own little landscape where it sits on.

Located in the inner harbour its orientation offers the possibility to have a view to Acrocorinth and Ancient Corinth. Simultaneously from the cafeteria and the bridge, you can also see modern Corinth and the industrial area on the opposite side of the site.

What is left out is the Basilica and the excavation area which could only be understood and seen once you begin to undertake the paths that lead you there.

It is intended to be a personal and individual experience where you gradually discover the destination.

The original project goes back to the view of the Basilica from the western hill.

This is a characteristic space where the view is framed by what the surroundings are.

As you proceed towards the ruins the journey gains more and more information until when you reach the actual archeology area of the site, breathing the centuries of history that affected this place.