Restoration of the ancient theater in the city of Larissa (Greece) and reconstruction of the surrounding area.

SFU Academy of Architecture and Arts

Project idea

The reconstruction project was developed on the basis of the assignment of an in-ternational competition of open ideas for the design of the adjacent territory of the an-cient theater in the city of Larisa. The object of reconstruction is the ancient theater, lo-cated at the southern foot of the hill "Fortress", which is identified as the acropolis of an-cient Larissa, the capital of Thessaly (Greece). The theater building was built in the first half of the Ⅲ century BC. Its capacity was 10,000 spectators. In the Ι century BC. the theater was converted into a Roman arena, during the Ottoman period it was thrown with stones, and the occupied space was gradually covered with an embankment. The first dis-covery and excavation of the monument began only after the liberation of Thessalia in 1881. Since 2002, work has been actively carried out on the scientific restoration of the monument. Field work is being carried out, infrastructure and means of servicing the population are being carried out, protection and popularization of the monument are be-ing established. Various studies are being carried out, information and documentation are being collected.

Project description

The purpose of the project: restoration of the lower part of the theater and reconstruction of the upper part of the epitheater for an archaeological museum, as well as the reconstruction and improvement of the entire quarter
The main objective of the project is to preserve the theater, increase its importance in the life of the city, and create a cultural and educational environment in the city center.
The project proposal includes:
- Reconstruction of the upper part of the epitheater using the space below it as a historical and archaeological museum with a capacity of 500 people. The main concept is to create an exhibition gallery of the museum. Visitors, moving through the gallery, will be able to learn about the periods in the history of the existence of the ancient theater. All wardrobes and bathrooms are on the underground floor. There are also storage rooms for storing exhibits and archaeological finds. The levels of the museum are covered with vertical communications in the form of stairs, elevators and ramps. The basis of the constructive solution is radial metal frames with a span of 18 m, a step of 6 m. Columns, floor beams, stiffening cores in the form of stair-lift units provide additional rigidity to the building. The foundation is a series of bored sheet piles.
Particular attention can be paid to the arrangement of the roof of the museum. The reconstructed upper part of the epitheater serves not only as a visual reconstruction of the monument, but also as a source of diffused light. All steps are designed in such a way that light entering through vertical surfaces is scattered by passing through reflective surfaces.
Landscaping of the territory, which is now a warehouse of archaeological finds, has been developed. The hill is a continuation of the green roof of the museum and has exits from the large space of the museum. Thus, the museum's closed exposition flows into the open.
The project also provides for the complete reconstruction of the building located near the theatre. There are designed premises serving the open-air theater, various rehearsal rooms, rooms for the corresponding classes, dressing rooms, scenery warehouses. From the side of the streets there are commercial premises, cafes. The building of the former military bakers is used as a cafe with 200 seats. Inside is a spacious yard. The structural part is reinforced concrete. Frame with load-bearing columns and floor beams, span 6 m. Pile foundation. The large-span rooms of the upper floors are covered with steel trusses. This configuration of the roof creates the possibility of arranging the upper day and night lighting of the halls.

Technical information

The basis of the structural scheme of the building is a monolithic reinforced concrete frame. The foundation consists of a series of bored sheet piles. The column pitch is variable. Overlappings are crossbar monolithic reinforced concrete. All elevator shafts are made of monolithic reinforced concrete and serve as a stiffening diaphragm for the perception of horizontal loads. The columns of the frame of the attached part recede from the walls of the historical building by 1.5 m or 1.8 m. The floor slabs of the extension fit cantilevered to the existing building. Expansion joints are also provided, the distance between which does not exceed 50 m.
The basis of the building system of the museum is made up of radially arranged metal frames with a span of 18 m and a height of 12 m. Additional support for maintaining the internal galleries is created by reinforced concrete columns arranged radially with a step of 6 m.
The construction system of the adjacent reconstructed buildings is a grid of reinforced concrete columns, mainly with a 6 m spacing. The auditoriums are covered with metal trusses. The maximum span is 15 m. The trusses are supported by reinforced concrete columns.

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