Chios Mastic Museum
CHIOS MASTIC MUSEUM
Kizis Studio
ARCHITECT
Kizis Studio
PHOTOGRAPHS
Yorgis Yerolymbos
CATEGORY
Museum
LOCATION
Chios, Greece
GENERAL CONTRACTOR
Castor SA
YEAR
2016
PROJECT ARCHITECT
Yannis Kizis, Costandis Kizis
MANUFACTURERS
Corian® Design, EUROCO, L4A, Pierinelli, Serge Ferrari, ZM SILESIA
EXHIBITION COLLABORATORS
STAGE DESIGN OFFICE
STUDY AND INSTALLATION OF HISTORICAL MECHANIC EQUIPMENT
A. Plytas
SPECIAL LIGHTING
A. Tsagkrasoulis
CURATORIAL BRIEF AND EXHIBITION EXECUTION
L. Beneki, A. Kallinikidou, Piraeus Group Cultural Institution
ARCHITECTURAL AND ΜUSEOGRAPHIC DESIGN
KIZIS STUDIO SA Architecture and Design
STRUCTURAL DESIGN
Ypsilon Engineers LP, I. Tsopanakis and partners
ELECTRICAL AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
P. - I. Zannis and partners LTD
EXTERNAL COLLABORATOR FOR IN SITU SURVEILLANCE
M+B Architects, K. Manoliadi, M. Vournous
SURVEILLANCE
Τechnical Services of Piraeus Bank
LANDSCAPING
S. & S. Antoniou, G. Moustridis
CURATORIAL APPLICATIONS
TETRAGON
ARCHITECTS IN CHARGE
Yannis Kizis, Costandis Kizis
SURVEILLANCE CONSULTANT
Yannis Kizis
PROJECT COLLABORATORS
N. Venianakis, L. Polyzogopoulou, M. Raftopoulou, Th. Dougkas, N. Soulis, G. Pantazis, E. Kouskouti.
Text description provided by architect.
The Museum of Chios Mastic presents the techniques of gumtree cultivation, the industrialisation of the mastic gum and the evolution of its commercial exploitation through time.
It is located on a hill slope facing the medieval village of Pyrgi, in a mastic gumtree grove used as an experimental cultivation.
The visitor reaches the museum at the highest point of the plot, via a rural road. No building volume obstructs the panoramic view; the museum is gradually discovered by the visitor, who dips into it as moving downwards, through a path of successive covered, enclosed and open air spaces.
The museum building is comprised of two parallel wings, half embedded in the ground, following the natural slope.
These are covered by two large timber roofs, leaning counter to the slope.
One enters from the upper wing, through the covered passage between the ticket office and the multipurpose space.
After getting a ticket, one walks down to the lower wing, where the permanent exhibition space is located.
In there, one follows the successive exhibition sections, that intertwine with their architectural features: the first section, devoted to the traditional cultivation, is in direct contact with the gumtree grove through large glass panels on both sides of the building.
The history of the cultivation is presented in dimly lit or completely dark spaces and the industrial history, where the impressive equipment of the first factory is featured, is housed in a double-height space, where the production line is interactively operated by the visitor.
The visit is extended outdoors, in the mastic gumtree grove. Visual aids compliment the understanding of the function and the unique character of the mastic grove and its cultivation.
The visit follows a predetermined path, which gradually slopes back up to the café, the museum shop, the exit and the parking space. The educational program activities, the museum offices, the archives and the auxiliary spaces are all located in the lower floor of the upper wing, in direct access from both wings.
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
The two parallel sheds, that is the most characteristic aspect of the building, are made of laminated timber, fabricated by EUROCO SA, and covered by zinc sheets.
Their main beams vary in length from 21.00 to 25.80 metres, on a structural increment of 6.50 metres. The sheds are supported by steel joints on concrete foundations on the southern part, which leans on the ground, and rests on composite tree-shaped laminated timber columns with steel reinforcements on the north part, which is their highest side.
The contiguous tree-like upper part of the columns form a custom made truss, which refrains the bearing system of the sheds from horizontal movement.
