Museum of mosaic art in Sparta | Konstantinos Minakakis

MUSEUM- WORKSHOP OF MOSAIC ART AT LEONIDAS’ MONUMENT IN SPARTA In Sparta, inside the modern city, it is the only ancient monument that is saved in good condition. The so told “Leonidas’ tomb” divides the archaeologists as far as his construction date is concerned. In the memories of the citizens though, this monument is strongly related with a holy ground where, after the battle of Thermopylae, Leonidas’ dead body was put. Today’s situation of the surrounding space does not highlight the gravity of such a monument as this one. Given the lack of a cultural building- space in the area, it was found right to create a building complex to relate to the monument and the surroundings too. The building is designed to contain two co-related functions, museum of mosaic art and workshop of mosaic art. The subject is born from the fact that Sparta was one of the great metropolis of art and mosaic art. Many pieces of mosaic art of the Roman Times were actually found in the area around the monument. The building complex consists of two powerful volumes that connect with a bridge, declaring this way the separation, yet the relevance between the museum and the workshop. The two volumes create a big “hug” turned to the square and the monument. The square was remodeled, given the new fact of museum, entering a new path that connects the monument to the building, creating this way a cultural dipole necessary for the general area of Sparta.