Wiederherstellung der Akropolis von Byrsa und Sanierung des Nationalmuseums von Karthago in Tunis (TN)

The location of the temporary exhibition and the storerooms are appropriate, but the layout needs to be reviewed. The access to the storerooms is interesting but the security issue needs to be studied. The exhibition devices are not ergonomic and present problems of perception however the lighting proposal is valuable.

This project enhances and expands the patio while accentuating its vegetation with a new modern landscape approach. The green patio incorporates an archaeological statuary collection that extends the museum visit outdoors. The project preserves and enhances the citrus orchard garden in front of the administrative offices and laboratories. A particular merit of the project is that it proposes an archeological promenade on the south side at the level of the excavated ruins on the hill and on the east side at the level of the Beulé apses. On this side, the footbridge allows to find a better understanding of the site and appreciate the view on the East facade of the seminary thus indicating the ancient decumanus maximus of the Roman period.

Overall, the project is a relevant and adequate proposal in relation to the archaeological and architectural constraints of the site. It is a project that, despite its strong and unifying expression through the line, remains humble in relation to the different elements structuring the site.

The innovation of the project consists in the creation of a new place of discovery of the site through a walk at different levels that offer new points of view for a better contemplation of the site. Another innovative proposal is the exhibition in a covered but transparent space of a part of the reserve of archaeological pieces. The overall intervention is appropriate and discrete. The line as unifying element in a context of existing buildings with different architectural expressions may however not be strong enough to hold the composition together and reinforce the identity of the site as UNESCO world heritage. The particular quality of the project is the promenade. The various footbridges and walks through the archeological zone as well as the main walkway at the level of the patio allow not only to rediscover the site but also to protect it.