The Charioteer Statue,Archaeological Museumof Delphi

Architect AZ Tombazis and Associates

Lighting DesignersLondon Metropolitan University(Prof. Mike Wilson and Andre Viljoen)

• Delphi museum that houses the ancient artifacts that were found in Delphi, Greece.

• Its exhibits are mainly offerings to the oracle and architectural parts of the buildings.

• The first museum of Delphi was built in 1903 based on the plans of the French architect Albert Tournaire.

• But was later modified to a larger two-storeyed construction in 1958 based on the architectural designs of renowned museum architect Patroklos Karantinos.

• Main attraction - The Charioteer Statue, clearly the work of a major artist

• One of the great prizes of late !9th century

• Poise, Grace and dynamism flowfrom this statue even after twomillennia

•There are two galleries in Delphi Museum – Apollo Gallery and Siphnian Gallery

• The Charioteer has been placed in the Siphnian Gallery

Room of The Charioteer

Upper Floor Plan

• Purpose of day lighting design - it should be seen as far as possible in the ever changing light of day

• The original statue room was lit on both side by clerestories (a portion of an interior rising above adjacent rooftops and having windows admitting daylight to the interior)

Day lighting

•The room was painted a light green which had the effect of reducing the impact of the natural verdigris on the bronze.

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•The impact of this was the back of the statue was poorly lit and the strong vertical folds were poorly revealed

•Seventeen different roof configurations were investigated

•Studies indicated the need for shading devices to eliminate unwanted solar gains.

• A number of the selected roof configurations were tested in a 1:18 scale model

•The initial concept for the room consisted of a circular roof light located directly above the statue

•The chosen roof configuration incorporates a pyramidal roof structure

•Fans are mounted in the light shafts to extract unwanted solar gains.

•Introduction of verticalscreens in front of windows on three sides of the room.

•The daylight is diffused at roof level by transparent ‘Okalux’

The aim is always to provide as natural appearance as possible. The Charioteer of Delphi was found in 1896 but still it is one of the best-known statues surviving from Ancient Greece till date.

During the day the room is well day lit without any artificial light, with added artificial light at dusk.

A source quoted it as “ a valuable addition to our knowledge of early Greek sculpture. “

Thank you