Chios Mastic Museum / KIZIS STUDIO

Architects: KIZIS STUDIO
Location: Chios, Greece
Architects In Charge: Yannis Kizis, Costandis Kizis
Project Year: 2016
Photographs: Yorgis Yerolymbos

Architectural And Μuseographic Design: KIZIS STUDIO SA Architecture and Design
Project Architects: Yannis Kizis and Costandis Kizis
Project Collaborators: N. Venianakis, L. Polyzogopoulou, M. Raftopoulou, Th. Dougkas, N. Soulis, G. Pantazis, E. Kouskouti.
Exhibition Collaborators: STAGE DESIGN OFFICE
Structural Design: Ypsilon Engineers LP – I. Tsopanakis and partners
Electric/Mechanic Engineering: P. – I. Zannis and partners LTD
Special Lighting: A. Tsagkrasoulis
Curatorial Brief And Exhibition Execution: Piraeus Group Cultural Institution (L. Beneki and A. Kallinikidou)
Study And Installation Of Historical Mechanic Equipment: A. Plytas
Graphic And Exhibition Design: STAGE DESIGN OFFICE
Curatorial Applications: TETRAGON
General Contractor: Castor SA
Landscaping: S. & S. Antoniou, G. Moustridis
Surveillance: Τechnical Services of Piraeus Bank
Surveillance Consultant: Yannis Kizis
External Collaborator For In Situ Surveillance: M+B Architects, K. Manoliadi and M. Vournous

From the 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.