The Palace of Nestor near Pylos in Messinia is one of the most significant and well preserved monuments of the Mycenaean Civilization. The new steel canopy covering the archaeological site replaced an old canopy which was more than 50 years old and showed serious structural issues, mainly related to durability. The new canopy design incorporated the main principal of underlining the importance of the archaeological site, respecting at the same time its monumental character. The architectural form of the canopy has been designed taking into consideration the effectiveness of the structural solution, arriving at a dynamic result while retaining at the same time the required simplicity. The structure has a rectangular plan of 59.50m x 51.50m and consists of steel frames spaced at 8.50m with an unsupported span of 41.50m while the two beam ends are supported by trusses. The curved shape of the canopy resulted to a very effective and slender structural form. To avoid any interference with the archaeological site, visitors corridors are fully suspended.
STEEL CANOPY
palace of Nestor in Messinia
2010-2016
architectural design: x2architecture, K.Kyriakidis&associates
structural design: PMA Engineering
E/M installations: ELTEME





