The subject of this project is the Interpretation Center of the archaeological park Andautonia. The building is planned on an extremely valuable location at the archaeological site of ancient Roman town Andautonia in the center of small town Šćitarjevo. Of nearby contests there are the Museum of smell, the rectory and the church as a powerful landmark in the area. The context is characterized by fragmentation and dispersion of the contents and by its great archaeological value.
The priority is to emphasize the value of the location. Architecture is therefore in the service of archaeology, it is there to interest and intrigue visitors, but, on the other hand, it is unobtrusive in the expression so it does not overshadow the reason for its creation, archaeological site of the ancient Roman city.
The idea was to create a new space for social life and assembly, and to allow access to the lot from street and from archaeological site in the immediate vicinity. The porch has been formed as a new public space, an element of gradation between the outer and inner space that was present in the typology of the Roman houses and streets.
The level of the ground floor of the building is raised to a certain height in order to preserve enabled access to the archaeological finds on the ground to the public. The ground floor consists of two parts, of an open, partially covered bridge system above the archaeological site and of the glassed-enclosed space which hosts public facilities, through which we climb to the first floor’s exhibitional space.
When it comes about positioning the building on the lot, the most important was to use methods which are minimally invasive for the surrounding context, especially for archaeological heritage. Building relies on pilotes in a minimal number of carefully selected points.
House recognizes the value of natural context: it is designed unobtrusively, in accordance with the proportions and dimensions of the surrounding buildings and natural materials already present in the immediate context are used. The building height does not exceed the hight of surrounding buildings. Roof is used as part of the museum with a view to existing archaeological site and areas for future excavations and to related content at the center of the village, creating a visual connection and entirety of the village’s center.
