History of Greeks of Asia Minor
The ambitions of the Greater Hellenism Foundation are not confined to its Foundation of the Hellenic World at 254 Pireos St. On a block right behind that building, it is planning to build the Museum of the History of the Greeks of Asia Minor. Perhaps unexpectedly, it received a rather daring architectural proposal, which was exhibited at NEXT, the Eighth International Architectural Exhibition at the 2002 Venice Biennale. The keynote of the design (by architects Nikos Georgiadis, Panayiota Mamalaki, Costas Kakoyiannis and Vaios Zitonoulis of the Anamorfosis architects’ office) is a continuously unfolding surface that conveys three historical forms gradually evolving from one into another. Theater, the dome and self-housing correspond to the three peaks of Hellenism in Asia Minor – classical antiquity, Byzantium and the modern era – until the destruction of Smyrna. These are the museum’s three main spatial installations, connected by intervening areas devoted to pre-history, the Hellenistic era, the Roman era and the Middle Ages. Throughout the museum are digital and interactive exhibits as well as virtual reality installations. Work on the building is expected to start in 2005.
