• Panorama photo of the Paphos Archeological Park, Paphos, Cyprus. Photo by Scott Warren. Courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Trust

    Panorama photo of the Paphos Archeological Park, Paphos, Cyprus. Photo by Scott Warren. Courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Trust

  • General view of the southwest part of the Villa of Theseus and House of Orpheus closer to the sea. CIMS (Carleton Immersive Media Studio) for the GCI, 2018. Courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Trust

    General view of the southwest part of the Villa of Theseus and House of Orpheus closer to the sea. CIMS (Carleton Immersive Media Studio) for the GCI, 2018. Courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Trust

  • The Orpheus and the Beasts mosaic post conservation and prior to its reburial. Photo by Vassos Stylianou

    The Orpheus and the Beasts mosaic post conservation and prior to its reburial. Photo by Vassos Stylianou

  • The Theseus mosaic. Photo by Scott Warren. Courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Trust

    The Theseus mosaic. Photo by Scott Warren. Courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Trust

  • The Achilles Mosaic at the Paphos Archeological Park, Paphos, Cyprus. Photo by Scott Warren. Courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Trust

    The Achilles Mosaic at the Paphos Archeological Park, Paphos, Cyprus. Photo by Scott Warren. Courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Trust

  • Seen in the foreground, a large bath complex was buried to protect the mosaics until they can be sheltered. Also pictured, the two protective shelters now on the site at the House of Aion and the House of Dionysus. Photo by Scott Warren. Courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Trust

    Seen in the foreground, a large bath complex was buried to protect the mosaics until they can be sheltered. Also pictured, the two protective shelters now on the site at the House of Aion and the House of Dionysus. Photo by Scott Warren. Courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Trust

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Competition shortlist for ancient mosaics protective shelters

The Department of Antiquities in Cyprus (DoA) and the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) has announced the shortlist for a competition to design protective shelters at the World Heritage site of Nea Pafos (alternately known as Nea Paphos) in Cyprus

by Georgina Johnston 21 October 2020

The shelters will be used at the Villa of Theseus and House of Orpheus, two Roman residences with some of the best preserved and important mosaics on the island. The competition is part of a larger DoA/GCI effort to advance the conservation and management of this important archaeological site.

The shortlisted firms will now create conceptual designs for their proposed prototype structures, with a final design to be selected in 2021. 

The six shortlisted architecture firms are:

Carmody Groarke

London, UK

www.carmodygroarke.com 

Cullinan Studio

London, UK

www.cullinanstudio.com 

Studio Gionata Rizzi

Milan, Italy

www.studiogionatarizzi.com 

Hugh Broughton Architects

London, UK

www.hbarchitects.co.uk

Machado and Silvetti Associates, Inc.

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

www.machado-silvetti.com

Sela Jaymes Architects

London, UK

www.selajaymesarchitect.design

For their initial expressions of interest, architecture firms were asked to address how they would approach the design of a protective shelter.

Those selected will now be asked to create a concept design that meets several requirements, including ensuring the protection of the mosaics from human and environmental threats, connecting the design to the site and setting, using materials and skills that are locally available, and creating conditions for viewing the mosaics and facilitating circulation of visitors.

A single firm will be selected from this shortlist to develop a detailed prototype design. The prototype will then be monitored to assess performance, and revised as needed before finalising a design that can be used to protect selected mosaics on the site.

The site faces a number of challenges, including modern development and potential hazards due to tourism and climate change. 

The evaluation committee for the competition includes members of the DoA, the GCI and an interdisciplinary group of external experts.

Among Nea Pafos’ most important Roman residences are the Villa of Theseus and the House of Orpheus. The Villa of Theseus is by far the largest and most fully intact of all the excavated houses in the residential quarter of the ancient city. One shelter will protect a number of significant mosaics in the southeastern part of the Villa, including a surviving panel from the life of Achilles, a depiction of Theseus and the Minotaur in the Labyrinth, and a bath complex with several beautiful geometric mosaics. 

The House of Orpheus is the closest of the excavated houses to the sea, and is the much smaller neighbor to the Villa of Theseus. A shelter will be used to protect its Amazon and Heracles mosaic, which depicts in one of the panels the moment before the battle between Heracles and the Lion of Nemea, and the Orpheus and the Beasts mosaic, in which every living animal is gathered to listen to Orpheus’ divine music. 

Carmody Groarke Cullinan Studio Hugh Broughton Architects Machado and Silvetti Associates Sela Jaymes Architects Studio Gionata Rizzi
Cyprus
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