iMUSEUM is an a new concept store located in the island of Mykonos which brings together historical replicas from various Greek archaeological museums. Milan based CTRLZAK studio is responsible for the entire design concept, which can be broken down to three main axes: stratification, excavation sites and museological representation. These themes where approached in different ways independently and then grouped together through the use of materials/colours and lighting. The central display area consists of white asymmetric volumes inspired by the fragmented stone slabs found on archaeological sites that become simple display units for the largest part of the exhibits. The pavement reflects the defined area of the site -depicted by Pentelikon Greek marble- and the habitual peripheral pathways -created by wooden planks of diverse measurements- that cover the remaining part of the space. The main back-wall area becomes a large stratified display installation where the primary materials used are represented: marble, brass and olive wood. Finally the brass lighting elements designed by CTRLZAK exclusively for this project where arranged in space based on the grid concept that is followed in excavation sites in order to divide the archaeological space in defined research areas emphasizing thus the importance of each item exhibited. The whole project was supported by a meticulous graphic design study developed in collaboration with Athens based studio Sereal designers in accordance with the general design concept.
For the first time visitors have the opportunity to admire in a single exhibition selected replicas from the collections of the most important metropolitan museums in Greece and also to be informed about the original artefacts and the time period in which they belong. This one-stop at the iMUSEUM gives the opportunity to visitors to follow a several millennia path through history, having the artefacts themselves as guides. Leaving the Cyclades behind, visitors find themselves in the Minoan palaces and the unique island of Thera to meet the glorious creations of the prehistoric Aegean. Right afterwards the most representative artefacts of antiquity transfer visitors to Athens and other important cities, such as Olympia, the cradle of the Olympic Games, in their most prosperous time, giving a taste not just of art, but also of the daily life of that era. The next stop is Constantinople, the jewel of the Byzantine Empire, where arts and letters reached their peak, until the Ottoman conquest. Finally the journey ends with the art in the dawn of Modern Greece. During their tour visitors can peer into and even touch the objects or read their stories; stories that reveal some of their unknown parts, helping visitors in choosing a special souvenir for themselves and their beloved ones. More information and visual material about the authentic artefacts and the museums that host them can also be found on the tablets and video projections that make the journey through time and place even more complete.
