A126_Ethnographic Museum Of Gjirokastra
Gjirokastra, AlbaniaSymbiosis between old and new
The Ethnographic Museum of Gjirokastra is located in the Palorto Quarter, which is one of the oldest and better-preserved neighborhoods of the old city. It has a very dense urban context characterized by steep and narrow streets.
The architectural project preserves and restores the existing building and adds a new architectural layer that dialogues with the existing without modifying it. The new architectural layer is conceived as a light intervention that produces a soft impact in the building. But at the same time this new layer does not try to imitate the old architecture, on the contrary, it shows its uniqueness to allow visitors to differentiate between old and new, between the original building with its artifacts and the new facilities that allow exhibiting them in a proper way to the public.
Museographic project
The protagonists of the permanent exhibition of the new Ethnographic Museum of Gjirokastra are the artifacts. Each object of the collection has a use, a meaning, and a rich hidden history to be communicated. The museological project has the aim of transforming the artifacts, considered until now as “muted objects”, into “alive storytellers” who are in charge of communicating a varied range of information to the visitors.
The exhibition design aims to emphasize the individual quality and beauty of each artifact of the collection by framing it in the appropriate way in relation to its size, material and context, and choosing the background and lighting that reinforce its colors and textures.
Organization in thematic sections
The permanent exhibition is organized in thematic sections:
Section 1: ethnological zones of gjirokastra
Section 2: enver hoxha’s birth room
Section 3: religious symbolism
Section 4: social symbolism
Section 5: habits & rituals / the traiditional dance and Gjirokastra wedding
Section 6: the traditional house
Interior design: symbiosis between archetypical rooms of a historical house of Gjirokastra and functional exhibition rooms
The architectural concept preserves the valuable interior spaces that represent the typical rooms of the historical houses of Gjirokastra such as the kitchen, the winter room or the guest room. Other rooms that are considered not representative of typical houses are equipped with showcases that help to exhibit and interpret the collection of artifacts.
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