Requalification of Byrsa Acropolis and Rehabilitation of the Carthage National Museum

Expertise France in collaboration with the Tunisian Ministry of Culture and with the support of the European Union announces the launch of the international one-stage design competition for the Requalification of Byrsa Acropolis and Rehabilitation of the Carthage National Museum in Tunisia.

The International Union of Architects (UIA) endorses this competition as being in accordance with UNESCO’s regulations on international architectural and urban design competitions and the UIA’s best practice recommendations.

THEME AND OBJECTIVES

Carthage is an extensive archaeological site, set on a hill overlooking the Gulf of Tunis and the surrounding plain. A metropolis of the Punic civilisation in Africa and capital of the province of Africa in Roman times, Carthage played a central part in antiquity as a great commercial empire.

The archaeological site of Carthage has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1979. The main known components of the site of Carthage are the acropolis of Byrsa, the Punic ports, the Punic tophet, the necropolises, the theatre, the amphitheatre, the circus, the villa quarter, the basilicas, the Antonine baths, the Malaga cisterns and the archaeological reserve.

The competition concerns one of the sites of Carthage, the Acropolis of Byrsa, which includes archaeological excavations, outdoor spaces (square, forum, patio and gardens) and historic buildings dating as far back as 1852 when the Saint-Louis Archaeological Museum was founded on the site.

The project aims to:

• Find the best enhancement and revitalisation concept for this archaeological site, in light of its inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
• Find the best architectural, landscape and planning concept for the UNESCO site.
• Expose the archaeological objects in appropriate spaces defining an innovative museography illustrating the history of one of the largest metropolises in the Mediterranean.
• Secure functional communication between a national museum, a scientific and research centre, and recreational and cultural facilities.
• Find the best solutions for access to the site and manage the various flows around it.
• Set the project within a sustainable and inclusive development approach in response to the major issues at stake in the ecological, energy and environmental transitions.

Timetable

• Launch of competition: 6 September 2022
• Online briefing for use of PLACE website: 13 September 2022 & 6 December 2022
• Deadline for submitting questions: 7 October 2022
• Deadline for responses: 28 October 2022
• Deadline for submitting electronically registration forms: 2 December 2022 at 12:00 (GMT+1)
• Deadline for submission of projects (electronic + paper): 5 January 2023
• Deadline for receipt of the paper version of the projects (sent by post no later than 5 January 2023, as evidenced by the postmark): 27 January 2023
• Jury session: February 2023
• Announcement of results: March 2023

Full details