In
the early 1990s, a team from the Archaeological Museum of Split discovered the
remains of the ancient temple of Augustus in Vid. Above the temple ruins, an
on-site archaeological museum was built. The museum's interior is determined by
the scale of the excavated Roman artefacts and statues while its exterior is
determined by the scale of the temple and the forum, the scale of the
surrounding ordinary houses and by the green masses of olive groves and
vineyards climbing up from the square to the church on the hill. But above all,
the building is determined by the scale of everyday life; its roof, a system of
publicly accessible flat surfaces and ramps, connects two levels of public
space. Another intelligent invention by the architect is the museum's austere
materiality. The construction uses a combination of reinforced concrete and
exposed steel; the façades are faced with narrow plastic panels positioned so
as to allow a diffuse light to penetrate the interior.