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The construction of a new Acropolis museum is an idea that dates back to the ’70s. It was initially tied to the longstanding demand for the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum to Greece. It was meant to counter the argument that Athens lacked the facilities to house the remarkable marble sculptures. After years of delays a new committee was set up to oversee the project under professor of archaeology Dimitris Padermalis. Further delays and some controversy on both architectural and archaeological issues related to the project ensued, and the museum finally broke ground on 2004. Its initial construction was completed in 2007

The project was undertaken by Swiss architect Bernard Tschumi, Dean of Architecture at Columbia University in New York. Working with his Greek colleague Michalis Fotiadis, he tried to overcome several problems at the site (the small size of the lot, the archaeological finds underneath the soil) and create a museum that was light and “alive”. The end result is a simple, clean building with a spectacular view over the sacred rock. British daily Guardian called it “orchestrated simplicity”, and added “a visit to the top floor will be a journey into the world of cultural politics and propaganda, as well as great art.” The museum features 21.000 sq. meters of space, of which 14.000 sq.m. are exhibition space, ready to welcome over 4000 exhibits. There are two basement levels, three stories and an open-air space that operates as an open museum/ dig. The entire building is set on top of one hundred thin cement pillars, hovering over an entire ancient suburb that was unearthed during the excavation of the site. The dig will be visible through the transparent glass floors of the museum’s entrance and the balcony.

The gift shop will be located on the ground floor of the museum. A space for temporary exhibitions is also located there. The first floor will feature exhibits from the Archaic to the Roman era, while the second will feature sculptures from the old Acropolis Museum, as well as a multimedia hall, a bar and a restaurant with a spectacular view at the Acropolis.

The last floor, the one with the large glass openings, is “twisted” by 23° compared to the rest of the building. This way, it is exactly parallel to the Parthenon itself. The most important exhibits of the museum, the Parthenon sculptures and the parts of the frieze that survive will be on display there. The visitor can look at them, then turn around and look at the Parthenon Itself, and imagine them in their original context. There’s also a space designated to welcome parts of the frieze currently located at the British Museum. Copies of those sculptures, covered with transparent veils, will be displayed there. Until, that is, the originals are returned. Bernard Tschumi was adamant on the subject – he likened the frieze to a novel whose pages have been scattered around the world. “Their absence from the museum can playa significant part to their return”, he says. New York Times architectural critic, Nikolai Ouroussof, agrees. “It’s impossible to stand in the top-floor galleries, in full view of the Parthenon’s ravaged, sun-bleached frame, without craving the Marbles’ return”, he writes.

The building is an impressive, modern one. Built of stainless steel and glass, it has a distinct high-tech, extroverted character. Some called it “too modern”. Tschumi replied:

“Some people have said it is disrespectful to the Parthenon not to have Doric columns on the new museum, but I am not interested in imitating the Parthenon. I am interested in achieving that level of perfection in my buildings, and for early twenty-first-century architecture to match it in its own way”.

The New Museum cost about 130 million euros, and will be officially inaugurated in March 2009, with a spectacular opening ceremony. The transfer of 4246 exhibits weighing 297 tons from the Acropolis is being completed as is the repatriation of several sculptures from other Greek and foreign museums. The ground floor has been open for several months, and is ready to welcome its new “symbol”, the sculpture of an owl, the sacred bird of Athena. The old museum up on the hill will be converted and display sketches, posters and photographs that showcase the temple as it used to be in the past.

You can visit the New Acropolis Museum daily from 10:00 to 17:00. On Thursdays the museum is open from 10:00 10 22:00, and on weekends from 10:00 1015:00. You can gel a sense of the architecture and see the open-air dig below the glass floor as well as the temporary Nostoi-Nostoi exhibition in the ground floor.

(New Acropolis Museum, D. Areopagitou Str., tel.: 210-9241043)