The splendid home of prominent greek antiquities
The New Acropolis Museum, an award-winning, contemporary museum of European standards and one of the most important worldwide, is a unique architectural feat and a national vision that took 35 years to become a reality.
It houses the Parthenon sculptures and other treasures of the Acropolis and allows visitors to admire unique archaeological artefacts in an environment worthy of their significance, with a panoramic view to the sacred rock of the Acropolis.
The New Acropolis Museum opened its doors to the public in 2009. Covering a total area of 25,000 square metres, it hosts over 4,000 exhibits in an exhibition area of 14,000 square metres.
The south-west slope of the hill of the Acropolis was selected as the location for its construction, offering a direct view of the Parthenon temple and it was designed so that the sculptures are bathed in the natural light of Athens through massive transparent windows.
The Museum is constructed around a concrete core and it stands on elevated pillars with foundations deep among the antiquities in the ground.
It is built exclusively with TITAN cement, produced at the Kamari plant. Apart from the frame of the building, it was required that part of the exterior and all the interior surfaces be lined with visible prefabricated concrete elements/panels, free of any other intervention.
The project was exceedingly demanding whilst the hardest part was constructing the elements of its internal cladding, the main challenge having been to achieve uniform colour of the various elements in the natural shade of grey cement.