A comfortable and pleasant preliminary walk-through
Centrally placed in the building are two parallel pillars measuring 5×50 meters at a distance of 12 meters from each other where there will be eight elevators, six fire escapes, escalators and toilets for the public. The entrance lobby of the museum leads to the large glass ramp and the area where finds from the slopes of the Acropolis will be on display. The next room houses the Archaic collection, on the southern side, and has secondary lighting from the skylights in the ceiling. There is a central staircase, escalators and elevators to the Parthenon Gallery. Visitors will be able to see the frieze, metopes and pediments before moving to the Post Parthenon collection, where architectural pieces from the Erechtheion are to be exhibited. Visitors descend the ramp once again for the final collection which consists of Roman antiquities. Out of the museum’s total 23,000 sq.m., the exhibition areas cover an estimated 14,000 sq.m. with the remaining space designated for support facilities. On the ground floor there will be a shop, bar and a large hall for temporary exhibitions. Many amenities will be available to visitors. The bar on the ground floor will also serve as a meeting place for the public, while there will be another bar on the mezzanine, next to the restaurant where visitors will enjoy panoramic views of the Acropolis. Tables outside too The entrance canopy, which is 10 meters high, will provide shade over the tables outside and these can be easily moved around. The idea is for people to come and spend some time in the museum, to pause for a bite to eat and drink a coffee before continuing. Let’s not forget that many like to make an event out of a trip to a museum. There is also a second shop, an elevated lounge area and VIP lounge. In the glass-topped enclosure, which replicates the upper section of the Parthenon, both the floor and roof are of glass. On display here will be a number of inscriptions from various eras related to the building of the Parthenon but specifically from the fifth century BC. For example there will be inscriptions that reveal that the Samians gave money for its construction. Visitors will learn to whom the money went and for what part of this large project it was destined. In other words, there is a wealth of contractual information that until now most were unaware of. There will also be changes to the surrounding open spaces. Olive trees, clusters of cypress trees, plane trees and other types of low Attic vegetation will surround the building in a few years’ time. «I feel very happy and proud that I will see this project completed,» said Photiadis, visibly moved. He told us that the French-Swiss architect, Tschumi, was very satisfied when he visited Athens to check on progress a month and a half ago. The New Acropolis Museum has been associated with much bitterness and expense, but is nearing the end.
