The New Acropolis Museum

by Bernard Tschumi Architects (Editor), Bernard Tschumi (Contributor), Yannis Aesopos (Contributor)

A comprehensive look at the eagerly anticipated New Acropolis Museum in Athens, Greece, and the celebrated collection it houses. Marking the opening of the New Acropolis Museum, this book examines both its architecture and the archaeological treasures it was built to house. The building addresses the dramatic complexities of the collection and the site with minimalist simplicity by using three main materials—glass, stainless steel, and concrete. "There’s no way at the beginning of the twenty-first century you can try to imitate even superficially the art of 2,500 years ago," Tschumi says. The "precision of the concept was really what counted." The book provides an in-depth look at the creation of the building, set only 280 meters from the Parthenon, as well as the restoration, preservation, and housing of its exhibits through over 200 photographs, drawings, and texts.

Genres: Art

168 pages, Hardcover

First published September 29, 2009

Reviews

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A to-the-point series of essays describe the process involved in creating the new museum. It's not a long book, but there is some unesesary repetion going back and forth between the text and the descriptive captions next to the photographic entries. On the subject of photography, it's by far the books biggest asset. Many of them manage to convey a feeling of intimacy in what is, essentially, an ongoing construction/archaeological site, and at times making one feel as close to being inside the real thing as some of us may ever get. They're also very beautiful as stand alone images, particularly the views of the Archaic Gallery. As a last opinion, not concerning the quality of this book: The British Museum needs to return the Parthenon Marbles to their rightful home.