Members of the Central Council for Modern Monuments and the Central Archaeological Council have given the green light for the expansion and upgrade of the National Archaeological Museum. The councils unanimously approved the final plans, subject to observations, for the architectural, structural, electromechanical, landscape architecture and lighting improvements.

The meetings of the Culture Ministry’s highest advisory bodies were attended by the project’s designers, who presented the plans, as well as architect David Chipperfield, head of the Chipperfield architectural practice, which, together with the Tombazis architectural firm, is responsible for the project’s design.

“We know that museums are tourist destinations or part of the tourism industry, but fundamentally they serve the public. In the case of the National Archaeological Museum, we took into account the surrounding neighbourhood, how the museum was designed in relation to the city, and its place in Greek culture,” Chipperfield said.

He highlighted the global significance of the museum’s collection, stressing that the designers’ top priority was to present it in the best possible way, not only for visitors from abroad but also for the public.

“That was also one of the challenges: how to make it sufficiently meaningful to the people of the city,” the architect said.