[image courtesy Bernard Tschumi Architects]

The new building is in the center of a long standing conflict between Greece and the UK over the Elgin Marbles, original panels from the Parthenon frieze — a wall depicting a procession in honor of the goddess Athena — which Greece retains only 36 of the original 115 panels. Britain has refused to return ownership of the remaining pieces, offering only a 3-month loan, which the Greek government has declined because it comes with the condition that the Greeks formally acknowledge British ownership. The exhibit of the Elgin Marbles in the new museum is meant as calculated statement to the British government, with missing pieces highlighted in glaring white plaster alongside the original golden marble.

With no resolution in sight, the British/Greek conflict over the artifacts casts a shadow over the opening of one of Europe’s most important recent cultural and architectural projects.

[images via Getty Images and the NYTimes]