The Acropolis Museum in the historic area of Makryianni, nearby the Parthenon, in Athens, Greece, is undergoing a 130m euro (£97m, US$189m) redesign.

On entering the three-storey building, visitors will be guided through a labyrinth of excavated houses, shops and baths via a glass pathway, before reaching the Archaic Gallery on the first floor to view the museum’s artefacts, and ascending further to the second floor Parthenon Gallery to see the infamous Parthenon marbles.

The expanded 21,000sq m (226,000sq ft) museum space will feature a total display area of 14,000sq m (150,000sq ft) to exhibit more than 4,000 artefacts, including 300 considered to be masterpieces.

Bernard Tschumi Architects of New York and Paris worked alongside local associate architect Michael Photiadis to design the new development, while construction costs were met by the Hellenic Republic and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

The revamped museum is scheduled to open to the public in late 2008, with more than 10,000 visitors expected daily.