A museum dedicated to the collection of the Greek shipping magnate Basil Goulandris and his wife Elise is finally due to open in Athens in February 2017, more than 20 years after it was originally proposed. The museum, housed in a converted 1920s Neo-Classical mansion, will present works from the couple’s vast holdings by artists including El Greco, Cézanne and Modigliani. The ten-storey facility, designed by the local architecture firm Vikelas, is being funded by the couple’s foundation for a reported $20m. Five floors are being excavated below street level to house conservation labs, a library and galleries for temporary exhibitions. The upper floors will present the permanent collection. Plans for the institution stretch back to the 1990s, when a design by the architect I.M. Pei was scrapped after the proposed site was found to contain the ancient ruins of Aristotle’s Lyceum.
