A modern art museum has opened in Warsaw, Poland, designed by American architect Thomas Phifer.
The Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw sits like a bright white box on a major city street. Inside, a monumental staircase with geometric lines rises to upper floors, where large windows flood the gallery rooms with light.
The minimalist structure was designed to be a symbol of openness and tolerance as the Polish capital tries to free itself from its communist legacy.
City and museum officials say the light and open spaces are meant to attract meetings and debate – and become a symbol of the democratic era that Poland embraced when it transitioned from authoritarian communist rule 35 years ago.
Warsaw’s mayor, Rafal Trzaskowski, says the museum’s opening is a “historic moment for Warsaw” and that the project, which will later include a theatre, will help create a new city centre no longer dominated by a communist symbol.