Chipperfield has abandoned his earlier glass and bronze design that provoked a storm of protests in 2001 from conservationists, architectural experts and many Berliners.

These plans, which won the second competition staged to find a design for the building, were attacked for being insensitive and even dubbed a "toilet block" by one critic.

The winner of the first competition Giorgio Grassi had also seen his design blocked -- an occurrence not unusual in a country where passions about architecture run high.

"Half-hearted"

The new blueprint echoes elements of the existing ensemble with an open staircase and colonnades.

But a number of German newspapers have criticized the revamped architecture. The Süddeutsche Zeitung praised some aspects of the design, but described it essentially as being "half-hearted" and "undecided," while the Berliner Morgenpost also said it did not form a "convincing whole."

Chipperfield's building will complete the renovation of the Museum Island in the Spree river, a large museum complex which was damaged in World War II and and fell into neglect during the communist era.

Final touch

The new building will be called the James Simon Gallery after a Jewish patron of the arts, and will be attached to the Pergamon Museum, one of Berlin's biggest tourist attractions.

The architect said it would cost about 73 million euros ($98 million) and be completed in 2012. He said the gallery would blend in with the architectural design of the museums and house a conference center and shops.

The architect is also overseeing renovations at the Pergamon to restore the facade to its pre-war glory and modernize the museum's interior. The Pergamon includes a reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate from Babylon with stones from the original structure.

UNESCO site


The Museum Island, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999, also houses the Bode Museum, die Alte Nationalgalerie, the Neues Museum and the Altes Museum -- best known for its world-famous 3,400-year-old Egyptian bust of Nefertiti.

The government has spent hundreds of billions of euros restoring the 19th-century complex and the scheme is due to be finished in 2015.

Berlin city authorities expect to attract four million visitors a year once the project is completed.