WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A modern art museum designed by American architect Thomas Phifer opens its doors Friday in Poland’s capital; a minimalist, light-filled structure intended to be a symbol of openness and tolerance as the city strives to become liberated. It draws itself from its communist heritage.

The Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw stands like a shiny white box on a major street of the city. Inside, a monumental staircase with geometric lines leads to the upper floors, where large windows fill the gallery rooms with light.

City and museum officials say the bright, open spaces are intended to attract meetings and discussions and become a symbol of the democratic era Poland embraced when it broke away from authoritarian communist rule 35 years ago.

Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski said that the opening of the museum has been one year old “Historic moment for Warsaw” It is stated that the project, which will also include and later a theater, will help create a new city center that is no longer dominated by the communist symbol.

“This place will change beyond recognition and become a brand new center.” he said on Thursday. “There hasn’t been a place like this in Warsaw for decades; a place to be created from scratch to promote Polish art, which is amazing in its own right.”

Warsaw was reduced to ruins by occupying German forces during World War II and rebuilt in the gray, sometimes drab style of communist regimes in Eastern Europe.

But years of economic growth in the post-communist era have resulted in modern glass architecture, state-of-the-art museums and revitalized historic buildings.

The museum was built on a former parking lot near the Palace of Culture and Science, a dominating Stalinist skyscraper. Although long hated by many who saw it as a symbol of Moscow’s oppression, the ornate palace remains a symbol of the city today; In fact, it is perhaps the most well-known building in the city.

The museum responds with its bright white minimalism and smaller scale.

“It is very important that this building is located opposite the Palace of Culture and Science and symbolically changes the center.” Museum director Joanna Mytkowska said: “This is a building dedicated to an open, equal and democratic culture.”

American and other Western architects leave their mark on Warsaw. The city’s skyline includes a tall and luxurious tower created by the famous Polish American architect Daniel Libeskind. British designer Norman Foster’s firm created the Varso Tower, the tallest skyscraper in the European Union at 310 meters (1,017 feet). A Finnish architectural team designed the city’s iconic Jewish history museum.

Phifer’s New York-based work is known in the United States for projects such as the North Carolina Museum of Art, the Corning Museum of Glass, and the expansion of the Glenstone Museum in Potomac, Maryland.

When asked by a reporter whether he considered the Warsaw Museum his masterpiece, the 71-year-old artist answered without hesitation. “Certainly,” he said.

He said he was aware that his work was a part of Warsaw since he started working at the museum 10 years ago. “An extraordinary renaissance.”

The city financed the project for 700,000 million zlotys ($175 million). In the first weeks, performances will be held and large-scale sculptures and installation pieces will be presented by female artists, including Magdalena Abakanowicz, Alina Szapocznikow, Sandra Mujinga and Cecilia Vicuña. The full opening with a larger collection is planned for February.

The area around the building is currently under construction and will eventually become what the architect calls a space. “forum area” It included a garden and a black-fronted theatre, also designed by Phifer.

Not everyone likes the new museum’s austerity, and some residents liken it to a concrete bunker.

Phifer said he believes critics will feel differently when they enter the building and see its design and how the white background makes room for the art. “to come alive.”

“The museum is what I call the magic box. “There’s a bit of mystery in that.” he said. “You don’t really understand this work until you come in and experience it through art.”

Mayor Trzaskowski said that all ambitious architectural projects are sure to stir emotions.

“Every major project built from scratch in the world, such as the Pompidou Center in Paris, the Guggenheim in Bilbao or the pyramid in the Louvre, has sparked controversy.” said Trzaskowski. He added that the real controversy was yet to come when the avant-garde began organizing museum exhibitions.