The current study forms part of an investigation on the variations of the museums’ architecture, from the very first private collections to the beginning of the 21^st century in Europe and America. The main subjects are the study of the contemporary art museum buildings, the evolution of their design principles through the ages and more specifically the relation between ‘the content and container’.

The monumental sculptural forms of the modern postwar museums, were introduced with the Guggenheim Museum New York, which provides its visitors with an unprecedented spatial experience. During the same year, the single floor museums are born that combine the natural environment and the exterior spaces in the design. Since 1970s the postmodern museums forged strong links with the city. They are integrated into the renovation of the cities and areas which had suffered serious bomb damage during the Second World War, like those realized in the Federal Government of Germany. The most representative examples are the extension of The Neue Staatsgalerie (1984) and Pre-and Early History museum (2002). The constant transition from the monument to the instrument, starting in 1980s and continuing until today, contributed to the constant review of museums’ typology. At the end of the 20^th century minimalism is inaugurated as an architectural tendency and promises museums at the service of art, while questioning the ambitious forms.

Due to their success in the previous years, the turn of the new millennium was followed by the commercialization of the museums. The Guggenheim museum in Bilbao and MOMA in New York, were both top rated in the list of the most visited museums globally. The evolution of post-modernism returned to the consideration of the museum as monument and the new technologies achieved visitor’s interactive role to the museum experience.

Despite the introduction of new parameters in the museum’s programm, it is noticed that they are not the consistent with the achievement of their key objectives, which is the maintainance, the promotion, the delight and the study of works of art. Instead, their functions could be compared with those of the supermarkets, and they often overshadow the art which are supposed to surve.