Construction The museum building is located near the confluence of the rivers
Sava and
Danube, in
Ušće park in the
Novi Beograd municipality. It was designed by
Ivan Antić and
Ivanka Raspopović in 1960, with construction beginning that year and continuing until 1965. The architects received the October Prize from the City of Belgrade on 20 October 1965, the same day the museum was opened to the public. Due to its shape, architecture and location, it has been described as the "crystal at the confluence"
2007–17 renovation When renovation talks first began in the early 2000s, both original architects were still alive. However, Antić died in 2005 and Raspopović in 2015. as was the apparent haste in the latter stages to finish the reconstruction quickly. The first company chosen to do the construction work was "Montera". It was paid fully for the job, but went bankrupt leaving the renovation unfinished for years. During the next public bidding in 2014, aimed specifically at redoing the roof, the company "Jedinstvo" from
Užice was chosen. The following bidding, which covered the remaining work, failed. "Jedinstvo" applied again and was selected by the museum, even though it had the highest offer. The Ministry of Culture, headed by
Ivan Tasovac at the time, insisted that the lowest bidder should be picked instead, which was "Modulor", a company from
Zemun. As a result, the museum director, Jovan Despotović, was let go and the "Termoinženjering" company was chosen at the next bidding. They finished the entire reconstruction, renovating the roof a second time. Yet, already in July 2018 the reconstructed roof began to leak when it rained. == Departments ==