Museum: Spatial Journeys
ABSTRACT
Museums attract
visitors for a number of reasons. They may be destinations for outings, tourist
attractions or for specific themes, exhibitions or events.
As cultural and
social magnets, museums have an important impact on the local community,
culture and economy. Historical, visual art, multimedia, object based art,
folklore of fragile maps or textiles narrate that in-between, ephemeral moment
that is the journey through the museum.
Museums are
designed to house a vast array of content. The conditions within which works of
art are to be kept are carefully composed. Depending on the stance of the
museum; contemporary, historical, educational.. there will be constraints and
rules about the layout, lighting and in-between all this, most importantly, the
visitor experience. The journey through the space starting from the approach,
all the way through the paths, levels, curated exhibits and plinths of artworks
through to the exit and beyond. What stays in the memory of the visitor? It is
this notion; the journey, I am
considering in this article.
The museum buildings covered are:
Long Museum West Bund by Atelier Deshaus, Aspen Art
Museum by Shigeru Ban Architects, Canadian Museum for Human Rights by Antoine Predock Architects, Taiyuan Museum of Art by Preston Scott Cohen,
Mary Rose Museum by Wilkinson Eyre
Architects, PALÄON by Holzer
Kobler Architekturen, MuCEM by Rudy
Ricciotti and Astrup Fearnley
Museet by Renzo Piano Building Workshop
Introduction
What is the experience
of the journey through the museum? The starting point, the expectation and
anticipation to visit a particular exhibition would most certainly be central
to most visitors. The space, the building, the overall architectural experience
would of course play an inevitably important role too, this may indeed be the
main reason for the visit. So how do these aspects meet, what is it that is
particularly memorable, thought provoking or successful about the visit? Is it
the museum design, the exhibition or curation? Is it the overall narrative that
is designed or intertwined into the fabric of the building, thus creating an experiential
journey? Of course the journey will depend on personal and sociocultural
aspirations in terms of ones identity and the genre of museum one is visiting.
Chapter
Dictionaries generally
describe museums in terms of their contents; art, science, knowledge.. But what
museums really are, alongside the art and the exhibits on display, are places
of real spatial adventure. As visitors, we read into the space, content and
experience in idiosyncratic ways. For some, what can be more thrilling than the
anticipation of a long awaited exhibition? What about the beauty of the ever-changing
exhibits, inviting you back for more? Or the permanent collections, adding something
new and exciting to discover each time they are experienced? It is important that
the journey to and from and everything in-between, is an equally exquisite
experience as the art on show in a well designed space.
The feeling a museum
space gives as we enter is what is going to stay with us. First impressions,
first views into the space that is going to give us the thrill and anticipation
of the museum are vital. The museum as a space, as a viewport of art, science
and design, what we hope and expect, is an incredible journey.
Viewing and
appreciating art, the visual, sensory and the informative, all play a part for
a successful expedition through the adventure that is the museum visit. We know
that museums form part of national and international landmarks and people
travel far to visit museums. As buildings and cultural institutions, they give
us information, education and history. They transport us into the past, present
and future, all within the same space. The museum also allows for reflection,
meditation and stillness in spaces filled with atmosphere and art. Queuing up
outside museums is common, sometimes even expected, and at times capacity is
expanded to accommodate the growing demand for successful museums.
Moving between
interior spaces, through ramps and walkways, sitting in the café or quietly
examining the art in detail in specified viewing areas, the museum visit can be
a daydream or eye-opener. Observing people slowly moving between artworks,
reading and studying, gives a real sense of feeling of the perfect private and
public interface. This is a space where you don’t have to interact with
anything else but the art and architecture that you move through, if you wish
to be private. Equally, museums are spaces of interaction, meetings and shared knowledge.
There is a beauty in these kinds of spaces, sometimes referred to as third
spaces2, where people with hectic lives may seek refuge away from
work and home. Studying movement in museums, we see individuals or those in
groups, walking up and down ramps and stairs, travelling in lifts or sitting
quietly here and there. We see people reflecting or whispering conversations to
companions, sharing cultural and philosophical interpretations of art. All the
while, the architectural spaces, within which the art is displayed may take a
secondary role, just briefly; although not immediately obvious in all its
detail, the spaces that host the art; the museum, must be successful for the
art to be seen and experienced at it’s very best. This includes integrating the
diverse visitor experience, cleverly, in-between the fabric of the building and
all the interior spaces1. The everyday design direction is largely the
task of establishing who and why people are visiting, when and what they are coming
to the museum for. Then, finally, the visitor should leave feeling relaxed,
fulfilled and educated, to return in the future.
Moving through
the vast spaces of the Long Museum
in the Xuhul District, Shanghai, visitors feel encased within the vaulted
spaces that create intrigue around each corner of the space. The huge space is
filled with light against the stark yet sophisticated concrete that surrounds
the visitors. Viewpoints, platforms and access levels can be glimpsed through
the exterior and interior throughout the museum journey. Adding contrast to the
form, colour and texture, parts of the original site as coal wharf remain integrated
on the museum grounds. Landscaped exterior paths amongst trees and grass
contrast the concrete façade. Inside, bold colour on selected stairs and
walkways add surprise to the otherwise sober concrete palette.
Throughout the
clean yet quirky lines of the Aspen Art
Museum there is a bright sense of light and air. The timber roof structure encase
and reflect the walkways and open spaces where visitors circulate for viewing
and reflection. Each area of navigation between spaces inside and outside are
scattered with patterned light and shadow, adding drama to the visitor experience.
The entrance reception area, main stairs and glass lift add to the transparent
theme of open plan and light. Mobile exhibitions add informality and wonder to
the experience. A vibrant programme of talks and events and a bookshop adds to
the list of facilities to enjoy. The Ajax Mountains can be admired from the
rooftop café and screening space.
Antoine Predock
Architects describe the passage through the Canadian Museum for Human Rights as ‘an epic journey through life’.
Throughout the galleries, the museum exterior and in the open public spaces and
footpaths, there are indicators to historical events and spiritual epochs. History
and time play a part throughout and there is a strong sense of folklore.
Celebrating human rights, within the buildings, in exhibits and designs, there
is symbolic referencing throughout, reminding visitors of the importance of the
topic at the centre here. Alabaster ramps guide visitors between the public
spaces and individual galleries. The journey is one of anticipation and
reflection.
Outside the
gardens act as a ‘purifying lung’ to remind of the landscape, terrain, and earth
on which all is based. This is wrapped up and held securely by the exterior
form of ‘doves wings’. This journey is an exciting roller coaster between the height
of the Tower of Hope and the depth of the Roots, representative of old and new
cultures. The journey is holistic, historical, material and acute. The message
woven into the fabric is significant and visitors are reminded of this through
the eclectic architectural journey, planes and views.
Promenades and ramps navigate visitors in and through the Taiyuan
Museum of Art. The journey here does not have to include the galleries, it
is a choice of the visitor. You can walk through the museum complex and simply
pass through, or enter and visit the carefully divided museum spaces of gallery
and non-gallery spaces. Visitors for the museum can explore the library, relax
in the restaurant or visit the bookshop. Experiential journeys continue outside
with sculpture and parkland areas to enjoy. Human scale feels small against the
great geometric forms around the external walkways.
In Portsmouth harbor in the UK, the Mary Rose Museum invites
marvel and expedition into another time. Low lights, virtual design and
realistic maritime features take the visitor back to the stormy seas of over
400 years ago. Experiencing the history and maritime artefacts, through educational
spaces and glass encased exhibits intertwined with the walkways, remind visitors
of the fascinating history. The immediacy to the past is clear in the design
and experience moving through the space. Focus is on the display and narration
of the story of the ship Mary Rose. Architectural design attributes are
complimenting and protecting, rather than taking centre stage over the exhibit.
Added virtual technology recreates some of the lost history. Exterior walkways
take in the port views of neighbouring ships and topography of the port.
Mirrored reflected surfaces playfully tease and attract visitors to the PALÄON
in Schöningen, Germany. The spaces are equally curious inside with the
experience taking visitors through ramps, stairs and irregular exhibition
spaces. Full height galleries keeping the visitors alert, ready to experience and
not miss anything around the corner. Colourful stairs and walkways help
navigation around the central spaces into the depths of the building. The futuristic
form in the horizon when approaching reflects the sky and moving clouds and
emerges as a virtual yet real backdrop.
A boxlike structure that appears
ready to be unwrapped is what greets the visitor at MuCEM in Marseille. This site is full of history, from ancient chronicles
with its geographical location to memories of war and peace alike. The
ornamental patterned concrete weave encasing the building, appears close up
like a coral derived directly from the sea. At night the building lights up reflecting
into the water. Visitors can walk across a 135m footbridge from the top of the
building, across the water to the restored Fort Saint-Jean monument. With the
historical aspect and location in mind, the experience of crossing this bridge
adds phenomenological notions to the museum journey. Inside, the concrete pattern
continues to play a major role, with playful meetings of shadows and light
between inside and outside.
Another harbour
museum, the Astrup Fearnley Museet
in Oslo, is clad in local weathered timber, set in immaculate landscaped
surroundings. Ramps and promenade walkways around the complex lead to and from a
sandy beach and with easy access to the nearby ferry terminal. Bridge pathways
connect between the three blocks of gallery space and office areas. Glass, irregular
ceilings and mezzanine levels add light and volume within the interior exhibition
spaces. In the Astrup Fearnley Museet and in the other museum spaces covered,
there is a clear link between the arrangement of private and public space and
the inside and the outside.
Conclusion
Clever museum
design will incorporate the design, spatial ambience and the holistic
navigation of the visit. It will engage the visitor in the experience in a
deeper way beyond the cognitive. It will also include the visitor experience
and allow each and every individual to get something special to take with them
from the visit. It may be the way the inviting entrance sets the visit off to a
good start. It may be that the site has resonance and a connection is made. It
may be an artwork that lingers in memory, a sound or a glimpse.. These private
intangible moments cannot be designed per se, but their opportunity and chance
can certainly be aspired to.
Heidi Saarinen
1 Falk, J. F. (2009) Identity and the Museum Visitor Experience. Walnut Creek, CA: Left
Coast Press p23
2 Oldenburg, R. (1999) The Great Good Place. New York: Marlowe & Company p16, p33
