Museum Architecture

I have talked a lot about museums and their collections in my previous posts so now I’d like to talk about the physical building, where the collection is housed. Do you think the building makes a difference in the quality of the museum?

First off, I’d like to start with the big picture and then work our way inward. The outside architecture – does it distract from the art? Let’s start off with the real-world example of the Guggenheim in New York.  This museum was designed by world famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The Guggenheim in New York is a beautiful round spiral building that was designed to break away and challenge the square-ness of the city. But, does the large (physically and politically) statement detract from the true meaning of a museum? While looking at the architecture and thinking about how odd it looks right in the middle of a New York City block, do we forget about the importance of the art inside? And educating the people? I think this is a very probable possibility

I’m not saying architecture is not important. In truth, architecture can be art. And, a building that’s purpose is to house art, certainly, should not be ugly. All I am trying to say is that the building’s architecture should not be the main focus of a museum. (With the exception that it is a museum of architecture.) Not distract them from the art and teaching of art.

So, the Guggenheim is a phenomenal example of architecture, but is a bad example of what a museum should be. In contrast, a good example of a museum that combines both beauty and function is the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. This museum, designed by, Tadao Ando and opened in 2002, does not distract or detract from the art. If anything the windows and natural lighting add to the visitors receptiveness of the art. It is an inviting building with high ceiling and open spaces. This museum is not only architecturally beautiful, but also relevant in the fact that it serves the purpose it was designed for.

The next step in analyzing the physical building is the inside architecture. Wall space is incredibly important to an art museum. (Duh! Where else are you going to put the art?) Natural lighting is the best way to illuminate art, but windows can cause a huge problem because they take up wall space. One way that many museums have found to compromise is to add windows in corners, or horizontal windows at the top of the wall, both of which are places where art is not commonly hung.

The actual layout of the museum is important because the viewer must feel comfortable and not be confused as to where to go. Crowd flow in museums is very important. When curators hang the art in the gallery they do it in a specific way. There is usually a certain painting that you are supposed to look at first and then last. Often this pattern is based upon which door most museum patrons will enter; as well as on the psychological factor that most people move through an exhibit in a counter clockwise pattern.

Another important aspect of the inside design of the museum is storage space. This is not something that many museum visitors will ever think about. But, believe it or not, most of the art that a museum owns is in storage. A common saying is that 60% of the museum space should be dedicated to gallery space and 40% should be dedicated to administrative offices and storage. Some museum guides even suggest a 50/50 split.

There are many aspects of a museum that the viewer should not think about. Architecture, storage and utilities are a few examples. When done well the museum will just flow and seem natural. When all of these elements do come together perfectly, you get a great museum that makes your community happy, which is always the ultimate goal of a museum.