evolution of
museum
circulation
Contents evolution-of-museum-circulation
Introduction page-4/7
Galleria degli Uffizi page-8/9
Dulwich Picture Gallery page-10/11
Solomon R Guggenheim page-12/15
Riverside Museum of Transport page-16/17
Tate Britain page-18/19
Conclusion page-20/21
Bibliography page-22
Image Index page-23/25
Fig-1
Introduction evolution-of-museum-circulation
Museums are widely considered to be hubs of thought and learning. The conventional layout for the typology is characterised by a series of interconnected spaces housing a selection of pieces. Works of art were first displayed for the benefit of the public in places of worship, palaces and former residences of rich benefactors. Gradually, purpose-built
museums were designed and evolved over time to take account of changing views on education, access and the best way to present great works of art. In terms of how best to present the works of art, the use of light has been a key consideration in museum architecture. Visitors needed to be able to see the art housed within the great museum
buildings. Over time various solutions to the issue of lighting were developed from windows and roof lanterns using natural daylight to the use of gas lighting and electricity. Many great architects, such as Frank Lloyd Wright and John Soane, have been concerned with how best to bring natural light into their buildings. Light has special qualities which can affect our emotions. As Peter Zumthor said:
“Thinking about daylight and artificial light I have to admit that daylight, the light on things, is so moving to me that I feel almost a spiritual quality. When the sun comes up in the morning - which I always find so marvellous, absolutely fantastic the way it comes back every morning - and casts its light on things, it doesn't feel as if it quite belongs in this world. I don't understand light. It gives me the feeling there's something beyond me, something beyond all understanding. And I am very glad, very grateful that there is such a thing.� (The Light of Things - Atmosphere by Peter Zumthor - 19/07/2006)
Fig-2
Introduction evolution-of-museum-circulation
Often museums were designed to display collections amassed by rich private collectors, such as the Medici family in the case of the Uffizi and Solomon R Guggenheim in the case of the museum of the same name. A tension has existed between the need to preserve a collection of art and the desire to present it to a wider public. In the past, access to museums was not as open as it is today. In one sense, museums can be seen as great buildings housing great works of art for people with the taste to appreciate them. “In Europe, museums and art galleries began at a time when people who owned them had a contempt for the masses. Collections were formed by men who wished to display them to others with the same tastes and level of knowledge as themselves, for connoisseurs and scholars. any idea that there might be a duty to make this material attractive or intelligible to a broader range of people would have seemed ludicrous.” (A Social History of Museums. Kenneth Hudson p 3 - 4) In the twentieth century, more thought was devoted to the
purpose of a museum and the experience offered to the visitor although key questions remained. For example, should visitors be guided on a prescribed route through the museum where the great works are labelled or should they be allowed freedom to make their own discoveries? How far should museums be concerned with education and how far should they be about offering an enjoyable experience to the visitor? Does the work of a museum go on behind closed doors while offering the public limited delights to view? There seems to be no easy answer to this tension between education and experience of art and it remains a key concern of museum design and architecture. Sir Frederick Kenyon believed that museums should be planned and arranged so that “...the casual visitor may realise their interest; that he may no longer wander uneasily through long galleries among objects which he does not understand, but may feel at every turn a challenge to his curiosity, accompanied by a means of gratifying it. He should go home with an awakened mind
and an enlarged experience - not merely with a headache.” (Museums and National Life 1927 p20) “A museum is a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study and enjoyment.” (ICOM Guidelines – 2007) Where does the museum originate from? The word we now know as “museum” it taken from the Latin language. It derives from the Ancient Greek word Μουσεῖον (Mouseion), which denotes a place or temple dedicated to the Muses (the patron divinities in Greek mythology of the arts), and hence a building set apart for study and the arts. An example of this is the Musaeum (institute) for philosophy and research at Alexandria by Ptolemy I Soter in the third century BC.
Fig-3
Galleria degli Uffizi - Florance, Itialy evolution-of-museum-circulation
Galleria degli Uffizi, is widely regarded as one of the world’s first museums open to the public. Established in 1581, Galleria degli Uffizi, is one of Europe’s oldest museum. The building was commissioned by Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany as a means of uniting the collection of paintings and sculpture he collated on his personal Grand tour. Designed by Giorgio Vasari construction began in 1560 taking five years to complete. The gallery opened to the public in 1769 by Grand Duke Peter Leopold of Austria. The building’s original purpose was to house the administrative and judicial offices of Florence, the “uffizi” (offices in italian). In 1581 Francesco I de’ Medici, Cosimo’s son and new Grand Duke of Tuscany, set up a Gallery with statues and other precious objects on the last floor of the east wing of the Uffizi. The gallery is arranged across two wings. The main gallery space consists of two vast corridors spanning the length of building which houses the main collection; smaller rooms project
out from these corridors and contain more precious or significant pieces. In the building he created, with all the windows opening out onto Florance and the surrounding countryside, he transformed the interior into a series of “pictures” which seemed to invite the collection to be housed there.” (Lucuiano Berti - museum director in 1969) “Physically it is not enclosed, but a corridor that crosses the Arno and reaches as far as the Pilti Palace, like an artery running through the body of the city.” The layout of Piazza deli Uffizi, which is long and narrow, was designed to link Piazza della Signoria with the right back of the River Aron. it is flanked by the two imposing structures of the Uffizi planned in a typical ‘U’ -shaped design.
Fig-4,5,6
Fig-7
Dulwich Picture Gallery - South London, England evolution-of-museum-circulation
Reputed to be the world’s first purpose-built public art gallery, The Dulwich Picture Gallery was designed by architect Sir John Soane and opened to the public in 1817. Although open to the general public, tickets had to be bought in advance from designated shops in central London. Visitors then had to make their way to Dulwich. The Gallery was founded in 1811 when Sir Francis Bourgeois left his collection of old masters “for the inspection of the public” and also a sum of money to build a gallery to house them. Soane’s design contained three elements: a picture gallery, a mausoleum and building to replace almshouses which already existed in the college. Constructed of red brick with Portland stone in the lantern and frieze, the Gallery was designed as 5 rooms linked by a series of arches, creating a feeling of space. The use of natural light was a key concept of Soane’s design. It could be argued that “no architect had given so much thought to the lighting of paintings and works of art.” (Gillian
Darley John Soane An Accidental Romantic p 272) Soan’s pioneering roof lanterns enable the paintings to be bathed in diffuse natural light, a feature which has influenced gallery design ever since. The architect experimented with different materials in order to achieve his desired lighting scheme for the paintings. “Soane, having first determined where to place the principal source of light, then tried various finishes and tones of glass to soften and distribute the natural illumination… at Dulwich … he used ground glass.” (Gillian Darley John Soane An Accidental Romantic p272) Soane’s skilful use of light sources allowed viewers to see the paintings without being distracted by reflections from conventional windows. The skylight design also freed up wall space to allow for hanging the paintings. The use of roof lights was not an entire success and several people at the time commented on the poor light when it was a dull day. Eventually new technology
offered a solution. “No top - or clerestory - lit gallery could alone compensate for poor light. In the coming decades unsuccessful experiments with gas finally gave way to electricity and solved the problem” (Quoted Arthur Bolton Architectural Education a Century Ago.) Despite these issues, the picture gallery at Dulwich remains an important and influential building. As architect Philip Johnson said of Dulwich Picture Gallery “Soane has taught us how to display paintings.” The building has influenced many other other art galleries in the twentieth century such as The Getty Museum in Los Angeles and the Kimble Art Museum in Texas.
Fig-8
Solomon R Guggenheim - New York, USA evolution-of-museum-circulation
The Solomon R Guggenheim Foundation was established in 1937 “for the promotion and encouragement of arts and enlightenment of the public, especially in the field of art.”
which winds its way around the building have become the symbols of a new era in the display of art.” (Harry F Guggenheim, The Solomon Guggenheim Museum.)
Solomon R Guggenheim was designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright and completed in 1959. In a similar fashion to Uffizi, the Guggenheim was built originally for the sole purpose of housing the collection of modernist paintings owned by the Guggenheim Family.
In a letter to Guggenheim (August 14 1946) Frank Lloyd Wright explained his concept for the building. He was concerned with “clean beautiful surfaces throughout the building, all proportioned to human scale.” The use of “any degree of daylight that the curator or artist himself may desire” was extremely important. Lloyd Wright’s vision for the building was to create an “...atmosphere of great harmonious simplicity wherein human proportions are maintained in relation to the picture…”
Guggenheim was interested in commissioning a museum building which reflected his views about art, space and display. According to his nephew, Harry F. Guggenheim, (The Solomon Guggenheim Museum p 9) “My uncle seemed to sense, even then, the evolution through which painting was progressing. He realized there could be no finality in artistic expression. He sought and obtained, a museum flexible enough to meet the changing requirements of time.”
The building’s design centres around a cylindrical atrium with a spiralling ramp gradually tapering out which informs the external appearance. Programmatically, there are seven floor connected by a continuous ramp blending the floors together as if they were one. The pieces are displayed vertically on the outwardly curving walls, creating negative space between the art and the building. “The circular shape of its galleries and the gentle sloping ramp
Flexibility was also a key consideration. In designing the building, Lloyd Wright attempted to cater for the individual needs of different artists and to offer the visitor an enjoyable social experience. “The basic for all picture-presentation in your memorial building is to provide perfect plasticity
of presentation. Adaptability and wide range for the individual taste of the exhibitor whoever he or she might be is perfectly provided for and established by the architecture itself.” (Frank Lloyd Wright Letter to S.R. Guggenheim August 14 1946.) The cast concrete construction of the Guggenheim enhanced its sculptural qualities with floors flowing into each other instead of separate layers. Writing in March, 1952, Lloyd Wright described it as “more like an egg shell” and having the “atmosphere of the quiet unbroken wave: no meeting the eye with abrupt changes of form.” As Lloyd Wright puts it: “Here for the first time architecture appears plastic, one floor flowing into another (more like sculpture) instead of the usual superimposition of stratified layers cutting and butting into each other by way of post and beam construction.” (March 1952) The architecture of the building enabled visitors to experience the art in free flow through the
building. Frank Lloyd Wright did not want the architecture to impose a route upon visitors as had been the case in the past. In fact, the route through the building as Frank Lloyd Wright envisioned it was to take the elevator to the top floor and then drift “easily down the grand ramp from show to show.” At any point, visitors could leave by taking the elevator down to the main entrance floor level again. The building was designed to enhance the visitor experience, not hinder it, and encourage social interaction.
“There are many innovations in the building all on the side of convenient exposition and enjoyable social experience. Accommodation for the pictures, comfort for the visitors come to view them, their refreshment and social intercourse meantime encouraged, should they wish to have them.” (Frank Lloyd Wright March, 1952.)
Fig-9 (left, 10 (Right)
“The mother art is architecture. Without an architecture of our own we have no soul of our own civilization.� Frank Lloyd Wrigh
In his design for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Frank Lloyd Wright attempts to present paintings in the best possible way while keeping in mind the experience of the viewer. Form and function combine to create a unique building in which the art itself is enhanced. “In the plastic third-dimensional sweep of the Guggenheim Museum any particular picture will become free to be itself; to be master of its own allotted space.� (Frank Lloyd Wright May,16 1958) Lloyd Wright seems to be suggesting that that art and architecture are interlinked. Indeed he goes even further in his vision of the place of architecture as an art form in itself.
Fig-11
Riverside Museum of Transport - Glasgow, Scotland evolution-of-museum-circulation
Designed by Zaha Hadid, Glasgow’s Riverside museum of Transport is a highly theatrical space, inspired by the forms of sea waves. The building embodies the dynamic relationship between Glasgow and the shipbuilding industrial legacy. The museum resides on the bank of the River Clyde. The exhibition space begins with a tour of a recreation of a Victorian street; containing small, dim spaces which are used to convey the items used by ordinary people in the victorian era, this is used as a device to provide context to the numerous technical innovations of the period. However, the experiences seems disconnected architecturally from the free flowing, informal circulation through the museum. The exhibition space seems to fill the vast space with museum goers weaving in and out of the exhibits seeming unguided. The public are looking up beyond the eye is drawn upwards to the spectacular undulating roof. The buildings tunnel-like configuration creates an internal path within the museum that be-
comes a mediator between city and river, which can be hermetic or porous, depending on the exhibition layout. the museum, therefore, is positioned both symbolising and functionality as open and fluid, engaging its context and content to ensure it is interlinking with Glasgow’s history and future. visitors build up a gradual sense of the external context as they move from exhibit to exhibit.
of the building, this helps to guide the public from the land to the river. “Of course I believe imaginative architecture can make a difference to people's lives, but I wish it was possible to divert some of the effort we put into ambitious museums and galleries into the basic architectural building blocks of society.” - Zaha Hadid
The design is a sectional extrusion, open at opposite ends along a diverter linear path. this cross-sectional outline is a responsive gesture to encapsulate a wave, or ‘pleats’. the outer pleats are enclosed to accommodate support services and the ‘black box’ exhibits, leaving the central space column-free and open, offering greater flexibility with which to exhibit the museums world class collection. The Hadid designed museum conflicts with Soane’s vision of a museum, the museum relies heavily on artificial lighting as the only natural light in the main exhibition space is at the exaggerated forms of the gable ends
Fig-12
“Through architecture, we can investigate future possibilities yet also explore the cultural foundations that have defined the city. The Riverside Museum is a fantastic and truly unique project where the exhibits and building come together at this prominent and historic location on the Clyde to enthuse and inspire all visitors. The design, combining geometric complexity with structural ingenuity and material authenticity, continues Glasgow’s rich engineering traditions and will be a part of the city’s future as a centre of innovation.” (Riverside Museum by Zaha Hadid Architects - Dezeen, 2011) Fig-13
Tate Britain - South London, England evolution-of-museum-circulation
The gallery is situated on the site of the old Millbank Prison. It was designed by Sidney R. J. Smith and founded in 1889 when sugar magnate Henry Tate offered his collection of British art to the nation. The creation of a new gallery dedicated to British art was needed since there was no space to house it in the National Gallery. Sydney R. J. Smith’s design featured a grand porticoed entranceway with a central dome, somewhat resembling a temple. The architecture of the building reflected the importance of the art collection and its status as a national gallery. Statues of Britannia with a lion and unicorn on top of the pediment reinforce the sense of National pride in keeping with the collection of British Art. The National Gallery of British Art (1897 - 1932), as it was known, opened its doors to the public in 1889. The collection of 245 paintings by British artists dating back to 1790 was displayed in 8 rooms within the gallery. Since the opening of the Tate Britain there have been 7 major building extensions. The controversial addition in 1987 of the
postmodern Clore Gallery by James Stirling was designed for showcasing the works of Turner. The building was met with disgust in some quarters over the apparent lack of sensitivity to the original building or Turner’s work.
Clore Gallery, this redesign was met with general acclaim from commentators and visitors alike who considered it to be a success. Writing in The Independent newspaper in November, 2013, Jay Merrick said:
“Like a well upholstered bomb shelter,” ... “its proportions are almost all wrong and mostly discomforting”said John McEwen (1987, Art in America)
“The arrival experience, once like being trapped in an architectural hernia has become far more welcoming and elegant. The clear order and finely crafted detail of the redesign has opened up new circulation routes in this part of the main building: the calm spaces breathe, and connect properly, for the first time.”
In 2013 the gallery reopened following a forty five million pound renovation carried out by Caruso St John comprising of nine new galleries, connecting the spaces together through a spiral staircase and re-ordering the subterranean levels. Visitors are guided past the paidfor exhibition to the museum’s free to view galleries located one floor up. The clear separation between paid and free spaces is designed in a way which does not subtract or accept the visiting public. The paid for gallery can only be accessed from the public stairway. In contrast to reactions to the
The redesign of the Tate Britain has allowed for a better circulation around the building for visitors and has united elements of the old and the new, blurring the lines between them. As architect Adam Caruso said: “I think for our generation, this distinction between old and new, is less interesting than it was for previous generations.”
Clore Gallery
2013 Renovation
Fig-14, 15, 16
Conclusion evolution-of-museum-circulation
In Conclusion, museum design has evolved over the centuries to reflect changes in attitudes towards art, education and ideas about the purpose of museums in society. At the core of this change in approach is the erosion of hierarchy within the museum clientele, allowing for all to experience the work equally and without barriers. The free and open layout of many modern museums allows the users to interact intellectually with the works as much or as little as they desire. Pieces are still appreciated by each person regardless of artistic/historical knowledge or standing within society. Part of this change is the growing movement in museum design where museums become more experience based and less about static collections, in line with installation art galleries. Museums, such as the Tate Britain, have been redesigned over the years to incorporate flexible open spaces for a multitude of uses. Throughout the centuries lighting has been used as a means of navigation through the spaces, from the roof lantern of the Guggenheim leading visitors up through the collection, to the tunnel-like nature of Hadid’s Riverside Museum. The function of the typology is in part moving away from a static, restricted nature of galleries of the past towards a more accessible and flexible experience.
Fig-17
Bibliography evolution-of-museum-circulation Betsky, introduction by A. (2013) The complete Zaha Hadid. United Kingdom: Thames & Hudson Ltd. Dezeen (no date). Riverside Museum by Zaha Hadid Architects - Dezeen. Available at: http://www.dezeen. com/2011/06/10/riverside-museum-by-zaha-hadid-architects/ (Accessed: 3 January 2015). [editor and Ursprung], P. (2009) Caruso St John: almost everything, Ursprung, P. (ed.). Spain: Poligrafa Ediciones Sa. Hiesinger, K. B. and Schumacher, P. (2011) Zaha Hadid: form in motion. United States: Philadelphia Museum of Art. Hudson, K. (1975) A social history of museums: what the visitors thought. United Kingdom: Macmillan. Kenyon, F. (1927) ‘Museums and National Life’, Romanes Lectures (University of Oxford). McEwen, J. (1987) Art in America, July. Museums in Florence (and nearby): top 7 (no date). Museums in Florence (and nearby): top 7 - Ville in Italia Blog - English. Available at: http://www.villeinitalia.com/en/blog/museums-in-florence-and-nearby/ (Accessed: 3 January 2015). Negrini, S. (1974) The Uffizi of Florence and its paintings. United Kingdom: HarperCollins Distribution Services. Negrini, S. (1974) The Uffizi of Florence and its paintings. United Kingdom: HarperCollins Distribution Services. ‘Uffizi’ (no date) Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Available at: http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uffizi (Accessed: 3 January 2015). Vidler, A. (2010) James Frazer Stirling: notes from the archive. United States: Canadian Centre for Architecture. (no date a). Riverside Museum. Available at: http://ahaufstop.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/riverside-museum.html (Accessed: 2 January 2015). (no date b). Available at: http://londonliving.at/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Dulwich-Picture-Gallery-enfilade_photo_Country-Life.jpg (Accessed: 5 January 2015). Citation (Vidler, 2010, p. 36) (Vidler, 2010, p. ‘Learing from Soane’) (Vidler, 2010, pp. 222 – 229) (Betsky, 2013, p. 168) (no date a) (Hudson, 1975, pp. 3 – 4) (Museums in Florence (and nearby): top 7, no date) (‘Uffizi’, no date) (Kenyon, 1927, p. 20) (Dezeen, no date) (McEwen, 1987) (no date b)
Image Index evolution-of-museum-circulation Fig 1 - Page 2/3 Winterburn, Peter (2014) [Photograph; A young woman stands amists Phyllida Barlow’s commissioned instalation in Tate Britian’s Duveen gallery] Fig 2 - Page 5 Winterburn, Peter (2011) [Photograph; Glass atreum of Solomon R Guggebheim by Frank Lloyd Wright]
Fig 3 - Page 7 Raphael (1509–1511) [Painting; The School of Athens by Raphael]
Fig 4 - Page No Photographer Listed (2011) [Photograph;Exterior of Uffizi Gallery]
Fig 5 - Page 3 No Photographer Listed (2013) [Photograph; Centeral wing of the Uffizi Gallery]
Fig 6 - Page 5 No Photographer Listed (2013) [Photograph; West wing of the Uffizi Gallery]
Fig 7 - Page 6 Stewart Castner Alice (2013) [Illustaration: Sectional Perspective drawing of the Uffizi Gallery]
Image Index evolution-of-museum-circulation Fig 8 - Page 11 Winterburn, Peter (2011) [Photograph; Dulwich Picture Gallery Interior]
Fig 9 - Page 12 Winterburn, Peter (2014) [Photograph; Interior of Solomom R Guggenheim museum]
Fig 10 - Page 13 Winterburn, Peter (2014) [Photograph; Exterior of Solomom R Guggenheim museum]
Fig 11 - Page 14/15 Winterburn, Peter (2011) [Photograph; Glass atreum of Solomon R Guggebheim by Frank Lloyd Wright]
Fig 12 - Page 16 No Photographer Listed (2013) [Photograph; Bicle instaltion in the Riverside Museum of Transport]
Fig 13 - Page 117 Zaha Hadid Architects (2014) [Rendering: Revit render of the Riverside Museum of Transport]
Fig 14 - Page 19 SilverTiger (2014) [Photograph; Clore Gallery by James Stirling}
Image Index evolution-of-museum-circulation Fig 15- Page 19 Dezeen (2013) [Photograph; Newly referbished gallery space be Caruso St John in Tate Britain]
Fig 16 - Page 19 Winterburn, Peter (2014) [Photograph; A young woman stands amists Phyllida Barlow’s commissioned instalation in Tate Britian’s Duveen gallery] Fig 17 - Page 20/21 Winterburn, Peter (2014) [Photograph; Referbished Dome in Tate Britain]
By Peter Winterburn