A SYNTHETIC OVERVIEW OF SPATIAL LAYOUT

OF MUSEUMS OR EXHIBITION SPACES,

[PATTERN OF INTERACTION]

PRITAM ROY

2010BARC017

ABSTRACT

THE MAJOR ISSUE IN THE DESIGNING OF ANY EXHIBIT

SPACE INVOLVES HOW THE LAYOUT OF THE SPACE INTERACTS

WITH THE LAYOUT OF THE OBJECTS: ‘TO REALISE A SPECIFIC

EFFECT, EXPRESS THE INTENDED MESSAGE OR CREATE A RICH SPATIAL STRUCTURE’.

BASED ON THE LITERATURE STUDY OF PREVIOUS

RESEARCHES IN THE SAME THE FIELD, THIS STUDY INTENDS TO

VERIFY THEIR OBSERVED SPATIAL STRUCTURE AGAINST A PAIRED

CASE STUDY DONE ON TWO OF BHOPAL’S MUSEUMS. IT WILL BE

SHOWCASED- IF THE MAIN DIMENSIONS OF VARIATIONS OF

SPATIAL LAYOUT AND DISPLAY STRATEGIES DERIVE FROM A SET OF BASIC PRINCIPLES.

AIM

A SYNTHETIC OVERVIEW OF SPATIAL

LAYOUT OF MUSEUMS OR EXHIBITION

SPACES.

OBJECTIVE

• -TO STUDY, DECIPHER AND UNDERSTAND THE ARRANGEMENT OF SPACES IN PRE-EXISTING

MUSEUM SPACES/ EXHIBITS.

• -TO UNDERSTAND THE WORKABILITY OF DIFFERENT ARRANGEMENTS WITH THE

DIFFERENT CONTEXTS FOR WHICH THEY ARE BUILT

• -AN ANALYSIS INTO THE IDEA: IF DIFFERENT MORPHOLOGY OF THE SPATIAL ORDER HELPS IN

THE NARRATIVE A MUSEUM SHOWCASES.

SCOPE

THIS RESEARCH INCLUDES THE BASIC STUDIES OF

MUSEUM ANATOMY BY TZORTZI, K. AND HILLIER, B.

AND IS COMPARED AGAINST LIVE CASE STUDIES OF

THE MUSEUM FOR TRIBAL HERITAGE, BHOPAL AND

STATE ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM OF MADHYA

PRADESH, BHOPAL.

METHODOLOGY

-THE RESEARCHES OF TZORTZI, K. AND HILLIER, B. DICTATE THE BASICMETHODOLOGY FOLLOWED FOR THIS RESEARCH SINCE THEIR SET OF

DESIGN PRINCIPLES IS USED AS THE BASIS FOR THIS STUDY.

-THE MAIN AXIS OF THE MUSEUM IS DECIPHERED AND THE ORGANISATION OF THE EXHIBIT SPACES HAS BEEN STUDIED

-THE ARRANGEMENT OF DISPLAYS WITHIN THOSE EXHIBIT SPACES HAVE BEEN TAKEN NOTE OF AS WELL.

-THE CASE STUDIES HAVE BEEN EQUATED AGAINST THE BASIC FRAMEWORK AND SET OF PRINCIPLES STUDIED IN LITERATURE TO SEE

HOW AND IF THEY CORRESPOND.

-A CONCLUSION WILL THEN BE DRAWN ON THE BASIS OF THIS ASSESSMENT TO HELP FORMULATE A PATTERN THAT CAN BE

CONTINUED INTO A THESIS.

INTRODUCTION

GUIDED BY THE BELIEF THAT

SPACE CAN BE SEEN AS THE

CONTENT OF THE MUSEUM

BUILDING, AS IMPORTANT AS THE

OBJECTS THEMSELVES, THIS PAPER

PRESENTS RESEARCH FINDINGS

REGARDING THE INTERACTION

BETWEEN SPATIAL DESIGN AND

DISPLAY LAYOUT. PRECISELY, THE

PAPER CONFERS THE MAIN

DIMENSIONS OF SPATIAL

VARIABILITY IN THE SELECTED

MUSEUMS, AND DIRECTS

DELIBERATION TO THE

VARIABILITY OF DISPLAY SCHEMES.

THE CASES ARE VARYING IN

TYPOLOGY AND DESIGN

STRATEGIES WHILE A VARIABLE

WAS HELD CONSTANT, THE CITY:

MEANING THEY PLAY HOST TO

ALMOST AN IDENTICAL GROUP OF

VISITORS.

THE FIRST IS THE MUSEUM FOR

TRIBAL HERITAGE, BHOPAL

DESIGNED BY REVATHI KAMATH.

THE STATE ARCHAEOLOGICAL

MUSEUM OF MADHYA

PRADESH,COND IS THE EARLIER

KNOWN AS BHOPAL MUSEUM.

SPATIAL VARIATIONS

IT HAS BEEN CLAIMED THAT WHAT SKETCHES THE MUSEUM AS A SPATIAL

TYPE IS TWO SPATIAL ELEMENTS THAT EXIST OFTEN ENOUGH TO BE

CHARACTERIZED AS GENOTYPIC THEMES: THE ORGANIZATION OF SPACES

IN

A VISITABLE SEQUENCE AND

THE GATHERING SPACE,

THE RECURRENT SPACE IN THE SEQUENCE. THESE KEY SPATIAL ASPECTS

CREATE THE TWO TYPES OF INTERFACE, CHARACTERISTIC OF THE MUSEUM

AS A BUILDING TYPE: ON THE ONE HAND, BETWEEN VISITORS AND

CURATORS, EXPRESSED IN THE ARRANGEMENT OF OBJECTS

(INFORMATIONAL DIMENSION), AND ON THE OTHER HAND, AMONG

VISITORS (SOCIAL DIMENSION).

ORDERING OF SPACES

• THE GRID, MAXIMIZES THE RANDOMNESS

• THE SINGLE SEQUENCE, CONTROLS THE

PATTERN OF EXPLORATION

STATE MUSEUM

TRIBAL MUSEUM

STATE MUSEUM

STATE MUSEUM

TRIBAL MUSEUM

TRIBAL MUSEUM

THE GATHERING SPACE

AT THE STATE MUSEUM, IT STRETCHES IN

SPACE AND TAKES THE FORM OF THE AXIS;

AT THE TRIBAL MUSEUM, IT IS

REPRESENTED BY THE FORM OF THE PARK

AND THE MEDIAN THAT ACTS AS AN

ALTERNATE ROUTE PATTERN.

STATE MUSEUM

STATE MUSEUM

TRIBAL MUSEUM

‘THIS TENSION ARISES AS A CONTRASTING REQUIREMENT IN

CASES WHERE THE LAYOUT OF SPACE, DEPENDING ON THE

ORDER IN WHICH INFORMATION IS RECEIVED, OPERATES TO

ENFORCE SPATIAL SEPARATION, RATHER THAN TO CREATE

CONNECTIONS (E.G. TRIBAL MUSEUM).

BUT THE REVERSE CAN ALSO HAPPEN, AND THE INFORMATIONAL

FUNCTION CAN CONTRIBUTE TO ENHANCING THE SOCIAL FUNCTION, IN THE CASES WHERE THE SPATIAL PROXIMITY

REQUIRED BY THE ORGANIZATION OF INFORMATION MAXIMIZES

THE RANDOMNESS OF ENCOUNTER AND CREATES THE

CONDITIONS FOR SOCIAL INTERACTION (E.G. STATE MUSEUM).’

KALI TZORTZI

VARIABILITY

OF DISPLAY

STRATEGIES

OBJECTS TO CREATE SPACE

THE EXHIBITS ARE SET SO AS TO EMPHASISE

AND BRING OUT THE QUALITIES OF

ARCHITECTURAL SPACE IN WHICH THEY ARE SET

IN AND THE SPACES THAT THE EXHIBITS

THEMSELVES CREATE.

EXPLOITING SPACE TO ENHANCE THE IMPACT OF

OBJECTS

THE EXHIBITION LAYOUT EXPLOITS THE QUALITIES

OF THE SETTING IN ORDER TO MAXIMIZE THE

IMPACT OF THE OBJECTS.

TAKEN TOGETHER, THESE DISPLAY STRATEGIES

SEEM TO SUGGEST THAT IN ADDITION TO THE

EXPERIENCE OF OBJECTS (INFORMATIONAL) AND

THAT OF OTHER PEOPLE (SOCIAL), WE BEGIN TO SEE

ANOTHER CRITICAL DIMENSION TO THE WAY WE

EXPERIENCE MUSEUMS AND THAT IS THE

EXPERIENCE OF SPACE ITSELF.

CONCLUSION

IT CAN BE THUS SUMMARISED THAT THE SPATIAL

AND DISPLAY CONSIDERATIONS IN EXHIBITIONS

AND MUSEUMS RENDERS AN EXPERIENCE OF SPACE

THAT IS COMPLEX AND INFORMATION RICH.

AFTER ALL, ‘MEANING DOES NOT EXIST IN

ADVANCE, BUT IS CREATED AND EXISTS BY VIRTUE

OF THE EXISTENCE OF THE SPECIFIC MUSEUM’ -

HILLIER, B.

INSTEAD OF PLACING THE EMPHASIS ON THE

CONCEPTUAL STRUCTURE AND THE FUNCTIONAL

ENDS,

PRIORITY IS GIVEN TO THE SPATIAL STRUCTURE AND

THE ARCHITECTURAL/SPATIAL MEANS.

IT SEEMS THAT, WHEN A RICHER SPATIAL STRUCTURE

IS PRODUCED BY THE EFFECTS OF THE SYNTHESIS OF

SPATIAL AND DISPLAY LAYOUT, THE INFORMATIONAL

FUNCTION OF THE MUSEUM EXTENDS BEYOND THE

INSTRUCTIVE AIMS, AND ACTS THROUGH ITS

AESTHETIC QUALITY.

REFERENCES

DUNCAN, C., WALLACH, A., 1978, “THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART AS LATE CAPITALIST RITUAL: AN ICONOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS”, PP.28-51.

HILLIER, B., TZORTZI, K., 2006, “SPACE SYNTAX: THE LANGUAGE OF MUSEUM SPACE”,

S. MACDONALD (ED), A COMPANION TO MUSEUM STUDIES.

BARRY LORD AND GAIL DEXTER LORD, 2001, “THE MANUAL OF MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS”

STANISZEWSKI, M.A., 1998, “THE POWER OF DISPLAY: A HISTORY OF EXHIBITION INSTALLATIONS AT THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART”

TZORTZI, K., 2007, “MUSEUM BUILDING AND EXHIBITION LAYOUT”, 6TH INTERNATIONAL SPACE SYNTAX SYMPOSIUM, İSTANBUL.

THANK YOU…