19) Building and exhibition layout: Sainsbury Wing compared with Castelvecchio, by Kali Tzortzi, (2004)

This reading is a useful precedent for my work, particularly at the moment as we embark on a project to design a museum/gallery space. As outlined in this reading, it is very important to consider the spatial qualities of a museum, in particular the patterns of movement, as this will be the basis of the route that people take and will impact on how much the viewer is exposed to the exhibits.

Interestingly the Sainsbury wing of the National Gallery in London was permanently designed for the early Renaissance collection of the National Gallery, but the Castelvecchio in Verona was not purpose built, it was a conversion of a historic building. Although both collections vary in scale and importance, it is interesting to see how the spaces deliver from such different starting points. As an Interior Architect a lot of my work will involve renovation projects and therefore the Castelvecchio is particularly of interest.

Both museums are based on axes. The Sainsbury wing has a powerful axis acting as the structural property, which works effectively at guiding people through the space. It also uses perspectives to draw attention to features of the space as well as artwork displayed. Arched openings emphasise importance of displayed work and long vistas are terminated by alter pieces. In contrary the Castelvecchio consists of lots of changing spaces with short passages between, bringing isolated episodes in solidity into a whole.

The visual construction of museum space is also very important and something I must consider in my work. Looking at the Sainsbury Wing, it appears to be comprised of conventional rooms, not free flowing space, however the architect has cleverly used an open relationship between rooms with wide doors creating a sense of open space, allowing the user to see into one room from another. I feel that the Sainsbury Wing’s design deals with a principal problem: that visitors may bypass rooms due to them being out of the way and not obvious.  With an obvious hierarchy among spaces and an emphasis on central space, there is a clear flow to the museum.

The observation study carried out to record the routes of 100 people through the galleries is very interesting. This showed that people start following lines and corners at the beginning of their journeys and then move randomly within the space. This is useful research that can be transferred to my design for my final project this year. Perhaps my design should be very clearly and structured at the start, guiding people through, and then reach a point where they can chose which way to flow around the rest of the space.

As seen in the Castelvecchio, there is a high degree of sequencing, with limited choices and few possible diversions from the entrance to exit, which in turn constrains the circulation pattern.

'The rooms lock together beautifully': the Sainsbury wing at the National Gallery. (Lee, 2001)

The five-room enfilade of sculpture galleries on the ground floor of the Castelvecchio (Tyler, 2013)



Images references:
Sarah Lee, (2001), The Sainsbury Wing [ONLINE]. Available at:http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2001/jul/11/artsfeatures.arts1 [Accessed 01 April 15].

Ed Tyler, (2013), The five-room enfilade of sculpture galleries on the ground floor. [ONLINE]. Available at:http://www.bdonline.co.uk/paul-williams-inspiration-castelvecchio-museum-verona-by-carlo-scarpa/5049482.article [Accessed 01 April 15].