CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM

:

RESEARCH ON

STANDARDS

SITE

THE CHOICE OF THE SITE IS VERY IMPORTANT.

MODERN PREFERENCE OF MUSEUM SITES TEND TO BE AT THE OUTSKIRTS OF A TOWN RATHER THAN IN THE CENTRE FOR REASONS SUCH AS:

EASIER ACQUISITION OF LAND [ AT LOWER COST], LESS FATIGUE FROM THE NOISE OF TRAFFIC, AND AN ATMOSPHERE LESS OF DUST AND GASES, WHICH ARE HARMFUL FOR

ARTWORKS AND UNPLEASANT FOR VISITORS. ALSO THE SITE MUST BE WITHIN REACH OF SCHOOLS, COLLEGES,

UNIVERSITIES AND LIBRARIES.

LANDSCAPE AND GARDENS

A BELT OF TREES SURROUNDING THE MUSEUM BUILDING SERVES AS AN EFFECTIVE NATURAL FILTER FOR DUST AND CHEMICAL DISCGARGES THAT POLLUTE THE AIR,

IT ALSO HELPS TO STABILIZE HUMIDITY TO WHICH ARTWORKS AND PAINTINGS ARE SENSITIVE.

IF LARGE TREES ARE CLOSE TO THE BUILDING IT CUTS OFF OR DEFLECTS THE LIGHT AND THUS DIMINISHES ITS EFFECTS ON COLOR.

A MUSEUM OVERLOOKING A PUBLIC STREET SHOULD BE ISOLATED BY MEANS OF TREES AND/ OR FLOWERBEDS, THE ENTRANCE SHOULD BE SET BACK TOA QUIET CORNER.

ENTRANCE

THERE MAY BE MANY ENTRANCES BUT THERE SHOULD BE ONLY ONE PUBLIC ENTRANCE PLACED QUITE SEPARATELY FROM THE OTHERS, THIS SHOULD LEAD INTO A VESTIBULE WHERE CERTAIN ESSENTIAL SERVICES WILL BE LOCATED, SUCH AS THE RECEPTION, TICKET COUNTER, ETC.

DIVISION OF SPACE ANDPROVISION FOR EXPANSION MODERN TENDENCY IS TO CREATE LARGE UNBROKEN SPACES WHICH CAN

THEN BE DIVIDED UP BY MOVABLE PARTITIONS AND LIGHT WIEGHT STRUCTURES.

TRADTIONAL SYSTEM IS DIVIDING THE SPACE BY MEANS OF PERMAMENT WALLS, INTO ROOMS OF VARIOUS SIZES, WHICH MAY EITHER BE CONNECTED OR INDEPENDENT.

FOR THIS BUILDING TYPE, THE FACILITIES FOR FUTURE EXPANSION SHOULD BE PRESENT, EITHER BY ENLARGEMENT OF THE ORIGIANL BUILDING OR BY THE CONSTRUCTION OF CONNECTED ANNEXES.

WHERE SPACE PERMITS IT IS BEST TO ALLOW FOR HORIZONTAL EXTENSION, AS KEEPING THE GALLERIES ON THE SAME LEVEL CUTS THROUGH COSTS.

LIGHTING

NATURAL LIGHTING IS PREFERRED AND SPECIFIC LIGHTING CONDITIONS ARE REQUIRED. TWO MAJOR TYPES OF LIGHTING SYSTEM ARE USED WITH BOTH HAVING THEIR POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ASPECTS:

LIGHTING FROM ABOVE LATERAL LIGHTING

LIGHTING

LIGHTING FROM ABOVE: STEADY SUPPLY OF LIGHT, NOT USUALLY AFFECTED BY SURROUNDING STRUCTURES, SAVING OF WALL SPACE, MAXIMUM LATITUDE IN PLANNING THE SPACE, FACILITATION OF SECURITY MEASURES.

-EXCESS RADIATING LIGHT OR DIFFUSED LIGHT INTERSPERSED WITH REGULAR RAYS, INCREASES WEIGHT OF ROOF OR CEILING SUPPORT, LIABILITY TO BECOME COATED WITH DUST, RISK OF PANES BEING BROKEN, DANGER OF RAINWATER INFILTRATION, CONDENSATION OF MOISTURE, ADMISSION OF SUNS RAYS, IRRADIATION AND DISPERSION OF HEAT.

LATERAL LIGHTING: SUCCESSFUL IN BRINGING OUT PLASTIC AND LUMINOUS AVALITIES OF ARTWORKS, ALLOWS OUTSIDE VIEW, CAN BE MANOUVERED EASILY.

-USE OF WALL AREA, GLARE EFFECT, ETC..

MUSEUM SERVICES

TWO CONFLICTING NEEDS HAVE TO BE CONSIDERED.

ON ONE HAND, THERE MUST BE EASY COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE PUBLIC ROOMS AND THE MUSEUM SERVICES, SINCE THIS ALLOWS FOR SMOOTH RELATIONS BETWEEN VISITORS AND STAFF.

ON THE OTHER HAND, IT MUST BE POSSIBLE TO SEPARATE THESE TWO SECTIONS SO THAT THEY CAN FUNCTION INDEPENDENTLY AT ANY TIME.

ARRANGEMENT

FOR AN ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY MUSEUM: THE SIZE OF THE ROOMS AND THE HEIGHT OF THE CEILING WILL BE DETERMINED BY THE NATURE AND DIMENSIONS OF THE WORKS TO BE DISPLAYED.

A SUITABLE ROOM MIGHT MEASURE ABOUT 16’X23’ WITH A CEILING HEIGHT OF 14’.

VALUABLES WILL BE DISPLAYED IN A WALL BASED SHOWCASE WITH ANTI-BURGLAR SAFEGUARDS; AND LIT FROM WITHIN THE SHOWCASE.

ROOMS LIT BY NATURAL LIGHT ARE SUITABLE FOR DRAWINGS, ENGRAVINGS, WATERCOLORS AND TEXTILES. SUCH ROOMS MAY BE LONG AND NARROW RATHER THAN SQUARISH.

EXHIBITION ROOMS

SAME SIZED ROOMS CAN BE MONOTONOUS.

BY VARYING THEIR DIMENSIONS AND THE RELATION BETWEEN HEIGHT AND WIDTH---AND ALSO BY USING DIFFERENT COLORS FOR THE WALLS AND DIFFERENT KINDS OF FLOOR MATERIALS---A SPONTANEOUS STIMULUS TO ATTENTION CAN BE ACHIEVED.

EXHIBIT ARRANGMENT

CIRCULATION

CAN EITHER BE ONE WAY OR BOTH WAYS THROUGHOUT A ROOM.

ONEWAY CIRCUALTION TAKES MORE SPACE BUT IS PREFERABLE FOR THE DISCIPLINE IT PROVIDES. BUT IT MIGHT MAKE THE MUSEUM JOURNEY LESS APPEALING FOR VISITORS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN SELECTED ITEMS.

TOO MANY ADJACENT DOORS OR ROOMS RUNNING PARALLEL TO ONE ANOTHER SHOULD BE AVOIDED AS VISITORS MUST NOT BE MADE TO FEEL THAT THEY ARE IN A MAZE WHERE THEY CAN EASLIY LOSE THEIR WAY.

BEING ABLE TO SEE INTO SEVERAL ROOMS AT THE SAME TIME IS HELPFUL IN DIRECTING THE VISITORS AND FOR SECURITY PURPOSES.

HOWEVER, CIRCULATION SHOULD BE EASY AND IN A DISCIPLINARY METHOD.

ORIENT THE VISITOR

VISITORS SHOULD BE ABLE TO MOVE THROUGH THE EXHIBIT WIHTOUT BEING FORCED TO WALK PAST OBJECTS THEY HAVE ALREADY SEEN.

THERE MUST BE ADEQUATE SPACE FOR VISITORS TO MOVE AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS. SOME WILL MOVE CONTINUOUSLY AND OTHERS MIGHT STOP TP EXAMINE PARTICULAR OBJECTS IN GREATER DETAIL.

A VIEWER TENDS TO TURN RIGHT WHILE ENTERING A ROOM. THIS SHOULD BE KEPT IN MIND WHILE DESIGNING THE CIRCULATION.

THE ABILITY TO SURVEY THE GALLERY IN ONE SWEEP WILL HELP VIEWERS UNDERSTAND WHAT IS ON DISPLAY AND DECIDE WHAT THEY WANT TO SEE.

CASE STUDY

LOCAL CONTEXT

Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya

BY:CHARLES CORREA

“ I do not want my house to be walled on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. but I refuse to be blown off my feet by any of them. “

Mahatma

Gandhi

photographS

photographS

context Correa's eagerness to adapt Modernist form

to local materials and spatial ideas The Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya provides

example of combining the Hindu architectural cosmological idea of isotropy and Modernist functional planning

the modular pavilion unit is designed for easy extension

Correa placed five distinctly programmed interior spaces within the asymmetrical grid plan

The plan of the museum has also been compared to village houses in India's Banni region. Instead of a single volume, the houses consist of five huts each with a different function, which surround to make a courtyard. The inhabitants walk back and forth across the outside space to use the different rooms.

Spaces

The site on the Sabarmati River bank is part of the larger ashram complex and is integrated into its gardens.

Five interior rooms contain the collection of the museum. The rooms are enclosed by brick walls and wooden louvered screens. All

five rooms are part of the 6m square module. Correa’s subtle changes of the enclosure allow for variety in the module’s lighting, temperature, and visual permeability.

A square, uncovered shallow pool is located between the five rooms.

Construction The museum uses a simple but delicately detailed

post and beam structure. Load bearing brick columns support concrete

channels, which are both support the wooden roof and direct rainwater.

Boards are nailed underneath the joists and tiles are placed atop the joints.

The foundation is concrete and is raised about a foot from the ground.

Wooden doors, stone floors, ceramic tile roofs, and brick columns are the palette of the building.

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