CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUMRESEARCH 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.

CASE STUDY

INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT

KIMBELL ART MUSEUM

BY:

LOUIS I KAHN

BASICS

THE KIMBELL ART MUSEUM IS RIGHTLY CONSIDERED TO BE KAHN’S GREATEST BUILT WORK, IN THAT IT FULLY INTEGRATES AND BRINGS TO THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF RESOLUTION ALL THE ELEMENTS COMPOSING KAHN’S CONCEPTION OF ARCHITECTURE:

ARCHAIC AND MODERN MASS AND STRUCTURE LIGHT AND SHADOW POETICS OF ACTION AND CONSTRUCTION

The KimbEll Art Museum is situated in the Cultural District of Fort Worth, Texas, USA. It houses a small collection of European, Asian and Pre-Columbian works, as well as hosting traveling art exhibitions.

The work of architect Louis Kahn, the 120,000 square foot (11,000 m²) building consists of a series of parallel, cycloidal concrete shells in the form of barrel vaults with a counterpoint of three interior courts.

CONCEPTION

KAHN’S BASIC CONCEPTION WAS TO CREATE A SPACE THE NATURE OF WHICH WOULD MAKE THE VISITORS PERCEIVE A CERTAIN OBJECT IN QUITE A DIFFERENT WAY.

ACCORDING TO HIM THE SPACE SHOULD HAVE INHERENT UNCHANGING CHARACTERISTICS. RATHER SHOULD BE ANIMATED BY THE EVER CHANGING CHARACTERISTICS OF NATURAL LIGHT.

HENCE HE STARTED STUDYING AND DEVISING WAYS OF GETTING IN LIGHT FROM VARIOUS DIRECTIONS, FROM ABOVE, FROM BELOW, FROM LITTLE SLITS, ETC, SO THAT HE FELT THAT THERE WAS REALLY A REALM OF SPACES WHERE ONE COULDSHOW THINGS IN VARIOUS ASPECTS.

VAULT DESIGN

HERE EACH VAULT IS COMPOSED OF HALF OF TWO V-SHAPED REFLECTORR PLACED AT THEIR MIDPOINT AND THUS INTEGRATED PERFECTLY INTO THEIR FOLDED GEOMETRY.

THE MECHANICAL SERVICES FOR THE GALLERIES WERE TO HAVE BEEN HOUSED IN THE HOLLOW TRIANGULAR SPACE WITHIN THE REFLECTOR ITSELF, AT THE CENTRE OF EACH VAULT.

BUT THE PROBLEM WITH THIS DESIGN WAS THAT BOUNCED LIGHT NEVER REACHES THE FLAT CEILING ABOVE, WHICH COULD BE DARK.

VAULT DESIGN

FINALLY A SEMI ELLIPTICAL VAULT WAS DESIGNED, LOCATING THE MECHANICAL SERVICES IN THE CHANNELS BETWEEN THE VAULTS, IN THE NARROW ZONE DEFINED BY THE SUPPORTING COLUMNS, RATHER IN THE REFLECTOR ITSELF AT THE VAULT’S CENTRE.

THE REFLECTORS ARE MADE OF PERFORATED ALUMINIUM.

IN GALLERY SPACES, THE CENTRE PORTION OF THE REFLECTOR, DIRECTLY UNDER THE SKYLIGHT, IS SOLID, WHILE THE SECTIONS TO EITHER SIDE WERE PERFORATED.

IN THE ENTRY HALL, THE BOOKSTORE, THE LIBRARY, THE CAFÉ AND THE AUDITORIUM-THOSE SPACES WHERE ART IS NOT EXHIBITE-THE REFLECTORS ARE PERFORATED THROUGHOUT THEIR CURVES, MAKING IT POSSIBLE TO GLIMPSE PASSING CLOUDS THROUGH THE SKYLIGHT.

LANDSCAPE AND ENTRANCE ENTRANCE SEQUENCE TAKING US PAST SUNKEN SCULPTURE GARDENS,

UNDER A VAULTED LOGGIA, PAST SHEETS OF CASCADINE WATER, THROUGH A GRAVEL FLOORED COURTYARD FILLED WITH A BELT OF TREES AND THEN QUIETLY INTO THE VERY HEART OF THE MUSEUM.

KAHN DESIGNED THE MUSEUM TO BE ENTERED ON FOOT, FROM THE PARK TO THE WEST, WHERE ONE ARRIVES AT THE MAIN GALLERY LEVEL.

DIVISION OF SPACE AND ARRANGEMENT MAIN HALLWAY PLACED ON THE SYMMETRICAL CENTRAL AXIS, JOINING

THE LARGER GALLERY BLOCK ON EASTERN SIDE AND THE SMALLER BLOCK ON THE WESTERN SIDE, CONTAINING THE AUDITORIUM AND TEMPORARY EXHIBITION SPACE.

MUSEUM GALLERIES ON TOP [ONE LEVEL] SO AS TO RECEIVE LIGHT DIRECTLY FROM THE ROOF AND GARDEN COURTS—WITH THE EXTENSIVE SERVICE AND CURATORIAL SPACES LOACATED ON A LOWER, BASEMENT LEVEL.

THE AUDITORIUM, A TWO-STOREY SPACE ENTERED FROM THE GALLERY FLOOR, IS LOCATED IN THE NORTH-EAST CORNER OF THE BUILDING AND HAS A SYSTEM OF SHUTTERS SO THAT ITS SKYLIGHT MAY BE CLOSED WHEN NEEDED.

MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL THE MUSEUM HAS SEMI ELLIPTICAL VAULTS WHICH HAVE THE MECHANICAL

SERVICES IN THE CHANNELS BETWEEN THE VAULTS, IN THE NARROW ZONE DEFINED BY THE SUPPORTING COLUMNS.

RAINWATER IS DRAINED DOWN A PIPE SET IN THE CENTRE OF THE COLUMN.

TRACKS OF ELECTRICAL LIGHTING AT THE LOWER EDGES OF THE VAULT, ALONG THE SERVICE CHANNEL; AND AT THE CROWN OF THE VAULT , ALONG THE ALUMINIUM CRADLE SUPPORTING THE SKYLIGHT REFLECTORS.

STRUCTURAL

NORTH AND SOUTH WALLS ARE CONCRETE BLOCKS FACED WITH TRAVERTINE INSIDE AND OUT.

EAST AND WEST WALLS ARE CAST CONCRETE FACED WITH TRAVERTINE INSIDE AND OUT.

THE CYCLOID VAULTS ARE NOT SOLID AT THEIR APEX OF THE ARC, LIKE TRADITIONAL VAULTS, BUT ARE SPLIT OPEN TO LET IN LIGHT, UNDER WHICH ARE LIGHT REFLECTORS HUNG WITHIN TO DIFFUSE THE DIRECT SUNLIGHT.

THE VAULTS ARE 30’ HIGH, 25’ WIDE AND HAVE A LENGTH OF 150’. THEY ARE MADE FROM POST-TENSIONED, CAST-IN-PLACE, REINFORCED CONCRETE.

THERE ARE TWO 100’ X 7’ LIGHT WELLS WHICH ARE LOCATED BETWEEN THE ENTRY PORTICES AND THE GALLERIES ON THE WESTERN EDGE OF BOTH WINGS, AND BRING LIGHT INTO THE OFFICES AND WORKSHOP AREAS ON THE LOWER FLOOR.

STRUCTURAL

THE STRUCTURE OF THE GALLERY FLOOR IS LIGHT-WEIGHT, DOUBLE-SKIN, PRE-STRESSED CONCRETE FLOOR SYSTEM, WITH SOUND-DEADENING FOAM FILLERS IN THE HOLLOW SPACES; TO REDUCE THE NO. OF COLUMNS NEEDED ON THE LOWER, SERVICE FLOOR, WHICH HAS CAST CONCRETE WALLS ON ALL FOUR SIDES.

THE BEAMS AT THE OUTER EDGES OF EACH NEIGHBOURING PAIR OF CYCLOID VAULTS ARE JOINED BY THE FLAT SLAB BETWEEN TO FORM AN INVERTED V SHAPED SERVICE CHANNEL, HOUSING THE MECHANICAL DUCTS, AND COVERED BY A STAINLESS STEEL SOFFIT BELOW, WITH STAINLESS STEEL LINEAR AIR DIFFUSERS TO EITHER SIDE.

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