An indepth analysis of 6 design trends influencing social institutional design today.
Facts, Stats and The WAG
“Financial support comes from federal, state, municipal government or corporate, foundation and individual contributions, as well as earned income from admissions, memberships, gift shop sales, special events, fundraising at the museum and among companies and individuals” (Borden, 1997).
Winnipeg Art Gallery’s (WAG) Strategic Pillars (WAG 2012):
I. Art
Building a collection of the highest standards and supporting its presentation and promotion to local and global audiences, and complementing this artistic enterprise with world-class exhibitions, programs, and collaborations.
II. Education
Engaging individuals and communities with the values of art, art-making, and artistic innovation as it informs and enriches lives and society, building a legacy of understanding and enlightenment.
III. Place
Providing a dynamic meeting place for people, art, and ideas within an environment that fosters creativity, learning, and fun.
IV. Finance
Leveraging support from both public and private sectors while utilizing resources responsibly and cultivating new partnerships to ensure sustainability and growth.
V. Teamwork
Aligning individual talents with a collective understanding to reach our strategic position on all fronts and to continue moving forward.
“Gift shops are a major source of self-generating revenue...The WAG’s was part of the original 1969-70 build, I believe. My guess is that as popular culture and high culture...began fusing into one big post modern simulacra culture in the 1960’s, it had a blurring effect on what was hitherto an entrenched and clear distinction between museum experience and commercialism. My experience at major galleries has been that important exhibitions often, to paraphrase Banksy, empty/exit into gift shops or shops that are satellites for the main gift shop. However, I should say that rarely have I experienced the presence of retail in an actual exhibition space” Andrew Kear, curator for historical Canadian art at the Winnipeg Art Gallery says.
The WAG’s gift shop sells jewelry; books and publications; photography; design works including ceramics, picture frames, clocks, and wood and glass works; and inuit, contemporary and Manitoban artwork. It also rents artwork and provides a bridal registry. Members receive special discounts. Proceeds support acquisitions, exhibitions and educational programs at the WAG. Also located at the WAG is Storm Bistro that offers dining, catering and wedding services.
“Art galleries often have space rental departments that deal with groups who want to pay to use designated locations within their building. The spaces that can be rented, for example Eckhardt Hall at the WAG, are perhaps some of the most interesting kind to study from a museological perspective. They often contain art from the gallery’s collection, but they have this double-duty to meet the tastes and expectations of the renting cliental.” Kear explains.
According to a local Winnipeg newspaper, the WAG was voted one of the top ten places in the city to hold a wedding. This can either be done in Eckhardt Hall, with its Tyndall stone walls and towering cathedral ceiling, or the graceful rooftop sculpture garden in the summer months. For business meetings, conferences or seminars, and even small concerts or theatrical performances, Muriel Richardson Auditorium, lecture and boardrooms, the Skylight Gallery and Penthouse are also available (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2012).
Technology: redefines the museum viewers, the gathering and storage of data, and access to information (Hitchcock, 2000).
Most active countries in terms of numbers of museums built in the last five years (highest to lowest): 1) Germany, UD & Sweden. 2) Finland, Hungary, Norway & Pakistan. 3) Cyprus, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Canada, UK (World Architecture Intelligence, 1997).
Art museums are struggling to contend with the more largely admired interactive appeal of science and children’s museums, and hardly any are being built. “Thirty years ago art museums were built as an expression of civic pride. Today they’re built because they attract tourists and mainly for economic development reasons. The rationales are different” a representative from the American Association of Museums pronounced (World Architects, 1997).
“Interactive technology encourage museums to reinvent themselves in a form that isn’t really precious,” Rosenblatt says. “The presentation now is accessible to the largest number of people ever, reaching every part of a nation, and if you look at attendance figures for art museums, their numbers are growing every year because people, especially young people, understand so much about what’s being discussed” (Rosenblatt, 1997).
1) Great Hall as Event Venue
After-hours events can be beneficial business for museums. “Most museums now need to have a great hall,” says Rosenblatt. “Most cities consider museums important venues for ceremonial events. They’re also important places in which to host museum fundraisers.”
“Resembling something out of a Fred Astaire movie, the travertine marble floor and towering glass atrium of the Milwaukee Museum of Art’s main lobby is a classic example. Dressed in white with a breathtaking view of Lake Michigan from this ship-like structure’s stern, the hall is used frequently for evening events,” says facilities director Chuck Loomis (Flynn, n.d.).
Halls in galleries increase awareness of them, bolster long-term attendance, and provide short- & long- term revenue generation. Wedding trends are focusing more on museums and galleries as venues because of the uniqueness of being in a museum. However they must appeal to different social trends and the needs of society.
Windhover Hall
Milwaukee Art Museum
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Architecure: Santiago Calatrava
Saturated in white with beautiful marble flooring, this glorious light-filled grand reception hall boasts a ninety-foot-high glass ceiling positioned directly below the Burke Brise Soleil of the Quadracci Pavilion, and acts as the entryway to the museum. It holds exhibition openings, brunches, weddings, and art fairs, among other special events.
Extending off of this main hall are two curved promenades: the Baumgartner (east) Galleria and Schroeder Foundation (west) Galleria, offering, respectively, an extensive view of the lake and an extended view of the city filtered through the undisturbed Cudahy Gardens (Milwaukee Art Museum, 2012).
2) Do not combat the art.
There is a common question present in the design of contemporary social institutions. How does one design a space such as a museum to be enticing, yet not compete with the internal work it is showcasing? In this case social institutions could be understood as any space dedicated to the education or entertainment of cultural society.
This issue in regard to building design ties in closely with museum flexibility issues for the evolving use of artistic medium being shown in gallery space. As it has been said below, the typical flexible museum backdrop is a white box, however, can the white box be that enticing? There are many current questions in regard to what contemporary gallery space should represent, some even questioning if a gallery is needed at all. Could some of today’s modern art situate on the street, in a park, or in another social institution?
Perhaps increased social interaction with the space and the art being displayed is necessary. An internal attraction snagging the attention of all ages of public to experience the interior space.
MUSEUM OF GLASS
Tacoma, Washington, USA
Architect: Arthur Erickson, 2002
The Museum of Glass is perhaps one of the most interactive contemporary museums in North America today. It has huge accomplishment in that design and function of both the interior and exterior. “The Museum’s galleries are dedicated to temporary exhibitions of works executed in glass and Permanent Collections of 20th- and 21st-century glass” (Museum of Glass, 2011). “Explanatory commentary in the form of interpretive text panels, interactive technology and gallery guides are provided to ensure public experience is meaningful and engaging” (Museum of Glass, 2011).
The museum prides itself on “high-quality, interactive experiences that identify major themes, explore stylistic and aesthetic content and help relate the public to the exhibition artwork in a personally meaningful way” (Museum of Glass, 2011).
Why it works: “The Museum’s Visiting Artist Residency Program hosts internationally-known and emerging artists in the world-class Hot Shop to create new works in glass with the museum Hot Shop Team. Offering a diverse mixture of culture, style, focus and expertise, these artists create a sense of excitement and wonder as they experiment and explore new directions in their art that may not be possible in their own studios. Residencies range in length from single day visits, to multiple weeks. One piece created during the residency is selected for inclusion in the Museum’s collection” (Museum of Glass, 2011). “In the summer, MOG presents the Visiting Artist Summer Series, a partnership with Pilchuck Glass School, that brings artists from around the world to the Hot Shop. A different artist is featured each week from mid-June through Labor Day weekend”(Museum of Glass, 2011). The main attraction to the Glass Museum is that the public can watch the art being created in the world’s largest hot shop located in the centre of the museum. “The Hot Shop Amphitheater, housed in the iconic 90-foot-tall stainless steel cone, includes a hot glass studio, cold glass studio and accommodates over 200 visitors. The cone itself is 100 feet in diameter at its base. It narrows to a 15-foot opening” (Museum of Glass, 2011) functioning not just as an attraction but a museum as an attractor with this majestic cone rising from the exterior. The remarkable Chihuly Bridge of Glass floating above the contemporary exterior art allows the Museum of Glass to beTacoma’s cultural landmark.
Can the WAG benefit?
On a much larger scale, it would be interesting to see Winnipeg have all social institutions amalgamate in a building like this. To take the idea further, incorporating the concert hall, theaters, art gallery etc. It would obviously have to be done on a multi-leveled and story building but the idea would better accommodate and appeal to the variety of social cultures present in Winnipeg today, especially for the unique cultural diversity.
For many younger museum goers, the idea of interacting personally with an aspect of the art would be a major attractor. If the WAG does decide to design the new addition, it could include an experiential aspect for the public like the glass blowing hot shop at the Museum of Glass.
3) Emphasis on Retail Space to Maximize Revenue
As museums and galleries draw more guests, many are stressing the design of retail spaces to capitalize on profits. Restaurants, as well, are becoming extra significant in the museum’s extended programme, frequently giving stunning sights of the museum’s surroundings and sites for entertaining and after-hours events.
This capitalizing push most likely can be followed back to the Met in the early 1970’s. “They were selling a handful of postcards and greeting cards on tired old cases in the Great Hall,” Arthur Rosenblatt, appointed vice director of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, recalls. Today, the museum’s bookshop and retail businesses have developed to the point that New Yorkers call it “Bloomingdale’s at the Met” (Flynn, n.d.).
Serving gourmet dishes or remarkably appetizing meals have never really been main concerns for museums or galleries. Up until lately, these institutions were mainly occupied with improving their collections by enriching them with artifacts and objects of archaeological or artistic significance. While such treasures traditionally acted as the best way to draw spectators, they no longer appear to have sufficient appeal on their own.
Shops, boutiques and eateries thus become an essential element of modern museums’ programme. Prominent museums around the globe are starting to look like malls or supermarkets, where the guest can pick from a large variety of items that go with their individual tastes. T-shirts, books, posters and many other mementos are situated in such a way that evading them is difficult, if not altogether impossible.
A 2006 Museum Financial Information survey estimates that the typical guest spends about $6 for gallery admission and an extra $1.55 in gallery stores and only $0.81 for food services, thus highlighting an unexplored culinary segment. As a result of investigating what could be created, galleries around the world have developed chic restaurants and fashionable cafés as part of their attempt to broaden resources and endorse a more modernized image. The intention is to make galleries and museums look like integrated elements, rather than stagnant and monumental. They want to be viewed as vibrant and extroverted associations.
It thus becomes critical that a modern museum offer such amenities in order to improve the overall experience and give people a space where they could take a break. To support this trend further, museum authorities periodically arrange their menu lists based on thematic lines that link the subject matter of a impermanent exhibition to the meals served in the restaurant (Athanasiadis, 2011).
C5 Restaurant and Lounge
Royal Ontario Museum
Toronto, Ontario
Architecture: Daniel Libeskind
Interior Design: II by IV Design Associates
At the summit of the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, part of the Renaissance ROM, the museum’s renovation and expansion project, is C5 Restaurant and Lounge, animatedly enlivened by the play of light and inspired by the museum’s outstanding mineral and gem collection. C5’s modest sophistication is an expansion of the daring Libenskind architecture, the astonishing panoramas and the Royal Ontario Museum experience (II by IV website, n.d.).
New York Times puts Toronto at the forefront of a growing development in restaurants: “fine dining to go with fine art.” Writer Larry Rohter observes that the recession has forced cultural institutions to get innovative about making money; and high-end restaurants are economically feasible while “enhancing the museum experience” (Fox, 2010).
People realize that “you learn about art through all of your senses,” says Marjorie Schwarzer, director of museum studies at John F. Kennedy University in Berkeley, Calif. “A fine dining experience can complement the mission of the museum” (Hoffman, 2005).
Incorporate the museum store as a component of the guest’s recreational and educational experience. They can add to the interpretive duty as well as monetarily maintain collected works and programs (Hitchcock, 2000).
“Museum officials are hoping to attract those who might not otherwise go to a museum and encourage those who do come to stick around longer”, says Burbank, California restaurant consultant Art Manask. Visitors, he says, too often “go out to lunch and don’t come back.” What’s more, museums can use the restaurants for fundraising events, wining and dining donors, and weddings (Hoffman, 2005).
4) Honor the Past; Explore the Future
There has been huge change in social institutional role entering the 21st century. Developments in technology and craft have caused museums to rethink the design of the backdrop they provide for the many installations and exhibits they house on a timely basis. Artists are now using various mediums to represent their work such as the internet, projections and virtual space. A growing number of exhibits require the presence of the public to interact with the medium for the art to be experienced. Questions have arisen in response to these changes and the answers are not yet clear. What does a contemporary museum design look like? How does it function to accommodate the varying needs of artists?
In the past museums have functioned as spaces of preservation for both historic travelling works as well as important permanent collections requiring great care. The museum tended to be thought of a space for the “elite” interested in obtaining a cultural perspective. Today however, the museum functions quite differently. Public of all ages are encouraged to participate in the interactive displays and gain the cultural knowledge associated with the arts.
How will museum design have to change in relation to the medium being shown? It must function as a contributor to the artwork, yet remain an enigma in fear of competing with the displays it houses. “The museum is the first piece in the collection of the museum” according to Elizabeth Diller (QUOTE from web site).
MUNCH MUSEUM COLLECTION
Oslo, Norway
International competition project for a new Edvard Munch Museum; 2009- Second Prize
Architect: REX; Joshua Prince-Ramus (President)
A modern take on the “contemporary museum”.
“Museums need to forge a new kind of iconography—one based on innovative building performance, not signature form”(REX, 2012).
“The new Munch Museum demands its galleries to be extremely flexible. They must accommodate all types of artistic idioms, to grow or shrink in accord with the number and size of temporary exhibitions, to be intimate or majestic, sky-lit or blacked out, permeable or soundproof. Contemporary museum flexibility is typically conceived as generic white boxes—a blank slate—in which any exhibition format can be constructed. In practice however, as artistic media grow more diverse and museum operational budgets become more limited, a blank slate becomes constrictive: museums can not afford to endlessly transform their generic galleries. The result is not freedom, but imprisonment within a white box” (REX, 2012).
Why it works: The proposal for the new Munch Museum is arranged into “eight, distinct typologies, each with its own proportions, materiality, lighting, circulation, and form of flexibility” (REX, 2012). This allows for curatorial freedom when arranging, or accepting displays to show. It enables the museum to accommodate any medium of display in today’s ever evolving and explorative art mediums. Separating the spaces into adjacent pods allows the museum the freedom to open only certain displays to the public, and does not require the entire museum to be taken over by a blockbuster event. “The Yin Yang proposal for the new Munch Museum wraps all un-ticketed spaces into a public “ring” around the galleries. Rather than imposing a fixed procession on curators and patrons, this organization provides independent access to each gallery, or a procession through any plausible combination of galleries. The public ring—including shops, lecture hall, auditorium, café, restaurant, education spaces, and sponsors lounges—doubles as the main circulation for the galleries, fostering new, dynamic relationships between the two and increasing area efficiency” (REX, 2012).
The eight gallery spaces are reconfigurable, “utilizing a system of ceiling-mounted, movable panels for conventional art display” (REX, 2012), “walls which can be moved laterally to create spaces of differing widths, a classical enfilade, or a large open room” (REX 2012) as well as reconfigurable swivel walls for rapid rearrangement. The modular layout allows the exhibitions and artworks to interact with one another and the patrons.
The permanent collection housing Edvard Munch’s original work are open to the sky to simulate Munch’s outdoor painting studio and further emphasize the experience of his work by providing a replica environment to where the works were created.
“As for the WAG, my own opinion is that the architecture is very successful in making a bold and elegant statement without infringing on the display or experience of the gallery’s collection.” -Andrew Kear (WAG Historical Canadian Art Curator)
Can the WAG Benefit?
The Winnipeg Art Gallery could benefit from an addition of more dynamic building, responsible for housing travelling exhibitions and diverse mediums of art. It would allow the existing gallery to maintain the heritage and classical atmosphere many of its work desire, but allow the gallery to accept more contemporary pieces. It could also benefit drastically from the extra income associated with the new addition. The appeal of a more contemporary art work would attract many of Winnipeg’s younger crowds and encourage interaction with the art work allowing for unique experiences to be had.
On a much larger scale, it would be interesting to see Winnipeg have all social institutions in a building like this. To take the idea further, incorporating the concert hall, theaters, art gallery etc. It would obviously have to be done on a multi-leveled and story building but the idea would better accommodate and appeal to the variety of social cultures present in Winnipeg today, especially for the unique cultural diversity.
