Supporting Document 9 Gallery Design Report · Cabinet of Curiosities People of Ipswich...

Gallery DesignReport

IPSWICH MUSEUM - Inspiring a new generation

Supporting Document 9

Appendix C

Exhibition Scheme Design Report

Ipswich Museum Project Scheme for the exhibition and interpretation within Ipswich Museum

REDMAN PARTNERSHIP LLPIPSWICH MUSEUM

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Redman Design 48 The Grove, Ilkley, West Yorkshire, LS29 9EE, United KingdomT: +44(0)1943 816898E: [email protected]

[201808.1]

REDMAN PARTNERSHIP LLP IPSWICH MUSEUM

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This document describes the proposed exhibition scheme for the re-display of Ipswich Museum.

Introduction Contents

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Project Vision

Interpretative Principles

Gallery Layout Plan

Interpretative Media Strategy

Victorian Natural History

Prehistoric Ipswich

Cabinet of Curiosities

People of Ipswich

Civilisations

Ancient Egyptians

Ogilvie and Local Natural History

Balcony

Collections Discovery Centre

Introduction

Civilisations

Prehistoric Ipswich

Outline Fit-Out Cost Plan

The Vision

Use of Space

Interpretative Approach

Ground Floor Gallery Overview

First Floor Gallery Overview

Outline Gallery Proposals

Cost


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Our Museum will:

• BerelevanttoallIpswichpeople

• Stimulateprideinthetown

• Beplayful,imaginativeandspark curiosity

• HaveamoderntakeontheVictorian world view

We are a pioneering museum, one of the first in the country, and this project will build on the vision of our Victorian predecessors. We will transform the museum by reinterpreting our outstanding collections and working with our communities to gather new stories and create fresh conversations with our audiences.

The Vision

The Project Vision

The Natural history Gallery


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We will create:

• Aworld-classmuseumforIpswich: The interpretation will highlight the links between the national and international status of the collections and their relevance to Ipswich.

• Somethingforeveryone: The wide range of interpretative media will allow visitors to choose how they experience their visit and access content.

• Displaysthatbuildonthestrength of the collections: Our stories and themes will be rooted in Ipswich museum’s objects.

• Opportunitiestoengagewithheritage: Exhibits will promote critical thinking, conversation and interaction with others, and with the museum itself.

• Amuseumledbythecommunity: Consultation will guide the way forward, there will be opportunities for the local community to engage with the museum and to influence and create displays.

The Vision

Interpretative Principles


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Use of Space

Gallery Layout Plan

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PEOPLE OF

IPSWICH

PREHISTORIC

IPSWICH

CABINET OF

CURIOSITIES

VICTORIAN NATURAL

HISTORY

GROUND FLOOR

OGILIVIE & LOCAL

NATURAL HISTORY

ANCIENT EGYPTIANS

CIVILISATIONS

BALCONY

COLLECTIONS

DISCOVERY CENTRE

FIRST FLOOR


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The development of interpretative content for Ipswich Museum will be informed by the strengths of the collections, and the feedback from consultation. It will support a revitalized and transformed museum experience, providing a visitor focused offer which builds on its current successes and introduces new ways of exploring collections and themes.

Interpretation will be presented using a clear content hierarchy that delivers increasing levels of detail and information, but which is self-contained at each level and at each point of delivery. This approach supports a visitor-led learning journey, allowing users to choose content, objects, and interpretative methods suited to their needs. It will meet the needs of a broad audience and provide rich content without overwhelming visitors.

Interpretative media will be interconnected. Visitors may follow a single strand from a Contextual audiovisual exhibit to a story on a digital label and an interactive exhibit exploring a specific, detailed aspect of the narrative. Whilst each element will stand alone, together they can create a richer visitor journey, allowing visitors to probe further and find out more. For example; A visitor may begin by looking at an Iconic display of the Mammoth with a large scale contextual image behind it which communicates the theme of ‘Ice Age’. Using a mobile device, they will be able to locate themselves in the gallery (by iBeacon) and access story content about the Mammoth. The mobile device will prompt them to

use a tactile exhibit that allows them to feel a replica of a Mammoth tusk.

The interpretative media strategy will avoid an over-reliance on fixed text to deliver information. Text delivered through fixed graphic elements is inflexible and can be off-putting for some visitors, particularly if the volume of text appears overwhelming. Instead, the initial impression in each gallery will be formed by collections, experiential exhibits and contextual imagery. Top level messages such as theme titles will be introduced through graphic elements that rely on images and brief text headlines to communicate their message. Situated in proximity to displays of collections these will be the most visible elements of the interpretative media hierarchy and allow visitors to navigate through the thematic groupings within each gallery. Story and detailed information will be delivered through digital labels, mobile technology and other means.

In practice visitors will be able to choose the content and interpretative media that suits their level of interest and learning style. For example, some visitors may be interested only in viewing objects and reading graphics. In this example, they may self-exclude audiovisual, digital and mobile interpretation from their visit. This will still provide a fulfilling visit. Returning in the future they may be interested in probing further using digital labels or mobile devices.

Cross-Cutting Themes and TrailsWhilst each interpretative element will be developed to be stand-alone, there will also be connections between elements. Not least there will be grouped content within themes and within each gallery as a whole. There will also be cross-cutting themes and threads that span the whole museum and which can develop and reinforce messages across a number of contact points during the visitor journey. The interpretative strategy will provide more detail on these but they will include the Victorian Heart and Decolonisation themes.

Contemporary and Local RelevanceKey themes within the displays will examine the link between Ipswich and the museum’s stories and collections, highlighting connections within the displays. There will be opportunities throughout the development stage for local communities to play an active role in co-creation and content development, allowing us to bring local and contemporary viewpoints to the interpretation of the collections by giving voice to the people of Ipswich today.

Art InterventionsThe power of the collections and stories to inspire others will be a catalyst for art interventions throughout the museum, with emphasis within the Balcony Gallery on artistic re-interpretation of natural history and ethnographic collections within the existing historic display furniture.




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FlexibilityThe new museum will be flexible both intellectually and physically. Throughout the galleries there will be areas that can transform to accommodate ad-hoc and pre-booked gatherings for in-museum events. The use of digital platforms such as mobile technology and digital labels to deliver content will allow the museum to develop new material and to update existing content over time. Galleries such as the People of Ipswich and Civilisations will be designed to allow object displays to change over time without undue disruption to the gallery offer.

Digital LabelsTouch-screens will carry a variety of media and provide access to story and detail content. Consultation has revealed a positive response to the use of fixed digital media to provide access to content and this will permit the museum to develop and distribute new content in a flexible manner.

Interactive Computer Exhibits (ICE)Engaging game and challenge based software interactives will address some of the stories within the gallery and offer greater scope to explain otherwise complex subjects to visitors. Examples of this may include an interactive globe that allows visitors to explore the reach of Britain during the ‘age of empire’ or a digital timeline that visitors can move backwards or forwards to access content.

Interactive ExhibitsSimple physical and electro-mechanical interactive exhibits will be utilized throughout the displays, focused particularly towards enhancing the offer for children between 8-13. These will include tactile replicas, simple puzzles and reveals that encourage learning through touch, interaction and discovery.

GraphicsGraphics will be used to highlight and introduce themes as well as to provide baseline object information. Detailed thematic content will be delivered by digital media platforms such as Digital labels and mobile technology. Large scale images will be used to provide visual context and cues to related themes (eg; a display focused on the Ice Age may include an appropriate photographic backdrop).

Smaller scale hand-held graphics will be used to deliver some story content, supporting the digital labels and provide an alternate route to the story content for some users.

Audio Visual Exhibits (AV)Audio visual exhibits will be developed to provide visual and narrative context for the displays and to address stories that have a time-based narrative, which would otherwise be difficult to communicate.

Mobile TechnologyMobile technology will provide scope to deliver a more personalized experience. It will offer differentiated content that responds to the user’s location and other selected criteria. Media will include text, images, audio and video, enhancing the interpretation of fixed displays by providing supporting content. Colchester and Ipswich Museums Service have developed the use of mobile technology within Colchester Castle and will draw on the success of this offer to develop an appropriate mobile offer for Ipswich Museum.

Colchester and Ipswich Museums Service have successfully delivered interpretation and Augmented Reality through Mobile Technology at Colchester Castle Museum




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Interpretative hierarchy and media types

ContextLarge scale graphics

AV exhibits

Detail Graphic Labels

Digital Labels

Interactive Exhibits

Mobile Technology

StoriesDigital Labels

AV & ICT Exhibits

Mobile Technology

Themes Graphics

1 2 3 4LESS DETAIL MORE DETAIL

Cross-cutting themes

IPSWICH BEFORE IPSWICHDECOLONISATIONADVENTURE & CURIOSITYPEOPLE OF IPSWICHEVOLUTION OF IPSWICHPRIDE IN IPSWICH

Civilisations Ogilvie and Local Natural History

Ancient Egyptians

Balcony Collections Discovery Centre



VICTORIAN HEART

Victorian Natural History Gallery


Prehistoric Ipswich

People of Ipswich


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This gallery is about:

The beauty and diversity of the natural world.

• High visual impact ‘wow’ gallery

• Iconic collections

• Preserving the historic fabric of the gallery

• Sensitive integration of new displays


The Victorian Natural History Gallery

GROUND FLOOR


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Gallery DescriptionThe Victorian Natural History Gallery is an iconic space that is at the heart of the Museum’s Victorian heritage. Many of the objects date from the very beginnings of the Museum when it was at the heart of the evolution debate. It is ideally located as the first gallery reached by visitors and has a strong architectural and thematic presence that clearly links it to the museum’s Victorian heritage. In many respects it sums up and delivers what many visitors expect from a museum.

There are some excellent collections, but the quality of their display varies. Half of the gallery has already lost its Victorian showcases and display furniture Some sensitive improvements in this area will deliver improved interpretation and object display whilst retaining the overall character of the space.

The eastern portion of the gallery will be re-designed using contemporary showcases and display infrastructure in a manner that echoes the Victorian part, but that is not pastiche. This bringing together of contemporary and historical presents an opportunity to address decolonisation as an interpretative thread and to look at the differences between the modern and Victorian views of the natural world, using the existing Victorian collections across both old and new displays.

There is scope for a more creative display of collections and opportunities for interesting juxtapositions

between contemporary and Victorian viewpoints using the collections and their interpretation.

The existing (and new) displays will be brought to life using ‘invisible’ interpretative media such as mobile technology and audio soundscapes. This will allow the interpretation to become more dynamic, responsive and immersive without impact on the stunning visual presence of the space.

Flexible display elements and use of space will enable the creation of a gathering space for occasional use by groups for special events..


The Victorian Natural History GalleryRationaleThis iconic space and the collections within are closely associated with the museum in the minds of those familiar with it. The gallery was designed to showcase the Museum’s natural history collection with the specific remit of ‘educating the working classes in natural history’. The re-display of the Museum will retain this strong link with the past, whilst challenging the Victorian world view.

Feedback and consultation have confirmed the popularity of the Natural History collection and the gallery itself.


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The history beneath your feet.

• Dynamic interactive exhibits

• Meet the Mammoth

• Family focused experience

• Deep time and early humans


Prehistoric Ipswich

GROUND FLOOR


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Gallery DescriptionThis gallery will be family friendly, with a diverse range of interpretation that will include audiovisual, interactive and immersive exhibits in support of the storylines and objects. In order to communicate change on a geological scale, the gallery will make use of audiovisual exhibits that will help to illustrate dynamic processes such as continental drift. Interactive exhibits will give visitors the chance to experience the different environments that have existed in this region at other points in time. Visitors will be able to touch and handle facsimile objects to create a tangible connection with the past.

Throughout the interpretation, the relevance of the displays to Ipswich will be communicated. The overriding messages will be that these geological and prehistoric events happened here in Ipswich, where you are standing now, and we are not so different from the people of the Stone Age as we might like to think. A simple chronology of the key periods will run the length of the gallery, allowing visitors to understand the relationship between these vast periods of time.

The layout of the gallery will run chronologically East-West (from the front of the building to the rear) with the entrance from the Natural History gallery emerging halfway into the space. The eastern most portion of the gallery will focus on the geological story, the central area will look at the last ice age and the western most area will explore pre-history and early humans.

Arriving into this space from the Victorian Natural History gallery, visitors will find themselves above the floor level of the rest of the Prehistoric Ipswich gallery. This height will be used to create a display which makes a virtue of the difference in floor levels. Visitors will find themselves standing on a cube of stratified rock which will illustrate the different layers and time periods within the gallery.

Within this gallery the geology and palaeontology specimens will be displayed as high status objects with carefully considered object mounting and lighting. A hierarchy of interpretation will be provided by digital labels and mobile technology, avoiding visual clutter and allowing the collections to take pride of place.

The displays will begin with a meteorite, the oldest object in the museum’s collection followed by Pleistocene fossils and geological cores. These objects will tell the stories of land formation and the arrival of the earliest animals.

The Mammoth will form the centrepiece of a display about the last Ice Age and include a range of supporting objects (such as the Woolly Rhino skull). This display will be a bridge between the geological and early human stories. There will be a range of interpretative and interactive opportunities, including scope for visitors to take photos and ‘selfies’ with Wool-i-am. Revenue generation opportunities may include making a small donation to hear the Wool-i-am roar.

The western end of the gallery will tell the story of early human settlement up to the beginning of the iron age. Collections will include stone age tools such as hand axes and flints. There will be burial remains sensitively displayed in the gallery. The interpretation will focus on drawing connections between modern humans and our forebears, highlighting the similarities between the two.

East Anglia has some of the most important Stone Age sites in northern Europe and the finds are in Ipswich Museum. They were deposited by pioneering archaeologists, such as Nina Layard and James Reid Moir, many of whom were breaking the mould, and whose stories will be told in the Museum. We will explain the importance of Ipswich Museum in developing the study of pre-historic archaeology, highlighting the important role the Museum played in developing important scientific theories.


Prehistoric Ipswich

RationaleConsultation has highlighted interest in this gallery, particularly among current non-users. The approach taken within the gallery will allow the Mammoth to be re-displayed, enhancing its status as one of the museum’s key objects.

The narrative within this gallery naturally leads into the People of Ipswich, which becomes a continuation of the story of Ipswich’s evolution as a town.


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The stories behind the museum and its collections.

• Introducing the Victorian story

• Creating a flexible historic space

• Promoting critical thinking

• Introducing Decolonisation



GROUND FLOOR


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Gallery DescriptionThis gallery will become a focal point for examining the Victorian world view and introducing the museum theme of decolonisation. It will equip visitors to think critically about the origins of the collections, the ideas presented within the museum and to challenge perceptions about who our cultural guardians should be.

On the surface this space will visually reflect the Victorian heritage of the museum, using Victorian styled display furniture and exhibits. Closer inspection and interaction will reveal contemporary interpretative media, such as mobile technology, digital media and interactive exhibits that present some of the stories and truths behind the Victorian world view and the concept of ‘Empire’. There will be opportunities for visitors to engage and respond to the interpretation and the experience will equip them to become more actively engaged with the displays elsewhere.

Exhibits may include an interactive globe that allows visitors to explore the places where the museum’s collections have come from. One theme may explore the current conversation around returning objects to their country of origin and whether it was right to take them in the first place.

In addition to offering a gallery experience for visitors this space should provide the flexibility to accommodate occasional commercial hire and other uses.

The themes of decolonisation and the Victorian world view will be introduced within this space, but explored throughout the museum as interpretative threads, occurring where relevant within the other galleries.


Cabinet of CuriositiesRationaleConsultation has shown that visitors are interested in finding out about the Victorian heritage of the museum. This space will introduce the theme of decolonisation and challenge some visitors preconceived views about the Victorian ideal of ‘Empire.’

The space itself has historical importance and architectural links to the Victorian origin of the museum, as such it is well suited to the introduction and exploration of this theme.


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The people who built Ipswich.

• Telling the story of Ipswich through its people.

• Anglo Saxons to the 21st Century

• Contemporary themes & experiences

• Community participation

• An Ipswich timeline


People of Ipswich

GROUND FLOOR


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Gallery DescriptionWe propose the People of Ipswich gallery is organised in a chronological manner and that it follows the story of Ipswich from the Anglo-Saxon period to the modern day. The chronology will run south-north (or left to right when facing the building).

The gallery will be divided into six time periods. Each period will be explored through a focal display of collections, associated interpretation and exhibits. • AngloSaxonIpswich• Tudor&MedievalIpswich• GeorgianIpswich• VictorianIpswich• IpswichatWar(1914-1945)• ModernIpswich(1950sonwards)

The opportunity to include archive film, photographs, oral and video histories in relation to the later periods will be exploited to create a change of pace and atmosphere across the gallery.

A timeline exhibit running the length of the gallery will feature a range of stories that illustrate key events and fill the gaps between the focus displays. The timeline will be a mix of graphics and digital media.

It is noted that the museum has limited collections for the post-war period. The delivery of the ‘Modern Ipswich’ display in the manner proposed is contingent

on an active collecting policy being delivered as part of the activity plan during the project’s development and delivery stages. This process should include gathering objects and stories as well as media such as audio and video interviews. It will give the residents and communities within Ipswich an opportunity to tell their own story of the town.

Alternatives to the proposed ‘Modern Ipswich’ display are outlined below;

• AlternateOptionA:Creation of a community display area to allow the museum to develop a range of exhibitions with local communities and groups, perhaps looking at aspects of contemporary life in Ipswich. This would require minimal adaption of the display infrastructure to ensure it was flexible and suited to change by the museum and its partners.

• AlternateOptionB:Create a small costume gallery drawing on the museum’s extensive and under-utilised costume collections to create a trans-historical display that looks at changing fashion in Ipswich. The infrastructure may require some modification to meet the needs of costume display.

• Alternate Option C: Entirely re-model the ‘Modern Ipswich’ area to re-purpose it as an AV theatre, showing archive film of Ipswich and the region.


People of IpswichRationaleCurrently the museum does not tell the social history of the town, consultation has revealed that this would be a popular addition.

The gallery will draw on existing collections and add new stories through a policy of active collecting which will create opportunities for community engagement and partnership working.

There is a strong narrative link between Prehistoric Ipswich and People of Ipswich with the latter following on directly from the former in terms of telling an over-arching narrative of the place and its people. The location of these two galleries in adjacent spaces allows this narrative thread to be delivered in a continuous fashion.


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The connections between different cultures.

• Cross cultural connections

• Display of iconic objects

• Local & contemporary thematic relevance

• Generating community participation


Civilisations

FIRST FLOOR


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Gallery DescriptionThe world collections are of international significance, collected at the height of the Empire by a range of methods from trade and exchange to theft and looting, by missionaries, colonial officers, mariners and captains of exploratory expeditions.

This gallery will be organised thematically. Each thematic display grouping will contain diverse ethnographic collections as well as a contemporary local responses to the same themes. The gallery will draw parallels with life in Ipswich and elsewhere around the world by exploring universal themes.

The proposed themes are:• Beliefsandrituals• FoodandEntertaining• PowerandDomination• TravelandTrade

A focal display of masks from the different cultures around the world will provide a recognisable and striking focal point for the gallery, where the concept of different societies embracing similar life objectives and ideas can be introduced.

Mobile technology will allow visitors to create a route through the gallery that links objects by geographic origin. A mobile game could allow visitors to virtually try-on masks from the collection. Visitors will be able to respond directly to the themes addressed in the gallery.

The current displays suffer from poor lighting and the new gallery will offer significant improvements in this area. Effective lighting will maintain low lux-levels on objects whilst allowing object displays to be contrasted against the low ambient light levels. It is noted that some objects in the collection were created to be viewed in candlelight and appropriate lighting arrangements will be made to reflect this in their display.

Displays will be developed to provide a degree of flexibility, should object selections need to change in the future, perhaps as a result of repatriation requests or conservation requirements. The ceiling extends into the pitched roof, this high-level space will be utilised by the displays, activating the architecture of the gallery.

The interpretation will tell the story of the collections and collectors, with their Victorian world view. The decolonisation strand of work will engage people with the collections, bringing fresh interpretation of objects and themes, new stories and understanding, making the collections more accessible and relevant to a wider audience. The gallery will feature a wide range of voices and viewpoints including those of people living in Ipswich today and members of the source communities. Community storytelling will interpret the objects to give a contemporary exploration of the themes.


CivilisationsRationaleConsultation has shown that visitors are interested in exploring the ethnographic collection in a thematic fashion. The introduction of contemporary responses to the same themes, particularly using the decolonisation approach, will present visitors with new ways to engage with, and understand the collections.


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Life and death in ancient Egypt.

• Limited change to this successful gallery

• Improved thematic links with Civilisations

• Enhanced focus on curriculum needs


Ancient Egyptians

FIRST FLOOR


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Gallery DescriptionWe propose a light touch in this space. The central display of the ‘tomb’ will remain largely as-is with some enhancement of the surrounding spaces in response to a review of curriculum needs and the success of existing exhibits.

There is scope to improve the relationship between the Ancient Egyptians gallery and the adjoining space, reviewing the entrance area and gathering / learning space to ensure they meet the requirements of the museum and its users and that they work together across the two areas.


Ancient EgyptiansRationaleThis is a popular gallery and is well used by school groups. It is the most recently re-displayed gallery space and the current proposal is to retain it as-is and to create an expanded learning space within the adjacent gallery (Civilisations).


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Exploring the natural world we live in.

• Iconic Ogilvie Collection

• Bass Rock

• Promoting engagement with the environment

• Project work with schools and communities


Ogilvie Collection and Local Natural History

FIRST FLOOR


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Gallery DescriptionThe Ogilvie collection is one of the highlights of the Museum, collected by Ogilvie from his Suffolk estate between 1880 and 1916 and mounted and cased by the top taxidermist of his day as a teaching aid to help birdwatchers. The new gallery will improve the display of this collection by delivering enhanced interpretation of a more focused number of specimens with improved display, lighting and associated exhibits.

Interpretation will focus on encouraging visitors to look more closely at the natural world around them and will act as a call to action to become pro-active in its preservation. Displays will showcase local flora and fauna and explore local natural habitats and the issues surrounding them.

The display of the Ogilvie and local natural history collections currently lacks life and movement and the introduction of sound and video into this space will help to make the gallery more dynamic and engaging. Examples may include projecting video footage onto holographic glass and incorporating video backdrops in some locations. An audio ‘dawn chorus’ could be triggered at certain times of day and matched to a light sequence that picks the birds out in coordination with the sound.

The use of digital media will be key to unlocking the interpretation of the Ogilvie collection. A central touch-

table will allow visitors to select specimens of interest and access layered interpretation that may include images video and audio of the birds selected.

The Bass Rock exhibit is a permanent fixture within the museum and one of its iconic objects, paid for by Lord John Hervey of Ickworth. There is one bird in the case that is the only recorded one of its type in the British Isles. It was seen at nearby Woodbridge, shot and presented to the Museum, highlighting how approaches to conservation have changed! Augmented Reality will be used to overlay information and interpretation in a manner that has no physical impact on the exhibits.

Part of the gallery will focus on local natural history and will include a number of local natural history specimens. The displays and interpretation will look at Minsmere Nature Reserve, encouraging visitors to create an extended visit that links the museum and Minsmere. An interactive display table will show views of Minsmere with opportunities for visitors to find out more about specific locations, flora and fauna. Around this exhibit will be a mix be permanent and changing displays and project outputs generated in participation with local groups (eg schools).


Ogilvie Collection and Local Natural HistoryRationaleConsultation has revealed that whilst the subject matter is appealing to visitors, the current display fails to meet visitor expectations.

The proposal will re-invigorate the display of the Ogilvie collection and Bass Rock exhibit, bringing a renewed focus to the local environment and creating opportunities for partnership working with schools and other groups.

There is scope to explore marketing opportunities with Minsmere, offering a full-day experience that combines visits to both Ipswich Museum and Minsmere Nature Reserve.


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Being inspired by our collections.

• Natural History and Ethnographic collections

• Artistic re-interpretation of objects

• Creating an experience that is surprising, playful and thought provoking


Balcony

FIRST FLOOR


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Gallery DescriptionThis space is an extension of the Victorian Natural History Gallery on the ground floor and also has a link to the adjacent Civilisations gallery. Its use will encompass both these subjects in a manner that introduces a more playful, artistic and provocative approach to collections display. It will promote the idea of the museum as a source of inspiration for other artistic endeavours and for generating debate and critical thinking.

The museum will work with local artists, schools, community groups and others to find new ways of displaying and interpreting parts of the natural history and ethnographic collections.


BalconyRationaleThis space provides an opportunity to create displays that can explore a more artistic interpretation of the ethnographic and natural history collections in a location adjacent to both the Civilisations and Victorian Natural History gallery.

The physical arrangement of the space limits its usefulness for more in-depth display and interpretation, but provides good opportunity to create surprising and provocative displays using the museum’s collections.


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Becoming a collector and telling your own stories

• Opportunities to learn new skills

• Creating your own displays and telling your own stories

• Flexible display

• Community-led activities and co-curation


Collections Discovery Centre

FIRST FLOOR


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Gallery DescriptionThis space will include the best of the collections not displayed elsewhere in the museum. It will be a flexible open storage space with casing and display areas suited to change and the display of a variety of object types. Easy to update object information/labels will allow the museum to work with its users to generate new interpretation and create temporary mini displays.

Mobile technology will allow visitors to create their own virtual labels for objects both in this gallery and perhaps elsewhere in the museum.

Visitors will be encouraged to use the museum as a resource to tell their own stories. There will be scope to create mini displays around personal themes and objects or to use the museum collections as a start point for exploration. It will prompt visitors to think about the heritage around them and in their own lives and equip them to record and tell their own stories.

Workshop sessions run by the museum in this space will focus on particular aspects of collecting and preserving objects and stories. Workshops could include; taxidermy, classification, recording oral histories, researching family history, meet the curator etc. ‘a laying-out table’ will create a focal point for informal handling sessions.

The activities delivered within the Collections Discovery centre will also help the museum to develop and train museum volunteers, providing vital in-role training and skill sharing as well as creating opportunities to convert visitors into potential volunteers.


Collections Discovery CentreRationaleIpswich Museum has an extraordinary wealth of collections, dating right back to its Victorian beginnings. There simply is not enough space to display it all and the Collections Discovery Centre will be a place where visitors can explore the wonder of the collections, hear about the antics of the collectors, participate in conservation work, create their own stories and leave their mark on the Museum.

The Collections Discovery Centre will provide a ‘shop window’ for the collections remaining in store.

It will be a place where the museum can introduce visitors to the process of collecting, encouraging them to learn new skills, tell their own stories and become active participants in recording the heritage of the town.


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The following pages illustrate examples of the intended approach for the whole museum applied to two of the gallery spaces.


Introduction


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Not to scale in this document

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Civilisations: Plan

TO SCALE 1:100

Community Story Wall

Power & Domination

Intro

Collectors

Intro

Collectors

Beliefs & Rituals

STORYTELLING & LEARNING

SPACE

Food & EntertainingTrade & Transport

BALCONY

ANCIENT EGYPTIANS

STAIRCASE

Community Story Wall

Long view through showcase ends

FIRST FLOOR


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Civilisations: Visual

What do you think? How does life in Ipswich connect with experiences around the world

Create your own stories using the collections as an inspiration


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Civilisations: VisualVisual links The clear ends of the showcases will allow visitors to see objects against one another making visual links between the themes through the length of the gallery.

TO SC

ALE 1:100

Discover different civilisations symbols and objects projected onto the gallery architecture

Make connections with views through the showcases creating visual links


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Prehistoric Ipswich: Plan

ICE AGEIRON

AGE

PLEISTOCENE

4.6

B

ILLION YEARS AG

O

Ice Age

VICTORIAN NATURAL HISTORY GALLERY

LEARNINGSPACE

CABINET OF CURIOSITIES

PEOPLE OF IPSWICH

Early Humans Geology & Palaeontology

Timeline

Meteorite

Obj

ect W

all

ENTRANCE

Changing World

Technology Timeline

Mammoth

Not to scale in this document

N

GROUND FLOOR


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Prehistoric Ipswich:Visual

Explore the Geology WallAn object rich display of specimens

Travel through time using immersive interactive video projection experience Prehistoric Ipswich

Interact with the Mammoth Avoid being trampled in an Augmented Reality exhibit


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Prehistoric Ipswich: VisualIconic objectsViews from the Victorian Natural History Gallery into Prehistoric Ipswich will frame Wool-i-Am, the Mammoth. Contextual imagery behind Wool-i-Am will place this object within its environmental context.

In the foreground is a meteorite, the oldest object on display, which marks the beginning of the gallery’s story.

throughout the museum iconic objects will be positioned to benefit from key sight-lines, drawing visitors through the building to the next exciting display.

ICE AGE IRON

AGEPLEIST

OCE

NE

4.6 BILLION YEARS AG

O

Step over the past Visitors cross a raised glass floor with geological specimens beneath them


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Cost

Outline Fit-Out Cost Plan

FIRST FLOOR

GROUND FLOOR

ITEM SQM LOCATION TOTAL

GROUND FLOORVictorian Natural History Gallery 220 £330,000

Prehistoric Ipswich 143 £350,350

Cabinet of Curiosities 47 £115,150

People of Ipswich 193 £501,800

FIRST FLOOROgilvie Collection & Local Natural History 254 £317,500

Civilisations 245 £637,000

Ancient Egypt 91 £38,675

Balcony 108 £45,900

Collections Discovery Centre 105 £273,000

FIT-OUT COST SUBTOTAL £2,609,375DESIGN FEE at 14% FIT-OUT COST £365,313FIT-OUT & DESIGN TOTAL £2,974,688

Costed at £2,600 per square metre

Costed at £2,450 per square metre

Costed at £1,500 per square metre (some re-use or low cost gallery)

Costed at £1,250 per square metre (some re-use or low cost gallery)

Costed at £425 per square metre (re-use and ‘light-touch’ spaces)

Costed at £0 per square metre (assume costs within basebuild)

Costing Rates per Square Metre

Costing assumptions:• Design fees for exhibition design

and fit-out contract management only ie; do not include Interpretation planning, activity plan, audience engagement, text writing, artworking, structural and M&E design etc.

• Base-build provides finished spaces and services for display installation.

Fit-Out scope includes:• Audio visual hardware and software• Site-wide digital media (eg mobile

technology)• Site-wide wayfinding• Interactive exhibits• Showcases (and interior lighting)• Object mounts• Set works• Graphics

Base build scope includes: • Finishes; floor, wall & ceiling• M&E, lighting, power and data• Structural modifications

Supporting Document 9 Gallery Design Report · Cabinet of Curiosities People of Ipswich...

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Transcript of Supporting Document 9 Gallery Design Report · Cabinet of Curiosities People of Ipswich...