DREAM STATE DESIGN
exhibitions - visitor experiences - products
Waitaki Museum and Archive, Oamaru
My role was to design an upgraded main exhibition in conjunction with the restoration of the heritage build that houses the museum and archive. The brief was to create a space that was friendly and accessible, with a contemporary approach that wouldn't conflict with the heritage details of the building.
My solution was to create a space that would have longevity yet be flexible enough to change and adapt as required, and provide a pallet that could be absorbed into future areas of development.
The exhibition is a narrative experience comprising of social history and natural environment themes. I developed the layout of the exhibition and it's fit-out. I managed the aesthetic tone in response to the heritage values and encouraged fresh new solutions for components such as timelines and interpretive details. I also advised and provided an approach to the text and signage framework, to provide consistency, aiding the visitor's experience and ensuring the coherent integration of these into the spatial environment.
Image: Waitaki Museum and Archive, general exhibition
I designed a furniture suite that could house a wide variety
of artefacts, safely and securely. Signage panels were
designed to be optional and allow the drawer units to be
bundled together, if required.
Freestanding "activity" tables were designed to facilitate
mechanical/ analogue or digital interactivity
To prevent the natural light spilling into
the exhibition space the windows were
exploited to provide key interpretation
panels, with change-outs to images
easily managed. This approach avoided any negative impact on the heritage window architraves.
The 4 drawer units
shown here were to provide visual
storage for a specific collection of
approximately 9000 items. Flip books
provided information about the
geographical sites and specific items.
Details: Furniture hardware made a nod to heritage style hardware; I developed label styles that didn't intrude on the arrangement of artefacts, which would otherwise compromise the display and legibility
A series of wall cases allowed flexibility
in the grouping and arrangement of content.
These could be thematic or focused on the
type of artefact, allowing for economical
refreshment and updates
Forrester Gallery,
Oamaru
In addition to the Museum and Archive redevelopment above, the Forrester Gallery adjacent underwent refurbishment. I was asked to design a reception desk to accomodate a variety of users. The building contained period details and I took cues from this using the prominent skirting detail, the effect of which suggested the desk emerged from the wall. I also designed shelving for merchandise, exploiting the wall paneling to provide a subtle integrated solution.
A display challenge with this artefact
was it's size (3.5m long) versus the
detail required to be seen.
I integrated the harpoon with an image
that allowed the detail to be seen at
eye level. Located on a main circulation
pathway, the installation presented
as a false wall
Waitaki Museum and Archive, Oamaru
With the success of Waitaki Museum & Archive (WMA) museum exhibition redevelopment above, I was engaged for further redevelopments of their Archive, Education and History exhibition spaces.
These spaces are currently in the development and building phases. The drawings shown have been extracted from
concept design and installation instruction documents.
Education Space.
The design brief required the space to be:
- used by children/young people/family groups during opening hours for hands-on activities and hanging out, where
visitors feel comfortable and relaxed spending time in the museum.
- a practical space that is colourful, accessible, inviting; can be multi use/flexible and that components are mobile
and re-purposable.
Ballad of The Waitaki
Upon the success of the redevelopment of previous exhibition and public spaces for Waitaki Museum and Archive, I was contracted to develop a spatial design for the exhibition ‘Ballad of the Waitaki’.
The ‘Ballad of the Waitaki’ is a narrative-based exhibition focusing on personal stories and events of the Waitaki region through the 20thC. Arranged by decades, the exhibition aligns with the development of the main Waitaki exhibition where the focus is on landscape, the importance of the river to local Māori, settlement, economic growth of the region and the Whitestone Waitaki Geopark.
With a strong collection focus my response to the brief was to deliver a spatial design approach that acknowledged the heritage details that the building provided, while providing mobility in the design solutions that allow the museum’s small team to refresh content and / or whole sections, on a regular basis. The design solutions covered all components, from the approach to key signage, display drawers, 2dimensional content, costume and the exhibition finishes palette. The configuration of the central wall system allows for flexibility in dividing up the sections / themes, as required by the museum’s collection items.
All graphic content by Waitaki Museum & Archive.
Photographs supplied by Waitaki Museum & Archive.
Example of working drawings
The location of the primary title signage wall allows for a straightforward changeover to suit a variety of design approaches. Colour is used to define the various Sections, again this allows for efficient change overs without disruption to the heritage design details of the building.
The spatial design approach allowed for the museum
team to continue the development of graphic design, artefact
selection and media content, after the conclusion
of my spatial design contract.
The tops of display drawers were exploited to be able to show collection items. The drawers were designed to cater for objects of various medium, sizes and weight.