Ashmolean Museum redesigned to combat 'museum fatigue' (UK)
The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, whose interior used to be a Victorian “labyrinth”, has been given a clean-cut 21st century, multi-million pound re-fit in a bid to cut "museum fatigue".
Almost two-thirds of the old building has been demolished to make way for 39 new galleries surrounding a six-storey Portland Stone staircase, flooded with natural light from above.
The £61 million price tag has also bought such basic facilities as a loading bay – something the museum never had before – and the extravagance of the university city’s first roof-top restaurant.
But the over-riding aim has been to double the gallery space and present the museum’s world-class collection of archaeological finds and art - that includes such varied objects as Guy Fawkes' lantern, the death mask of Oliver Cromwell and fragments of Minoean excavations - in a way that is easier to understand.
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
Almost two-thirds of the old building has been demolished to make way for 39 new galleries surrounding a six-storey Portland Stone staircase, flooded with natural light from above.
The £61 million price tag has also bought such basic facilities as a loading bay – something the museum never had before – and the extravagance of the university city’s first roof-top restaurant.
But the over-riding aim has been to double the gallery space and present the museum’s world-class collection of archaeological finds and art - that includes such varied objects as Guy Fawkes' lantern, the death mask of Oliver Cromwell and fragments of Minoean excavations - in a way that is easier to understand.