ABSTRACT
Chapters 5 to 7 constitute the empirical part of the book, the multidimensional, in-depth study of six European museums of art that were built or created in the second half of the twentieth century and which were selected for their differences or similarities in the light of the theoretical questions discussed in the previous chapters. Each of the three chapters takes the form of a comparison between a pair of museums, and it is often this pairwise approach that produces surprising ideas which could not have been foreseen. The analysis of each pair of museums progresses in stages by studying (not always in the same order) three spatial morphologies: the spatial structure of the building itself, looking at the properties of the layout which are of interest not only in themselves but also for their implications for the construction of a route, and for the visitor’s exploration pattern and exposure to information; the spatial arrangement of objects, including their conceptual structure, with the aim of clarifying how the layout of space and objects relate to and resonate with each other; and the spatial behaviour of visitors, particularly their patterns of movement and viewing and the emerging patterns of co-presence with other visitors. By examining these three morphologies and their interrelations, we aim to arrive at a better understanding of how and why the museums are currently working the way they do, and illuminate the character and quality of the visiting experience.
