THE MUSEUM
The Building
The architecture of the building
At the end of October 1997, on the 20th anniversary since it was first founded, the Museum left its old premises from Amalias street and moved into its new, permanent ones,while the inauguration event took place on March 10th, 1998. The new building is of great architectural interest. Only the exterior walls of the existing 19th century building were maintained; the interior was completely rebuilt. Three of its four floors are broken into three consecutive levels, of unequal height. All the levels are arranged around a central octagonal shaft, which runs the height of the building, from the basement to the roof. Its glass dome allows natural light to flood through all the levels, while the Museum’s stairway winds round it in an anticlockwise spiral from the bottom up.
Following this upward spiral, the exhibition is divided into thematic units, one per level. The visual result is of an interesting and unusual environment, with a lot of angular shapes and structures, all around the central axis of the skylight. The colour scheme chosen for the interior aims at toning down the angular shapes while serving as a neutral background for the colorful exhibits. The tones of light peach and off-white complement the wooden panelling and floors, which make the atmosphere warm and welcoming.
The available space has been configured to house the permanent exhibition, the temporary and contemporary art exhibitions, the educational programs, the library, the photographic archive and laboratory, the preventive conservation department and laboratory as well as the individual workspaces.
