Museum and center for contemporary art: design principles and functional features

Abstract

The article discusses the topical issue of the establishment of museum and center for contemporary art. The objective of the research is to analyze the historical background of contemporary art museums; to review the world design practice of them according to urban planning, functional, architectural and expositional criteria; to reveal functional features’ trends and to identify the design principles of an advanced center for contemporary art. We collected more than 45 leading examples to compile a matrix using classification and analysis methods. As a result, we reached the museums’ functional features: administrative, exhibition, educational, recreational are fixed functions; storage and research functions are optional; cultural and entertainment are particularly additional functions. At first, art museums and centers are focused on adaption to visitors and intersection with them, secondly, on the exhibit. To sum up, we define the design principles of the ideal architectural model on the basis of urban planning, architectural, sociocultural and technological radicals. In conclusion, it is revealed that contemporary art centers have absorbed most of the historical functions of the museum and today are one of the developed types of the multifunctional architecture.