The Royal Barge Museum - Use of Light in Exhibition Space Design

Abstract: The Maritime museum is currently investigating possibilities for an exhibition building housing the ceremony boat the “Royal Barge of Sweden” and 18th century King Gustav III’s leisure boats. I hope to influence this debate with this degree project. The architectural theme of the project has been learning about natural light and its relation to exhibition spaces. The initial research phase consisted of museum visits, research into projects by Gunnar Mattson and a historic comparison of the Maritime museum’s exhibition rooms. The proposed building is in Haga park, connecting to an existing jetty below Vasaslätten’s café. A concrete dry dock with an adjacent exhibition space is the main room of the building, making it possible to use the largest barge on the Brunnsviken waters. The rest of the building parts are smaller wooden pavilions on land, exhibiting the boats that are not in use. A variety of spaces and light conditions are offered. The dry dock is approached from a dark narrow entrance and opens to a bright tall space as one walk down a red carpet. The leisure boat pavilions are lit from underneath, giving the impression of the boats floating in another element.