3D interpretation design
The transformed 5 acre gardens at the Natural History Museum tell the story of evolution on our planet, from 2.7 billion years ago to the present day. Gitta Gschwendtner designed the 3D interpretation, imbedding narratives and interactive installation within the landscape, as well as the graphics hardware for the labels and wayfinding.
The Evolution Garden in the east tells the story of change on our planet through a journey from deep time to modern day. Here visitors can learn about 2.7 billion years of history of our planet, told through an immersive timeline of plants, rocks of different geological periods from across the UK, and representations of reptiles, birds, dinosaurs and mammals. Gitta’s interventions encourage visitors to see this changing world through installations that include prehistoric brass animals set into the paving, tactile brass sculptures and rock viewfinders that focus our attention onto prehistoric animals on the museum façade.
A new learning landscape in the west, the Nature Discovery Garden supported by The Cadogan Charity, showcases the broad range of present-day UK habitat types and approaches to climate adaptation set within an urban forest of the future. Bringing history to life, this immersive and awe-inspiring landscape is part of a national initiative aimed at inspiring people and in particular young people, to develop a love for nature and become the naturalists of the future. Here Gitta’s interpretation design includes brass funnels encouraging visitors to listen to audio recordings of micro sounds of the natural world. Further viewing funnels invite visitors to use interactive installations to explore the likes of pollination or dancing water fleas. Cast brass insects and mosses are dotted around the garden, drawing attention to the unsung heros of biodiversity, while an installation of window box planters aims to inspire visitors to do their own planting when they return home.
Feilden Fowles led the transformation, working in collaboration with landscape architects J&L Gibbons and alongside engineersHRW and Max Fordham.
image credit
1 @ Kendal Noctor, The Trustees of The Natural History Museum, Feilden Fowles
4, 5, 6, 9, 10 @ The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London
7 + 11 @ Jim Stephenson, The Trustees of The Natural History Museum, Feilden Fowles
Permanent exhibition design for the Science Museum, London
Science City is a permanent gallery exploring how science shaped London from 1550-1800. Covering over 650 square metres, the gallery design creates an abstract city-scape that immerses the visitor in a contemporary interpretation of historic London. Ghostly mesh houses start of almost black in 1550, by 1800 the Georgian inspired structures are light grey, reflecting the Enlightenment through science.
Graphics: Martin McGrath Studio
Lighting: Studio ZNA
Photos: Simon Sorted
Temporary exhibition design for the Natural History Museum, London
The exhibition showcases acclaimed Austrian artist and photographer Gregor Sailer’s images of structures captured across four countries in the Arctic circle. From isolated research centres to Icelandic geothermal power stations, Gregor documents the changes taking place across the Arctic as people increasingly build on, exploit and research it. The stunning images of the polar region are shown in a lightweight white build that emphasises the serenity of the polar region, while referencing the manmade structures depicted in the photographs.
Graphics: NHM
Lighting: Lux Lucis
Photographs: Trustees of the Natural History Museum London
Temporary exhibition design for Somerset House, London
The challenge for the exhibition design was to create a spatially stunning environment for the predominantly two-dimensional works. Gitta Gschwendtner’s design solution creates a stunning installation of timber frame boxes covered in coloured gauze. These light three-dimensional structures form the main exhibition build for the hanging of the prints and object display.
Graphics: Studio Frith
Temporary Exhibition Design
William Blake’s Universe is the first exhibition to explore Blake’s boundless imagination in the context of wider trends and themes in European art including romanticism, mysticism and ideas of spiritual regeneration.
The exhibition design seeks to juxtapose Blake and his contemporaries through angled displays and cut-throughs in the exhibition structures and fabric of the building. Vistas are formed to draw the visitors’ attention to connections in ideas and spirit.
Many of Blakes works would have originally been encountered in bound volumes and the concertina language of the exhibition structure aims to emulate the relationship of the facing pages.
The colour palette of the three galleries has been informed by Phillipp Otto Runges colour theory and gradients have been used in a nod to his colour sphere, which shows blue, red and yellow melting into each other. The exhibition starts with a dark blue for the works inspired by the Antiquity and Gothic, moving to a red to yellow gradient for Europe in Flames while the section on Spiritual Renewal sees a bright yellow morphing to white.
Graphics: Martin McGrath Studio
Lighting: DHA Design
Photography: Thomas Adank
Temporary exhibition design for the National Gallery, London
Poussin and the Dance shows Poussin’s unique paintings and drawings of dance alongside the antique sculptures that inspired him. The design of the plinths and benches thrives to convey a sense of their movement while the use of colour creates an uplifting backdrop to these incredible works.
Lighting: Studio ZNA
Photos © The National Gallery, London
Temporary Exhibition Design for the V&A, London
The Fabric of India is the first major exhibition to explore the dynamic and multifaceted world of handmade textiles from India from the 3rd to the 21st century. The exhibition design
creates stunning backdrops for the varied textiles, immersing the visitor into the narratives of the individual sections while supporting the delicate nature of the work. Additionally the use of colored bungee creates stunning installations referencing the thread on the loom.
Graphics: Studio Frith
Lighting: Studio ZNA
Photos: Simon Sorted
Large-scale permanent public art installation in Cardiff Bay
The site of the artwork is a 50-meter long wall running along side a private development in Cardiff Bay. The natural habitat in Cardiff Bay has been greatly diminished following its extensive development in recent years. Approximately 1000 bird and bat boxes have been integrated into a specially designed cladding for the wall to reintroduce wildlife back into the area. The artwork provides an architecturally stunning and environmentally sensitive wall for Century Wharf.
Permanent public art installation in Bristol harbor for Bristol Council and the Arnolfini
Seeds of Change is a ballast seed garden developed by artist Maria Thereza Alves. Gitta Gschwendtner’s design for the garden aims to give the visitor an opportunity to experience the garden from various levels and perspectives. The raised bed structure with its sunken paths and seating areas immerses the visitor into the garden, while the elevated central area allows an overview of the entire ballast seed garden as well as its unique position on a floating barge.
Public square design in London
Osiers Gate is a public square in the centre of a private development. The centre piece of the square is a 20 meters long sculptural structure. As well as functioning as a visual element the structure is adaptable and may be used as a table, seating or playable object for adults and children. Additional seating can be brought along to create a long banquet for community parties. The public realm design furthermore encompasses the linear basalt pavement and a series of planters.
Permanent exhibition design
Design for a permanent gallery situated in the Wellcome Collection, a major exhibition space and public research venue in London. Medicine Man showcases the collection of Henry Wellcome, founder of the Wellcome Trust.
Graphics: Kerr|Noble
Photos: Simon Sorted
Permanent furniture installation
Custom furniture designed for Sto Werkstatt’s materials library in Clerkenwell. The material wall features ledges of three different depth to allow the display of a variety of sample sizes as well as a flip up desk. The sample shelves are designed with a 45 degree angle so that you can see a bit of the material board face on.
Photos: Edward Bishop
Temporary exhibition design for the British Museum, London
This small exhibition shows examples of Kakiemon porcelain, moulds and touch objects in a minimal linear display inspired by the workshop shelving of the Kakiemon factory. The bold display of the objects is complimented by an angled double projection of the making process. The projection is viewable from both sides, engulfing the visitor into the making experience.
Lighting: DHA Designs
Permanent furniture installation for Guy’s Cancer Centre, London.
Genius Loci is a furniture commission focused on creating a sensitive and coherent patient-centred narrative across the public areas within the Centre. Overlapping translucent screens create a sculptural interplay beyond the pure functionality of the furniture, while the varied heights of the screens, some of which extend across the floors, create dramatic lines.
The ‘Welcome’ table on the ground floor breaks up the large meeting table form and enables the reception space to be used by as many people as possible. Furthermore the commission includes smaller reception desks, present on each of the treatment village receptions. The desks combine an open reception desk with a floating table surface to encourage a more informal and personal use of this area. A new armchair and side chair have been developed, addressing the requirement for patients.
Photos: Simon Sorted
An art installation with Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg
The Lost Rhino at the Natural History Museum explores how an idea of an animal can be more powerful than the animal itself. Through four different depictions of the rhinoceros, each only a partial representation of this endangered species, Ginsberg explores themes of extinction, technology, and the importance of conservation.
The Natural History Museum’s Jerwood Gallery presents an architecturally beautiful space, albeit not the kind of white cube environment art installations are usually shown in. In order for the works not to get lost within the volume of the Victorian gallery, a substantial amount of exhibition build was required. To avoid wasteful use of material the main structures of the build have been constructed from a minimal key clamp system that utilizes the circular economy of hired scaffolding. Cotton fabric cover parts of the scaffolding to create volumes and visual barriers, pacing the visitors journey through the space.
Photography credit © The Trustees of The Natural History Museum London
