Orthogonal path grid: design for a museum Architect: Jean-Nicolas-Louis Durand (1803)
Democratic access: design for a museum Architect: Ètienne-Louis Boullée (1783)
Circuit in its pure form: Glyptothek in Munich Architect: Leo von Klenze (1830)
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The History and Theory of the Museum Building
This changes the definition of museums: as of that time, they are factors in the shaping of public opinion. They provide nation states which are emerging at the time with historic legitimacy. In order to underpin the supremacy of the home country, cultural assets are again procured from nations which are to be civilised, that is to be colonised – now also in the name of science. The construction programme simultaneously expands: the multitudinous target group makes the museums more extensive and numerous than ever before. For the first time since antiquity they emerge as detached buildings. No longer bound to rulers and residences, projects take place wherever there is an audience. Virtually all cities give themselves a museum – the metropolises several. In terms of architecture, the orientation towards the public is also manifest: portals grow, as if eager to attract the whole educated bourgeoisie all at once. It is not seldom that columns cover the entire visible façade. This was also the case with Karl Friedrich Schinkel, who in 1830 places one of the first autonomous museum buildings on the Spree Island in Berlin. Here, the outside staircase continues through to the uppermost floor. However, true innovation occurs in the interior: now that huge crowds of people are to be funnelled through the museum, the question then arises of the room sequences! All kinds of alternatives are explored. The French revolutionary architecture which is based upon path grids is particularly radial. It is the visitor alone who decides which way to go. This form of connectivity is thus extremely “democratic” and a distant dream at that time. Consequently, that which is designed for example by Étienne-Louis Boullée or Jean-Nicolas-Louis Durand between 1783 and 1803 is not implemented. Rather, circuits are created. Examples of these in their pure form can be found in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, which Pompeo Schiantarelli implants within the Borbonico building of the university in 1790, or in the Glyptothek which Leo von Klenze completes in Munich in 1830. The priority of the route is always education. The visitor can only digress after