DESIGN PROPOSAL FOR CULTURAL MUSEUM OF ART, BENIN CITY, NIGERIA. (WITH EMPHASIS ON LIGHTING TECHNIQUES)

Abstract

ABSTRACT

It has been generally known and accepted that a museum is a place where objects are kept and preserved for the view of the public. The major challenge in museums is to use only as much light of the right type as is necessary to make exhibits comfortably visible for visitors while protecting the collections from damage. Lighting in museums and art galleries plays a key role in a visitor's ability to perceive and enjoy both the artefacts in a museum and the building in total. In order to develop a successful lighting scheme, a museum lighting designer must satisfy many conflicting design requirements. Their primary concern is effectively illuminating artwork, but this should be done by considering the preservation of the artefacts also. A lack of consideration for the visual comfort of visitors to the museum on a designer's part can potentially handicap an individual's ability to view displays. Dramatic variations in light levels from exhibit to exhibit, or from exterior to interior, can affect a visitor's ability to appreciate artwork because the human eye requires several minutes to adjust to large changes in light levels. Sharply contrasting light levels between a bright entry and a dark gallery can be very disturbing, and potentially even painful. The paper tends to look into various lighting schemes used in museums and how they are be applicable in the design of the museum considering all the necessary lighting factors in the museum. This is aimed at creating well lit exhibition spaces for visual comfort of museum visitors.