Several important museums in Europe have recently closed for renovation. During these closures, museums must make numerous practical and logistical decisions to ensure a successful result. Munich’s Archaeologische Staatssammlung (Archaeological State Collection), recently completed its own lengthy renovation. It reopened to the public this spring, following an eight-year closure. Senior Director of Collections, Prof. Dr. Rupert Gebhard, walks us through what the renovation process has looked like at Archaeologische Staatssammlung, from start to finish.
Before the renovation
Until the museum changed its name in 2000, Archaeologische Staatssammlung was known as the Prähistorische Staatssammlung (State Prehistoric Collection.) It is currently acknowledged as one of Europe’s most important archaeological collections and cultural history museums. With over 15,000 artifacts on display, the museum covers some 120,000 years of Bavarian settlement history. Collection highlights include a ca.100,000 – 10,000 BCE hand-ax, deer-bone flutes dating to 14,000 – 12,000 BCE, and 14th-century peat-bog mummies.
Though the museum didn’t close for renovation until 2016, planning began as early as 2009. Prof. Dr. Gebhard explains: “Forty years after the construction of the exhibition and office building of the then ‘Prehistoric State Collection’ in the mid-1970s, the building was getting on in years. The technical facilities had to be completely renewed, a comprehensive energy-efficient renovation needed to be carried out, and new barrier-free access provided in the public and non-public areas.”
During the closure, Spanish architectural firm Nieto Sobejano adapted the museum’s interior and exterior to suit a modern sensibility. Among the most dazzling of Nieto Sobejano’s additions is the new 600 m² state-of-the-art special exhibition area.
How are renovations and rebuilds paid for?
Renovation costs for large structures such as museums are often extremely high. With around two-thirds of German museums in public ownership, the onus of these costs often lies with local government. Such is the case with the Archaeological State Collection.
Prof. Gebhard says: “Since we are a state museum, the Free State of Bavaria took over the financing. The costs for the general renovation and the planning and implementation of the new permanent exhibition, are in the mid-double-digit million range. With construction costs of about 66 million Euros (roughly $72 million USD), however, the project for a de facto new museum building remained within a reasonable budget.”
Compared with the renovation budgets of other institutions, $72 million is actually a relatively modest budget. Take, for example, the anticipated costs of upcoming renovations at New York’s Met and Berlin’s Pergamon Museum. These institutions will likely pay $500 million and $1.7 billion respectively to upgrade their facilities.
What happens to the collections?
A museum undergoing renovation must move its display artifacts into safe storage to prevent damage. Museums can use this time to take stock of their complete collections, including what they have hidden away in storage. The majority of museums keep less than 30% of their collections on public display at a given time. Often, that figure can be as low as 3%.
Prof Gebhard tells me: “Storage space is always one of the main problems of a museum. However, due to our various depot locations in Munich, but also in other places in Bavaria, we have flexible premises that have enabled us to handle the many artifacts logistically. So, every object – from a tiny Celtic coin to a stone monument weighing tons – has found an adequate depot or exhibition place. However, for the steady stream of new finds, we already have to deal with plans to expand the storage areas.”
And what happened to the various objects during closure? Gebhard says: “With around 20 million archaeological objects that are part of our collection, there is no shortage of work! In preparation for the eventual reopening of the permanent exhibition, the selection of objects had to be accompanied by restoration. All objects were assessed for their condition and, if necessary, subjected to further conservation.”
During the years of closure, Archaeologische Staatssammlung made major headway in creating digital records for its collection. The museum used multiple offsite locations for storage of its collection during the renovation, which made creating a centralized digital database especially important. As the British Museum discovered a couple of years ago, things can easily go missing if the proper precautions aren’t taken.
What about the staff?
During an extended closure, layoffs are an inevitability. Front-of-house staff such as ticket takers and gift shop workers tend to bear the brunt of these cuts. Roles and departments that serve visitors become obsolete when the museum is not open to the public. In contrast, employees who work behind the scenes, such as conservators, operations managers, and registrars become busier than ever.
Gebhard agrees: “A large part of our team – especially depot logistics and restoration – was directly involved in the re-entry and preparation of the new permanent exhibition. The ‘everyday business’ of a museum, such as loan requests or the special exhibitions in our branch museums, (which remained open), also continued throughout. We found good employment solutions for some of our supervisors there and at other storage locations. “
He continues: “The biggest effort during the closure was the planning and development of the new permanent exhibition, in which a team of 10 scientists was involved. They selected almost 20,000 objects, evaluated them, described and indexed them, and positioned them in the appropriate place in the new exhibition.”
And the public?
When the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art closed its doors for its enormous expansion project in 2013, it communicated the coming closure via social media, the hashtag #SFMOMAgo, and a video featuring staff and visitor reactions to the news. The museum also advised the public on alternative places to see its art during the closure.
While museums must constantly market themselves no matter the circumstances,, the struggle to remain relevant takes on greater urgency during an extended closure. Some museums, such as the State Archaeological Collection, have smaller sub-museums, where people can still see some of the exhibits while the main space is closed. Others temporarily take over nearby spaces, such as the Tate Liverpool’s current abbreviated iteration at RIBA North. And then, of course, there is the digital exhibition: An increasingly popular option since the advent of the Covid pandemic.
Gebhard agrees: “We had various proposals that kept us in people’s minds even during the years of closure. Of course, the offer included digital projects that we communicated via social media. Even now, the digital offer is very central and our offers on YouTube sometimes achieve immense access numbers! Our museum association, the Circle of Friends, has remained a reliable and loyal partner even over the years of closure.”
The State Archaeological Collection also did a total overhaul of its branding. They built a new website and redesigned all advertising materials with a sleek, collection-forward look. The PR department widely promoted the museum as a future educational, adventure, and tourism hotspot, cultivating a broad media presence and clear brand image. The opening campaign was so successful that it received recognition from the Red Dot Design Award, an annual international design competition held in Germany.
Was it worth it?
Yes, says Dr Gebhard:” Above all, the general renovation has created completely new spatial possibilities for us. The 600 m² special exhibition area offers promising opportunities for fantastic museum experiences. There is now also much more space for mediation with innovative museum educational concepts. Digital stations allow visitors to participate in the museum and completely new ‘worlds of discovery’ opened up.”
Since reopening, the Archaeological State Collection has added a must-experience rooftop restaurant to its offerings, for those who work up an appetite during their visit. SOLÂ is a lovely space to linger for a while and enjoy fresh, healthy food options and drinks, accompanied by views of the city and the famous English Garden.
Cover Photo: © Archaeological State Collection, Stefanie Friedrich
[Written October 2024]
Leave a Reply