Marshalling Yard exhibition, National Museum of Contemporary Art

During the operation of reorganizing its storage spaces, the museum reassembles its collection at the ground floor exhibition spaces inside the former ‘Palace of Ceausescu’. Its eclectic collection that runs through the artistic production during dictatorship towards present times, is regarded as a ‘random database of artifacts’ that finds its place in the two exhibition rooms.

The first room makes up for the lack of a proper museum foyer through the construction of a amphitheatre as main debate and exhibition space while the second room, known as the marble room, is a cluttered depository containing artworks of various sizes and types.

A modular timber frame storage system is constructed and replicated to create the support-structures needed for the marshalling yard, maintaining a sense of non-hierarchical variety in the display of the artworks. The wooden framework is designed to fit pallets and defines a series of spaces where art pieces are displayed, being protected with white mesh while having an open viewing front. White neon lights accentuate various spots while having a general presence in the exhibition spaces. Timber leftovers are also used for canvas display on perimetral walls, while the use of hemp rope creates further divisions of the wood units for exhibiting a large number of paintings. The spatial setting remains open to changes and to a general circulation of artworks between the warehouses and the exhibition spaces during a one year process. The layout mediates the multiple instances of the marshalling yard: a workplace – for the maintenance and registration done by museum staff, a gathering space – used for public events, an exhibition space – for general museum visitors and a depository – providing a frame for displaying the accumulation of artifacts gathered by various state institutions.

Year: 2016-2017

Phase: Completed : Exhibition design

Client: The National Museum of Contemporary Art

Location: Parliament Palace, MNAC, Bucharest

Coordinator: Irina Radu

Photos: Clara Duran (p7,8,9,10), Lavinia Pollak (p3,5,13) MNAC Bucharest (p1,2,4,6,11,12) courtesy of MNAC

* “Interior Design-Ephemeral Architecture Award” at the Bucharest Architecture

* Mention / Nomination Big SEE Interior Award 2018 for the project “Marshalling Yard” @ Zavod Big, Center for creative economy of Southeast Europe