Promoting Freedom for Creative Architecture
Museum exhibit fabrication companies bring exhibition design concepts to life by engineering and fabricating the final installation. Their services offer custom furniture, wall art, storage solutions and cabinets among other things.
Fabrication companies use various materials and processes to provide patrons with enriching, educational, and entertaining experiences. Furthermore, these companies employ novel approaches and materials to further accentuate immersive exhibits.
Museums and visitor centers often enlist the services of an exhibit design/build company to provide graphic illustration, 3D architectural modeling, in-house fabrication, project management and overall project oversight services for exhibit fabrication projects. This provides them with a smooth workflow for exhibit fabrication as well as one point of contact to manage.
At the conceptualization stage, experts develop an abstract idea of what an exhibit will look like. They make rough sketches and determine the space requirements for each object before planning how they will be mounted in each exhibit - as museums typically prioritize preserving artifacts so this is often an essential step; additionally they need to determine if any special care or handling may be needed to protect these treasures.
Once they have selected an appropriate material for mounting, such as plastic or brass, any sharp edges that might scratch the object must be eliminated and any fragile parts should be carefully protected with pads to keep them safe.
No matter if your exhibit is housed within a case or freestanding, its materials must be carefully considered when fabricating and installing it. Certain substances have been known to react with and damage artefacts such as metal accretions, discolouration of paper textiles and textiles, and tackiness from degradation of polyurethane foams.
There have been various lists made available to designers and museum workers as guides for when constructing cases or supports, with recommended or safe products such as acid free tissues and polyethylene sheet. There are also some items which should be avoided such as vulcanized rubber, poly(vinyl chloride), and oil based paints.
Mounts must be constructed from sturdy and abrasion-resistant materials in order to support objects securely without stressing physical parts or weight distribution unbalance. Mechanical designs should prevent accidental removal or unintentional bending; while mounting materials should be padded to reduce contact with unfinished surfaces or sharp edges. A minimum three week curing time between case construction and object installation must also be allowed so as to reduce offgassing emissions.
As soon as the design stage is complete, exhibit fabrication begins. This involves creating exhibit elements like sculptures, custom furniture, wall art, cabinets, shelving and lighting - along with 3D printing, CNC machining, finishing touches such as adding lighting effects or interactive features into them.
Fabrication begins by creating an exact scale model of an exhibit - either digitally or physically - so curators can see exactly how their exhibit will appear and make necessary modifications before production begins.
At this stage, it is critical to choose materials that can withstand disinfectants, scrubbers and cleaning equipment, while simultaneously being tested for stability. Traditional hide glues, epoxy types and vulcanized rubber adhesive systems often emit harmful vapors when curing and setting, so when possible opt for alternatives.
Reach and sustain long-term exhibit improvement goals through collaboration among observation, iteration, proto testing and design with the Exhibit Experience Design Development team. Provide maintenance assistance by designing solutions to ongoing repairs issues within existing exhibitions.
Museum exhibit maintenance requires a commitment to both collection preservation and visitor safety. Acquiring knowledge about cleaning materials and techniques may prove challenging, while mount making and object installation can take considerable time and money - this must all be factored into an exhibit's budget plan.
Museum administration must allocate both human and monetary resources towards exhibit maintenance. One person should be in charge of creating a schedule and assigning tasks; additionally, having an Exhibit Maintenance Manual that details basic and special maintenance requirements may prove helpful.
