Services Provided

Information Architecture
Schematic Design
Visual Design
Interaction Design
Design Documentation

Partner

Mediatrope

THE SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM
THE LUNDER CONSERVATION CENTER
WEBSITE

THE BRIEF

Developing a new site for the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Lunder Conservation Center involved creating a place for visitors to have a one-of-a-kind experience in seeing the museum's conservators at work in each of the five different laboratories and studios.

The center is unique in that it features floor-to-ceiling glass walls—allowing the public to get an intimate look at all aspects of conservation. This transparency gives visitors a rare chance to closely observe work that is traditionally done behind the scenes at other museums.

THE SOLUTION

Through a combination of narrative text, documentary photography, and video the site virtually transports visitors to the meticulous and labor-intensive work of the conservators as they care for a collection of more than three centuries of American art. In addition to highlighting the work of the conservators, the site showcases the wide assortment of tools at the conservators’ fingertips.

In the Archive section of the site, visitors are invited to examine the conservators’ efforts in minute detail by zooming in and panning along side-by-side versions of the images—taken before and after conservation. The series of—images includes pieces by American luminaries whose work is better appreciated by comparing originals to post-conservation images, which often show dramatic results.

STATUS