Birth of a Royal Library Exposicion by Maria Gazdag

Birth of a Royal Library Exposicion by Maria Gazdag is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2020 A' Design Award de Bronze in Interior Competition Category.

BronzeInterior· 2020

Birth of a Royal Library Exposicion

by Maria Gazdag

Client: Lulla Interiors

A' Design Award de Bronze Winner in Interior Category

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Verified Award Winner
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Colors

The Design

About Birth of a Royal Library Exposicion

Intitolada La Bibliotèca Corvina e l'Atelièr de Buda, l'exposicion foguèt organizada a la Bibliotèca Nacionala Széchenyi, Budapest. Al còr de l'espaci, en 3 salas, 67 libres magnífics èran expausats de la Bibliotheca Corvina, establida pel Rei Matiàs al sègle XV. A l'arribada, un velin geant – lo material dels manuscrits medievals – èra plaçat amb l'introduccion generala. Un espaci interimari similar, una zòna de lectura, una Bibliotèca aital-dicha, foguèt creada a la sortida de las salas d'exposicion. Aital, lo percors del visitaire resonava amb lo tèma de l'exposicion : Naissença d'una Bibliotèca Reala.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award de Bronze

Birth of a Royal Library Exposicion a ganhat la distincion A' Design Award de Bronze, una reconeissença plan prestigiosa acordada a de designs excellents que se destrian per la creativitat, l'engenh e la finessa. Los ganhaires del Bronze son d'artefactes largament abils e sorprenentament creatius que provan la vasta experiéncia, l'imaginacion e l'engenhositat de lors designers. S'espèra que Birth of a Royal Library Exposicion siá un objècte fòrça considerat, admirat e estimat, notablament professional e innovant. Aqueste design ganhaire de la distincion A' Design Award de Bronze integra las melhoras practicas de l'art, de la sciéncia, del design e de la tecnologia e es excellent per son atencion al detalh. Birth of a Royal Library Exposicion satisfa esplendidament los besonhs, toca los desirs, encanta los sentiments e interèssa la curiositat.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: The venue is unique, as the exhibition was held in a library building. 67 codices were exhibited from 11.2018 to 02. 2019. Corvinas were brought together from different parts of the world, Paris, New York, Leipzig, Vatican, Vienna etc and exhibited among the ones treasured in Hungary. A large number of visitors were expected with a very different background knowledge on the subject. An interim space was created, to prepare visitors before entering the exhibition rooms, and also on the way out of them, so the experience would not be abruptly cut short.
Dimensions & Packaging: The request was to use the 3 upper floor rooms of the large, prestigious building for the exhibition. These rooms were very diverse in term of interior finishes, so a secondary wall was built in each three, and a new floor was placed to create an integrated exhibition space. By utilizing the entry and the staircase area, as well as the upper floor lobby, visitors were led to the exhibition as soon as entering the building. Also, noisy parts of the exhibition could be brought out of the tranquil exhibition rooms. The total area of the journey was appr. 400 m2.
Tags: exhibition, books, exhibition in a library,
Production Technology: Because of the relatively short time the exhibition was open, and budget was limited, all materials had to be chosen accordingly. Meanwhile, protection of the codices was priority. Formaldehyde free MDF, water-based paint was used to create the showcases. All lamps were adjustable individually, so the max. 50 lux amount of light could be achieved on each book. The individual lighting of each book was very important, as this way books were almost floating in space, as opposed to being placed in evenly lit showcases.
Design Challenge: Challenge was: to create an exhibition in a library building, to incorporate the entry area, to make the 3 existing rooms into a coherent exhibition space while staying within the budget, and also providing all necessary conditions to protect the codices in term of light and humidity, and reduce harmful emissions from the used materials to the minimum
Research: The aim of the exhibition was to educate visitors on new results of the Corvina research. It was important, that people from general public to researchers find all relevant information. Upon arrival, a giant curved panel was placed with general introduction. The curves of the panel visually referred the viewers to vellum, the material that medieval manuscripts were written on. A similar interim space was placed on the way out of the exhibition rooms, a so-called Library. Thus, we aimed to design a visitor journey that resonates the theme of the exhibition: Birth of a Royal Library.
Inspiration: The exhibition was organized on the subject of the Bibliothequa Corvina of King Mathias in the Hungarian National Library. The focus was on the complex set of tasks regarding the bookmaking workshop of the royal court of Buda in the 15th Century. The curator, Edina Zsupans aim was no less, than to create a picture of the Buda workshop for the first time, and thus to place our knowledge on the Corvina Library on completely new foundations.
The aim in term of design was to create an elegant environment for the stunning books, which helps visitors to take in the Curators message.
Project Duration: Design between June 2017. and July 2018.
Production between August 2018. and October 2018.
Exhibition open between November 2018. and February 2019.
National Szechenyi Library, Budapest, Hungary
Operation Flow: The exhibition rooms had to be dark and quiet, so interactive photo point and museum pedagogy was placed in the upper floor lobby. Each room was equipped with a large touch screen, so visitors could turn the pages of the books virtually and submit a quiz. A sound point was installed, where visitors could listen to the content of the scripts translated from Latin and Greek to Hungarian and English. Modest graphic on the showcase background and lightpaintings on the floor were used to decorate the rooms.
Team Members: Designer: Maria Gazdag
Graphic Designer: Tamas Takacs
Image Credits: Photographer: Istvan Takacs
Video: National Szechenyi Library