Master Planning for Museums
How We Think About Museum Planning
At the heart of our museum planning process is our belief that museums should be defined by who they serve, not by what they have, or what they do.
A Museum Master Plan Asks "What Happens if...?"
Understanding the interests, needs, and desires of each museum’s many different consituent groups is the critical first step in museum planning. It lays the foundation for finding the right balance of collections, exhibits, programs, and facilities that will inspire people to support and sustain the museum well into the future.
Most museum planning projects seem simple at first: "We need more space,” or “We need to rethink our visitor experience,” or “We need to generate more earned revenue.” And the ideas come easily enough: add on a new wing, develop a new exhibit, or increase marketing.
But often the simple ideas simply don’t work.
The new wing will disrupt visitor circulation, research shows that visitors want a different experience than what we planned, or earned revenue proves to be elusive.
Rathern than jumping to conclusions, we dig in and explore multiple alternatives until we find the simple, elegant solution that best meets community needs.