Museums, art galleries and temporary exhibition spaces

The design of museums, art galleries and the temporary exhibition spaces associated with similar organisations involves the housing of a wide range of functions broadly indicated in the common definitions of a museum. Collections in national museums are very large and varied in material and generally of international importance. In some local and private museums collections are small, specific in material content and of specialist or local interest. The client&s;s intentions in respect of public access to collections, information and staff, and of commitment to research and conservation, will provide an initial guide and most major museums, for example the Victoria and Albert Museum will have their own design guidelines. Some museums may have only a small proportion of the permanent collections on public exhibition at any one time, the bulk remaining in storage and accessible for research and conservation purposes only. The relationships between functions are common to all museums and art galleries.