Designed to feel like stepping into a jewellery box, where books appear to float in mid-air.
The Treasury is a new permanent exhibition space at the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Library. Located within the newly refurbished Weston Library, the gallery allows selected highlights of the Library’s 5000 Treasures to be shown in a purpose-built space for the first time in the library’s history.
The design team were tasked with designing and developing the means to present the treasures in a calm and respectful setting, while also ensuring the long-term protection and conservation of the objects. The strict control of light, temperature, humidity, vibration and air movement were key considerations, with less than one air change permitted every ten days within the cabinets.
Bespoke cabinets protect the treasures in a carefully controlled environment, with beautifully engineered support brackets and lighting making objects appear to float in front of your eyes, creating a close and intimate relationship with the viewer, adding a sense of theatre and magic to your experience.
The result is an exciting new purpose-built permanent exhibition space where the treasures can be displayed and enjoyed by the public in exhibitions that change over time, allowing a range of themes and the collection as a whole to be addressed.
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