06 SOUTH AFRICA MUSEUMS IN 1. Introduction _ 2. Museums in Pretoria _ 3. Analysis of selected museums _ 4. Analysis of Ditsong: National Cultural History Museum _ 5. The Museum as a Factory FIGURE 6.1.a,b,c Digitally modified photographs of the Ditsong: National Cultural History Museum, the Apartheid Museum and the Freedom Park Museum. Louis Ghost Philippe Starck 6.1. Introduction 6.2. Museums in Pretoria Since the focus of this thesis falls within the An analysis of the museums surrounding parameters of museums and exhibition the Standard Bank Centre confirmed the spaces, museum visits are an important hypothesis that a need exists for exciting research component that informs the museum experiences in the city centre. final design. This chapter is a summarised The analysis reinforces the site selection for analysis of the museums that were visited. the design intervention, as the site is The selected museums in Pretoria act as positioned on the corner of two major precedent studies that inform the author pedestrian streets and will expose the on the experiences and facilities museums museum to the city users and passers by. in Pretoria have to offer. Museums outside The building is within walking distance from Pretoria are included as precedents that other museums in the CBD area; if a person inform the design. planned to visit a number of museums in one day, it would be achievable on foot. The chapter explains how the museums are categorised and gives a short Visits to museums in Pretoria informed the description of each museum’s strengths author about the context the design is and weaknesses. Subsequently the positioned in and how museums operate. Freedom Park Cultural Landscape and Eleven museums in Pretoria were visited Museum as well as the Apartheid Museum and analysed. Richard L. Francis (2006) are critically analysed in terms of the five delineates four types of museums, namely main aspects that play an important role the new museum, the converted museum, in the spatial design of an exhibition or the add-on museum and the museum, namely: non-museum. Since the thesis deals with 1. Entrance interior architecture as an intervention in 2. Thresholds an existing building, the eleven museums 3. Path and visitor orientation are categorised under four headings and 4. Transfer of information based on their relations to the built 5. Dialogue between object and environment. visitor The museums listed under ‘House The Ditsong: National Museum of Cultural museums’ are houses that were converted History is discussed as an example of an into museums. In order to convert the existing museum in Pretoria. The museum houses into museums, minimal changes is analysed in order to determine the were made to the interior spaces, as the functioning and role of the new satellite intention with a house museum is to give a museum. visitor an authentic experience of the lives of the residents who lived there. The experience is on a residential scale. The focus is on restoration and preservation rather than design. Listed under ‘Open air museums’ are museums that are not limited to a specific building, but where the whole site is part of the museum experience. The scale is much larger than what an interior architecture project will encompass and 74 the extent of the open air museum does The Ditsong: Northern Flagship Institute is in not allow for changes or interventions over charge of the development, short periods of time. management and administration of some of the most significant Southern African Museums located in ‘converted buildings’ collections of fauna, paleontology, military directly relate to the proposed design history, cultural history, anthropology and intervention, for the reason that a new archaeology (Ditsong: Northern Flagship function is inserted into an existing Institutions, 2010). The museums that are building and the spaces have to be managed by the institute have undergone adapted to accommodate the new name changes to include the word ‘ function. This category is similar to what Ditsong’ in the names. Some of the Francis (2006) refers to as a converted museums are: the Ditsong: National museum. In converted museums, the ar- Museum of Military History, the Ditsong: chitect is faced with a substantial Tswaing Meteorite Crater, the Ditsong: challenge when he has to revamp existing National Museum of Cultural History and structures in order to address the particular the Ditsong: National Museum of Natural needs of museums. Disappointingly, the History. The vision of the institute is to be a museums in Pretoria that fall in this leading African heritage institution of category have not made use of the excellence that is accessible to all (Dit- design opportunity to create exciting song: Museums of South Africa, 2010). spaces and the museum spaces are determined by the existing building’s spatial layout. The two museums that fall into the category ‘new building’ are museums for which buildings have been designed specifically for the purpose of housing a museum. What is concerning is that there are only two museums in Pretoria for which a building has been erected and that both these buildings have been - MELROSE HOUSE MUSEUM built before 1994, speaking of a former - DITSONG: KRUGER MUSEUM HOUSE MUSEUM - SMUTS HOUSE MUSEUM political regime and a different view of the - DITSONG: SAMMY MARKS MUSEUM people of South Africa. The Freedom Park museum currently under construction on Salvokop was visited and is referred to later - DITSONG: PIONEER MUSEUM in this chapter. OPEN AIR MUSEUM - DITSONG: WILLEM PRINSLOO AGRICULTURAL MUSEUM EXISTING MUSEUMS IN PRETORIA - POST OFFICE MUSEUM - VOORTREKKER MONUMENT MUSEUM CONVERTED BUILDING - DITSONG: NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CULTURAL HISTORY - DITSONG: NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NEW BUILDING NATURAL HISTORY - PRETORIA ART MUSEUM TABLE 6.1 Categorisation of museums in Pretoria MUSEUMS IN SOUTH AFRICA_75 Location of Museums in the vicinity a number of museums and cultural sites of the Standard Bank Centre together in order to promote pedestrian links (Museum Park, 2006, as cited by S. The map is an indication of the museums Uys, 2008). The site for the new satellite surrounding the site that formed part of the museum is not located within the Museum analysis of museums in Pretoria. Park precinct, for the purpose of investigating the design of a museum in a Museum Park is indicated by a purple location where an unexpected museum block. The Ditsong: National Museum of experience is possible. Cultural History is part of Museum Park, POST OFFICE MUSEUM an initiative of the government to group ^ NORTH 1 DITSONG: KRUGER MUSEUM 4 Church Square STANDARD Lilian BANK CENTRE Ngoyi Square DITSONG: NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CULTURAL HISTORY Museum Park 5 2 FIGURE 6.2 76 3 DITSONG: NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY FIGURE 6.2 Map indicating museums around the Standard Bank Centre. FIGURE 6.3 Interior of the Post Office Museum. FIGURE 6.4, 6.5 Interior of the Ditsong: National Museum of Natural History. FIGURE 6.6 Interior of the Pretoria Art Museum. Description rentable post boxes, a person encounters the 1 FIGURE 6.3 The Post Office Museum is devoted to the history museum without purposefully planning a visit. and development of postal services in South The museum is part of an everyday experience. Africa. Stamp collections, post boxes and mail A museum is combined with an existing public carriers such as bicycles and airplanes form part service, giving historical artifacts value and of the exhibition. The museum offers services an relevance within the context. ordinary post office would offer and facilitates Weaknesses the payment of municipal accounts. The exhibitions are contained within one room Strengths that does not provide any visitor experience. Being located within walking distance from There is no sign or exterior indication of the museum that attracts a person’s attention. Church Square and connected to private 6.2.1 POST OFFICE MUSEUM Survey is also housed inside the museum Description 2 FIGURE 6.4 FIGURE 6.5 building. Also known as the Transvaal Museum, this mu- Strengths seum is one of the oldest natural history muse- The visitor can determine the amount of time to ums in South Africa, known for its possession of spend in the different exhibition halls. The the famous fossilised skull of ‘Mrs Ples’ (Ditsong: exhibitions are visually strong, without forcing the Northern Flagship Institutions, 2010). Established visitor to read a large amount of text in order to in 1892, the museum contains large collections understand the display. of animals, birds and groups of insects portrayed Weaknesses in realistic dioramas. The prominent museum The displays are not changed or upgraded and building is designed by the architect John do not motivate recurring museum visits. The Stockwin Cleland. The Museum of Geological large walking distances cause visitor fatigue. 6.2.2 DITSONG: NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY Description Strengths FIGURE 6.6 The museum building is an example of a mod- The spaces are compact so that viewer fatigue ernist building positioned next to a large open is not a problem in the museum. The spaces grass-covered public space. The museum are plain, without decoration and function as a consists of open galleries where artworks are backdrop for the artworks. displayed as pictures against walls or sculptures Weaknesses on pedestals. The museum hosts changing exhi- There is a lack of additional functions one ex- bitions. The lawn next to the museum is not fully pects to find at an art museum such as a shop, utilized as it offers opportunities for public events restaurant and information centre. There is no and exhibitions. narrative to the permanent exhibitions. 6.2.3 PRETORIA ART MUSEUM MUSEUMS IN SOUTH AFRICA_77 Description Strengths FIGURE 6.7 3 The Melrose House is situated across the street The museum provides communal facilities on its from Burger’s Park.