Two hundred years and not hearing them. On the occasion of the bicentenary of Egyptian Museum of Turinthe new layout of the Gallery of Kings, completely redesigned by the studio OMA con Andrea Tabocchini Architecture. The completion of the gallery represents the first phase of an important transformation project of the museum which will continue throughout next year, with the redevelopment of the Piazza Egizia, always followed by OMA with Guendalina Salimei by T-Studio.
AND a path from darkness to light what the team led by David Gianotten and the ATA studio designed for the two rooms that house a collection of colossal statues fromancient city of Thebesnow known as Luxor.
From the dark entrance, where digital projections on the walls depict the history of tempio in Karnak (the place of origin of the works), you enter the rooms where, working on the original 17th century architecture, they were the original vaults and large windows have been brought back to view.
In dialogue with the city of Turin, the space thus obtained gains brightness and airiness, giving architecture an active role in the set-up which moves in the opposite direction compared to the ‘black box’ one conceived in 2006 by the set designer Dante Ferretti. A sensation that is amplified by the choice of cover the walls with a series of aluminum panels which reflect both the works on display and the passage of visitors, adding depth to the space.
Closer to the floor and therefore to the public, the statues are supported by a steel base whose grit coating if necessary it can be opened to facilitate movements, which were previously very burdensome and complicated.
The arrangement evokes the original context in Thebes. In the first room, the two sphinxes which face each other are flanked by statues of the goddess Sekhmet, recalling the external spaces of the temple. The imposing figure of Seti II marks the transition to the second hall, where we find statues of kings and deities such as Amenhotep II and Ramesses II, originally housed within Karnak.
We asked David Gianotten what is the biggest difference between how museums were designed in the past and today. «There were different phases», replies the architect, managing partner of the OMA studio. «If by past we mean 200 years ago, as in this case, the project for a museum envisaged that the building was simply a building and did not interact with the works. The artefacts were placed very neutrally next to each other, a guide told a story and that was it.”
«When the conservatorship has become an important part of the museum’s design, the focus has shifted to the idea of tell stories but this was mostly done through works and without means of support; nowadays telling different stories is still very important but it is also the experience of the place that has become more immersive. Thus the architecture, from being simply a background, became part of the exhibition itself. Here, for example, daylight or the idea of reflections mean that the statues are positioned so that the curatorial choices and storytelling are reinforced by the way they are displayed. And this will probably change again in the future.”
And if for this room the enjoyment of the works remains deliberately free of distractions, the immersive experience will be taken decidedly further when the project for the Egyptian Square will be finished. «This space within the museum will become a real room with screens above, below and on the sides, where images of ancient Egypt can be projected so that the visitor will really have the sensation of being in that time thanks to technologies”.
Something very different from what happens in the Gallery of Kings. «Here, in agreement with the clients, we did not want technology to be too present because these statues are extremely important and rare testimonies. Inserting them into a technological context would have risked overshadowing them and erasing the details that were instead valorised. I think it’s nice to be able to experiment in a way an ancient, more analogue way of living the experience».
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