Ars Gratia Artis

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Mo., had gone through an expansion, adding 165,000 square feet to its old space. It felt it now offered, through the architectural efforts of Steven Holl, an “experiential” visit for collectors, students and the curious. Along with that, it wanted what it called “a bold new vision” for its new museum store.

However, designer Charles Sparks warned the museum not to make the usual mistakes. Sparks, principal of Charles Sparks + Co. (Westchester, Ill.), says static retail spaces are a common design problem. Museums often treat their shops as extensions of their galleries rather than as interactive boutiques where touching, inspecting and persuasion are key to success.

The firm has broad experience in museum and attraction design, having done work at The Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Botanic Garden, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the de Young Museum in San Francisco and the San Diego Zoo, among numerous other attractions. It brought a knowing eye to the project, which was to blend seamlessly into Holl’s design for the new building, studying the sequences of the store’s relationship to visitor points of entry and exit and visual perceptions. Sparks’ vision included leveraging the new building’s notion of design. “Ceilings tilt, walls fold, planes intersect, vistas expand and constrict, all forming a flowing stage resulting in a dynamic and active relationship with the merchandise,” says Sparks, who created what he called a “folding space” to present the various merchandise stories, interpreting the massive encyclopedic collections of the museum. Materials, finishes and design of the space were developed to showcase a diverse range of products inspired by the various cultures within the museum.

A translucent and backlit glass wall directs visitors into the open entry area, which is punctuated by a curved, glowing showcase. To attract visitors to the deepest end of the folded space, another backlit translucent glass wall acts as a focal point and a setting for larger objects.

The perimeter casework is modulated into organized segments of offset patterns across the back wall. The powerful lines of the casework and fixtures are designed to move visitors along what Sparks calls “the preferred paths.”

Approaching the store as an interactive boutique – and not as a gallery – included the prioritization of a lighting strategy, creatively blending a pattern of general illumination derived from common areas of the new building and the adjustable accent lights that throw contrast onto the merchandise statements. Indirect perimeter lighting and glowing showcases were designed to “halo” the merchandise away from their backgrounds, drawing attention to the stories.

“Museums are constantly seeking new ways of attracting visitors,” Sparks says. This new vision of the museum’s retail space and merchandising will help expand the experiential value of a visit. It will also, perhaps most important, generate revenue for the museum.

Client: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Mo. – Mark Zimmerman, director of client services; Elly Miles, retail manager

Design Firm: Charles Sparks + Co., Westchester, Ill. – Charles Sparks, principal and designer; Stan Weisbrod, project manager; Rachel Mikolajczyk, director, resource studio

Architect: BNIM, Kansas City, Mo. – Steven Holl Architects, New York

General Contractor: J.E. Dunn Construction Co., Kansas City, Mo.

Outside Design Consultant: Renfro Design Group, New York (lighting)

Ceilings: USG Corp., Overland Park, Kan.

Fixtures: Goebel Fixture Co., Hutchinson, Minn.

Lighting: Bartco Lighting, Huntington Beach, Calif.; Lightolier, Fall River, Mass.; Winona Lighting, Winona, Minn.; Birchwood Lighting Inc., Santa Ana, Calif.; Litecontrol, Hanson, Mass.

Carpet: Bentley Prince Street, Chicago

Paint: Sherwin Williams, Schaumburg, Ill.

Fabric: Maharam, Chicago; Carnegie Fabrics, Chicago

Special Materials: Cyro Industries, Rockaway, N.J.

Photographer: Charlie Mayer Photography, Oak Park, Ill.