Structuring Architectural Discourse: Forms of Display

Architectural exhibitions are sites of experimentation enabling open-ended design inquiry. Experimentation happens not only through the exhibition content—what is being displayed— but also through the exhibition structure— how it is being displayed. Hence, exhibition design should be recognized as an important contributor to the discipline of architecture. This research project will lay the groundwork for an exhibition on exhibitions by examining the formal attributes of historic installation designs. The project serves to establish a visual taxonomy of methods of exhibition display, including analysis of the historical and cultural context of each exhibition. This analysis will synthesize relationships between artistic works and movements in order to reveal the lineage, development, and potentials of exhibition design. To date, the research has focused on systems of display in art and architectural exhibitions of the early to mid-20th century avant-gardes.