The current atrium at the International Spy museum has been described as dark, unwelcoming, ineffective in its use of space, and lacks the proper signage and visitor flow. All these opinions came from employees at the International Spy museum, so one can image how the many guests that visit the museum each year must feel. The entrances into the atrium are confusing for visitors. Visitors can come through multiple entrances which can cause misunderstanding about where visitors should line up and pay for tickets. Tour and student groups used the same entrances as regular visitors which adds to the confusion of purchasing tickets.
There are also small exhibits that are hard for the visitors to engage with. When visitors do engage with the lobby exhibits it interferes with visitor flow. Lastly the lobby does not reflect the museum overarching themes. The atrium’s best asset is the excellent guest service staff at the spy museum, who make sure that guests always know where their going. Our group’s goal was to change the movie theater-like feel of the current atrium at the spy museum, and create an entrance that would match the Spy Museum stellar exhibits and interactives on the other floors.
Four main types of research were conducted for this project. Max conducted our groups ‘in the field research (interviews with the staff), Amelie conducted design research, and Denisha conducted research on accessibility and visitor flow. Accessibility is very important to any museum. As of 2010 the CDC (Center for Disease Control) stated that 50+ million Americans live with some kind of disability (ada. gov). Accessibility allows all guests to partake in a great museum experience. This includes exhibits and signage that can be viewed by someone sitting in a wheelchair or just space for hose in wheelchairs to move around freely. Museums want all their guest to feel welcomed. One of the traits of an AMA (American Association of Museum) accredited museum is that “the museum strives to be inclusive and offers opportunities to diverse participation” (AMA guidelines). Accessibility is also a very serious legal and civil right issue. The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requires that all privately owned museums follow title III of the ADA, while all public/ federally funded museums follow title Il of the ADA.
For the purpose of research for this project our group looked at the “accessible entrance” and “accessible routes throughout the museum” guidelines for the ADA. Some of the biggest problems with the spy museum atrium was that it did not meet with these guidelines: • Signage must be provided at all inaccessible entrances to direct people to the accessible entrances. • Stanchions that define ticket lines or serve as exhibit barriers must also be cane detectable for people who are blind or have low vision. If people must travel between stanchions or between a wall and a stanchion, passage must be maintained at a minimum of 36 inches wide, measured from inside edge to inside edge of the stanchion bases or floor moldings, except at doors where the width may narrow to 32 inches for a maximum distance of two feet. (ADA. gov) For benchmarking we used the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) accessibility guidelines. PMA is dedicated to providing an allinclusive museum experience for all of its guest.
On PMA’s accessibility website they state where all the equipment for those with disabilities are stored (at the entrance), this includes wheelchairs, canes, and assisted listening devices (at the information desk). They inform guests where the resting area located within the museum and exhibition spaces. Also they allow guest to preorder large-print, braille, and raised line maps and materials three weeks in advance so that the blind or those with limited sight can enjoy their visit to the museum. Finally they have staff and informative guides trained in sign language to help the deaf or those with limited hearing.
PMA’s website gave our group great ideas for the enhancing the spy museum’s visitors experience from entrance to exit. In the case of the redesign of the spy museum atrium, the new information desk and the enhance signage will definitely help with accessibility in the atrium. The relocation of the lines and the ticket booth creates more space for those with disabilities to move through. The online ticket pick up booths are convenient so that those who have difficulty standing for long periods of time or those who have difficulty traversing narrow spaces (wheelch longer have to wait in line.
The other area of research that was important to the spy museum atrium redesign was visitor flow. This was one of the most stated problems by the staff, and when our group went to visit the site we saw the problems as well. The first problem we faced was the entrance. Denisha walked through the wrong door and was redirected by the kind visitor staff to the correct entrance. It was a slow day when we visited, but people still had difficulty following the signage to the ticket line.
Also guest often had to retrace their steps to from the tickets booth into the museum. The visitor flow of the spy museum atrium is just off. Visitor flow “is the way people move and the way facilities accommodate their movement” (http:// blog. gwwoinc. com/pacing-pulsing-or-pulling-your-hair-out/). Visitor Flow is very important to the overall experience that visitors have at any museum. If guests are confused and disoriented during their visit they are unlikely to come back to the museum and most likely would not recommend the museum to their friend, family, etc.
The critical flaws of a design plan can be seen through visitor flow and these faults are usually presented at visitor Peak (busiest) and off-peak (slowest) hours. Alan Reed’s three part blog ‘Pacing, Pulsing or Pulling your hair out? ‘ was a great breakdown of visitor flow research. First, Reed discussed the importance of resources and venue to visitor flow. Resources range in scale from single focus resource to multi-focus resources. Museums resources are what they are interpreting/ exhibiting and venue is where the resources are located.
Reed used the Lincoln Cabin as an example of a single focus resource and the Louvre as an example of a multi-focus resource institution. Lincoln Cabin is a single focus resource because that is all the visitor comes to see (the cabin) and that is all the staff are interpreting. The Louvre on the other hand has multiple famous paintings that are ‘must see’ before leaving the institution (Mona Lisa). He discusses pacing, pulsing and path. Pacing (strategic free flow) “deals with the flow or speed with which an individual or group moves through an area” (http://blog. wwoinc. com/pacing-pulsing-orpulling-your-hair-out-part-2-of-3/).
Pacing deals with large groups of guest moving through a designated space for example, an exhibition space. Museums do not want visitors all gather around the same piece or interactive, this can stop visitor traffic through the exhibition. They have multiple points of interest designed into the exhibit, so that guest disperse amongst the exhibit and visitors flow relatively in harmony (free flow). Pulsing “is the movement of a defined group through a space”.
When done correctly pulsing controls the amount of people released into museum or exhibit space. Reed calls it the “controlled containment and release of defined groups” (http:// blog. gwwoinc. com/pacing-pulsing-or-pulling-your-hair-outpart-3-of-3-2/) . Finally path is the characteristic of the venue that guest travel. If we take this idea and apply it to the Spy Museum’s atrium, then the atrium is a single focus venue with a single focus resource (the front desk which serves multiple functions including information desk and ticket booth).
Our goal in the spy museum atrium is to help guests get their tickets fast and efficiently, so that they can head to the elevator that leads to the museum exhibition spaces. Although there are small exhibits within the atrium these exhibits are there to help visitors pass the time while they wait to buy their tickets. The redesign features will help drastically improve the visitor flow. The new space that separates planned tour groups from regular visitors would help create a more ‘pulsing’ venue. The guest staff can control when the groups enter the elevator more effectively.
Changing the location of line (que), ticket booths, and information desk maximizes the limited use of space that the atrium has. Also adding the online pick up booths minimize the lines. Creating an information desk separate from the ticket booth further disperses the groups of the visitors at the museum. Now if a guest just need information about the museum, they no longer affect the visitors who are waiting in line to buy tickets again efficiency. These new design elements will help with the containment and release of different types of guests at the spy museum improving visitor flow and guest experience.