Posted on 1/10/2020
Unlike the typical museum model, in which exhibition and back-of-house spaces are separated, the recently opened 105,000-square-foot Olson Kundig-designed Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture—located on a prominent corner of the University of Washington’s Seattle campus—showcases gargantuan fossils in bare, daylight-infused galleries.
Throughout the warehouse-style building’s three levels, these striking display rooms mingle with fully-glazed research laboratories, workrooms, and interactive learning alcoves, giving visitors visual access to the preservation process, and encouraging a more accessible educational environment.
According to the museum’s director, Julie Stein, transparency was central ...