Q&A: Museum's metamorphosis is nearly complete

摘要

On the unveiling of the second phase of the Darwin Centre at London's Natural History Museum, Anna Maria Indrio, partner at the Scandinavian architectural firm C. F. Moller, explains how the new ￡78 million (US$145 million) wing will reveal 20 million of the museum's insect and plant specimens to the public when it opens in September 2009. What were the design challenges? The biggest issue was the huge size of the collections, which are among the world's most extensive and treasured. Protecting such a valuable array of 17 million insects and 3 million plants in 3 kilometres of cabinets, showcasing them to the public and ensuring that the design represents the scientists' work was very daunting.