I am currently working on designs for a new temporary exhibition gallery
for our university collections, which will be situated in a new building
housing our Egyptian collections, our manuscripts and archives, two lecture
theatres, cafe etc.

The architects have provided a reasonably generous 310 sq metres for the
temporary exhibition space itself, and have provided an adjacent room of 45
sq metres for 'back-up' functions. My question is: is there a rule of thumb
formula for what percentage of back-up space is needed for a given size of
temporary exhibition space? Is 45 sq metres likely to be too small, and if
so, how large should the space be?

The kinds of exhibitions we will be holding will draw on all of the
university's collections, which range from large oil paintings to
zoological specimens in jars, and from manuscripts to archaeology and
ethnography.

I should also say that conservation facilities, mount-making and other
workshop activities will be housed elsewhere, so the main function of the
back-up space should be for storage of packing cases, unused display cases,
room dividers, lighting fixtures, stands etc. One colleague's gallery has a
back-up space equivalent to a third of the entire display area, but this
seems excessive. Any advice is much appreciated, on-list or off-list.

Many thanks

Nick Merriman

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