Costing more than £35m, the Sammy Ofer Wing is The National Maritime Museum’s biggest project to date. Matthew Jenkin explores the vision behind the Greenwich museum’s exciting new building.
MUSEUMS in London have come a long way since their Victorian hey-day.
Once cluttered with poorly displayed artefacts in hermetically sealed glass cases, with little or no explanation provided, Britain’s landmark emblems of civilisation are now embracing the modern world and all the interactive, immersive and freakishly fun gadgets and gizmos which come with it.
The National Maritime Museum, housed in three sites across Greenwich’s World Heritage Site, is leading the way in using new technology to revolutionise how it presents its galleries and exhibitions.
Featuring state-of-the-art multimedia screens, an electronic ticket system which allows visitors to save information to browse later online and a breathtaking design which perfectly complements the rest of the museum’s 17th century architecture, the new Sammy Ofer Wing is a £36.5m project which the museum hopes will attract younger, technology savvy visitors.
“The vision behind it is really one of trying to reach out and get more people both interested in and engaged with Britain’s maritime heritage stories,” explains the National Maritime Museum’s director of exhibitions and programmes, Kevin Sumpton.
He said: “We are using our collection in new and interesting ways. We want people to look at it and find very deep and rich stories.
“Using technology in dynamic and interactive ways, we hope we can engage with Londoners and, in particular, younger visitors and bring the museum to life and make it more relevant to them.”
The wing’s Voyagers gallery is an illustration of how the museum is attempting to achieve this ambitious goal.
Dominated by a long, multi-faceted, wave-like structure in the centre, onto which bespoke video is projected, the permanent exhibition tells the story of Britain and the sea from the 16th to the 20th century through objects ranging from Nelson’s last letter to his daughter to a 200-year-old ship’s biscuit.
Perhaps most daring, however, is the visually stunning High Arctic exhibition.
The art installation, which runs at the Sammy Ofer Wing until January, uses UV-light and sculpture to transport the visitor to a future where the Arctic ice-caps have melted.
With no photos, objects or information boards inside, the incredibly immersive but abstract exhibition is not for everyone, but it is refreshing to see a museum taking a few risks with its commissions.
Completed 10 months ahead of schedule, the wing is the largest development in the National Maritime Museum’s history and was only made possible after billionaire philanthropist Sammy Ofer stepped in to help fund it.
Sadly, the Israeli shipping magnate has passed away.
But Mark Hammond, partner at architects Purcell Miller Tritton, the firm responsible for the wing’s design, believes Mr Ofer’s vision for the building has been realised.
Mr Hammond said: “Sammy Ofer never saw the final building but he had a good idea of what legacy he hoped he was creating for Greenwich.
“He was very interested in the accessibility of the museum and its objects to young people and hopefully that has been achieved.”
The Sammy Ofer Wing is open to the public from today. For more information on exhibitions and events at the National Maritime Museum, visit nmm.ac.uk
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