Bojana Sićović
https://doi.org/10.60152/8v7wptof
Abstract: In contemporary architectural discourse, the museum emerges as a distinct phenomenon—a convergence point of diverse spatial-temporal determinants and values. By undergoing a paradigmatic transformation during the 20th century, museums ceased to serve merely as passive repositories of artworks and were redefined as experiential spaces that actively communicate—both with the viewer and with their architectural and spatial context. Within this dynamic interaction, exhibition design has been identified as a significant mediating layer in the relationship between architecture and the exhibit. Moreover, additional spatial determinants can be recognized as contributing to the overall experience, including dichotomies such as exterior–interior, known–unknown, room–path, skin–content, protection–presentation, and real–virtual. Accordingly, this study explores the architecture of contemporary museums through the lens of organizational formal interconnectedness, spatial structure, and perception. In this framework, museums are considered as specific patterns—both semiotic and experiential—subsequently interpreted through cognitive schemata into spatial constructs. The research methodology is primarily inductive, beginning with a literature review and analysis of relevant examples from contemporary architectural practice. This is followed by the classification and schematization of observed spatial constructs (regularities, principles, conclusions). The objective is to enable a form of unlayering of the museum’s integral whole through visual translation into diagrammatic structures. The study aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the complex structural-functional relationships within contemporary museum architecture, while also opening avenues for the development of novel spatial relationships and interactive, innovative practices—particularly through the application of advanced technologies.
Keywords: schematization, architecture, contemporary museums, spatial relationships, diagram
How to cite this Paper (Harvard referencing style):
Sićović, B. (2025) ‘Schematizing Museum Architecture: Interpreting Spatial Relations through Diagrams‘, in R. Bogdanović (ed.) On Architecture — Crosscutting and Fusion of Disciplines, Proceedings. Belgrade, Serbia: STRAND, pp. 314–322.
See publication On Architecture (2025) Conference Proceedings