Garden Museum, London

The Garden Museum in London has recently undergone a massive two year refurbishment. Founded in 1977, the museum explores and celebrates the best of British gardening through a series of collections and exhibitions. The museums recent expansion now includes a brand new art gallery, two learning spaces and a complete makeover of the front gardens.

As part of the refurbishment we were brought on board to bring an interactive element to the exhibitions. Many of the items that we supplied were bespoke builds and allowed the museum to share its history through digital means. Working alongside GuM Studio who oversaw design, we supplied a range of audio and visual interpretation that would bring to life the museum archives and fit with the new exhibition design.

To house digitised content the museum had collected, we supplied a number of touchscreens which were built into bespoke units and placed in different areas of the museum. The content showcases various parts of the Garden Museum’s history as well as the recent refurbishment. Via bespoke software, visitors are able to browse the museum archives in an efficient manner. We also utilised a 22″ screen within a shed section of the exhibition, which showcases a video on loop of interviews with different gardeners talking about their experience and how their personal gardening sheds are organised.

In The Walcot Room, visitors are greeted with a touchscreen which talks about the history of Edmund Walcot, a successful haberdasher who left 17 acres of land to London parishioners, some being St Mary’s Church where the Garden Museum now resides. Visitors can use the touchscreen to explore the parish history and how the Walcot foundation worked to preserve the church right up to the present day.

Since the launch of the Garden Museum, the new gallery and makeover has been a huge success with visitors, with the redesign being praised, along with the interpretive solutions that bring the garden’s history to life.