Located on the northwest corner of the Royal Palace Complex in Bangkok, Thailand, the Grand Palace will soon be home to the new Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles.  Its primary focus will be the display of traditional Thai textiles from the Royal Collection, pieces from the Queen’s personal collection of Balmain couture of the 70’s to today, and an extensive collection of traditional Thai textiles produced by the Queen’s Support Foundation, which promotes traditional weaving techniques throughout Thailand.

Our design for the new museum celebrates traditional weaving techniques as a form giver.  Each of the five new galleries consists of a ceiling design which draws from patterns found in traditional Thai weavings, giving unique volume, form and materiality to each space.  Casework is designed to create a continuous, yet flexible, flow for the museum visitor, while incorporating state-of-the-art components such as integral lighting, active and passive microclimates, and security systems. Specially-designed large ‘Pavilion Cases’ use special materials and multimedia to promote a dynamic viewing experience in which pieces come in and out of view, static art and multimedia are displayed together, and viewer and art merge through the use of special switchable glass.  Multimedia is strategically located in each of the galleries and, in several cases, within and on casework. Whereas costumes, dresses and mannequin forms are generally presented in static arrangements, the design of the gallery and interior spaces, casework and multimedia work together to create a dynamic exhibition experience.

Imrey Culbert is working with DSDI Inc. in Bangkok as the local architect. Other consultants include TDA for lighting, MGMT design for graphics and Innovision from Paris for multimedia. The project is in construction with a planned opening for February 2012.