With self-quarantining, social distancing, and the closure of businesses and public venues, what happens to institutions like museums and their relationship with the public? While exhibitions can be seen online, does that solution defeat the purpose of a museum itself? 

According to Smithsonian Magazine writer Jennifer Billock, "how will people experience museums 10 or 20 years down the road, when proactive design changes to curb the spread of disease have been put in place?" Museum closures and online exhibitions have been an answer for some while others plan to reopen in order to revive the museum experience.

Architect Bea Spolidoro, principal of FisherARCHitecture, shares with Billock that new design solutions should not "substitute the true experience." In addition to in-person experiential loss, Spolidoro expresses that maintenance costs are another factor to keep in mind if everything moves online.

Although advances and adjustments for an entirely virtual museum are viable options, how does this transition redefine the user experience from a spatial level? Spolidoro argues, "It will be a huge loss in terms of the actual experience of seeing the object in the space in front of you...it then means that museums become cemeteries for objects that should actually be lived in the piece of architecture."