Local Community Museum Architecture: Planning and Designing for Community

Abstract

This study examined how the architecture of local community museums represented and reflected community identity. Over the past two decades, there has been a worldwide proliferation of new and renovated museums that has affected museum architecture. Both the architecture and museum studies fields realized the important role of architecture in defining and representing the museum experience and in reflecting the formation of community identity. Yet little research had directly addressed how local community museum architecture reflected and represented community identity. This research focused on three local community museums in Seattle: the Wing Luke Museum of Asian Pacific American Experience, the Nordic Heritage Museum and the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art. The findings suggested that local community museums contributed to the local community identity through their public accessibility, their prominent location in neighborhoods and their function as culture centers. During design processes, they used community identity strategies, such as community meetings, engagement of multi-groups and hiring locally to involve community voice and input. Special design elements such as sustainable materials, transparent façades and public spaces for community use were incorporated in the architecture to help reflect and represent community identity and goals.