A STUDY OF MUSEUM ARCHITECTURE WITH

SPECIAL REFERENCE TO CHHATRAPATI

SHIVAJI MAHARAJ VASTU SANGRAHALAYA,
MUMBAI

Chaina Singhal
M.A. Conservation, Preservation and Heritage Management
chainasinghal@gmail.com

Delhi Institute of Heritage Research and Management

13-05-2020
 CONTENT

Introduction 1

Museum Exterior 2

Architectonic Design 5

Museum Interior 8

Space Management 10

Public Facilities 15

Special Considerations 17

Conclusion 25

Reference 28
INTRODUCTION

There has always been a conflict in the ideas of architects and museologists on what a

museum building should look like. But there should hardly be any difference of opinion that a

museum building is a piece of architecture with a difference. Unlike the other buildings, museum

upholds the pride of a nation. Museums are monuments which preserve a country’s past glory.

Therefore, a museum building should always have monumental character. An assimilation of the

early architectural tradition of the country and the modern trends in the field of architecture may

provide the correct guidance in the conception of a museum building. The architecture of

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, though built in 1914, serves as an excellent

example in this direction.

CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI MAHARAJ VASTU SANGRAHALAYA

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, formerly known as the Prince of Wales

Museum situated in Mumbai, is one of the premier art and history museums in India. It is an

excellent example of museum architecture. The foundation stone of this museum was laid by the

Prince of Wales (later King George V) on the 11th of November, 1905. The construction of the

building was completed in 1914 but the museum was opened to public on the 10th of January,

1922. In the interim it was used by the military as a hospital and for the Children’s Welfare

Exhibitions. The architect of the building was George Wittet who was well known for the Indo

Saracenic architecture.

Located within the Fort heritage precinct, the museum is listed as Serial number 164 by the

Heritage Regulations of Greater Bombay 1995 as a Grade 1 heritage building, acknowledging it

as heritage of national importance.

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 The museum has succeeded in attracting the attention of majority of visitors because of its

structural beauty and architectural grandeur. Visitors enjoy and appreciate such magnanimity

associated with it as it holds them in awe and amazement.

MUSEUM EXTERIOR

Museum exteriors comprise of components such as location, site, surrounding, architectural

style, landscape, etc. Right selection of all these aspects of a museum’s outward structure

contribute to the formation of an ideal exterior of the museum building. The details of these are

discussed as under: -

➢ Location- A museum should ideally be located at an easily accessible point by the

public, as it has a direct influence on the visitors’ attendance figures. It should be at a place

easily approachable by public transportation. The site should be suitable in terms of

architectural, technical, aesthetic, educational, transportation and public requirements. The

Prince of Wales museum is located in an area which is equally popular for education, cultural,

commercial and tourist activities. It is in the vicinity of the Jahangir Art Gallery, J.J. School of

Art, Bombay University and the famous monument The Gateway of India, and now, the recently

established National Gallery of Modern Art, also.

The Museum is close to two local train terminals, the Church Gate and the Chhatrapati

Shivaji Terminal and further connected by the local road transportation, the Bombay Electrical

and Transport System.

➢ Site- The museum is situated on the famous semi-circular plot of land known as the

Crescent Site. The plot is located at the junction of Mahatma Gandhi Road, Shaheed Bhagat

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Singh Road and Rampart Row. It signifies the southernmost tip of the old fortifications of the

colonial British fort in Bombay.

➢ Surroundings: Due to the large site and garden in front, the skyline of the museum

building can be easily seen. The only high-rise buildings are stock exchange and Taj hotel.

➢ Landscape- The museum building should have a good compound area (or a garden) as it

has functional, aesthetic and security reasons. Firstly, it lends beauty to the surroundings. This

space can be used to display some garden sculptures and create a mood for the museum visit.

Secondly, it helps the museum building to be away from the neighbouring buildings and thus

could be insulated from hazards like fire. Thirdly, some of the basic needs of the visitors- like a

resting area in the form of a lawn or a shaded place, a restaurant, toilets and parking zones could

be provided.

The Prince of Wales museum has a well laid out garden in the forefront which retains its original

plan even today. The sprawling front garden with parterres is reminiscent of the Mughal

charbagh. This impressive garden is symmetrical with the statue in the center. It is planned with

good landscaped features and adds much to the beauty and amenities of a museum.

However, the distribution of compound space is not uniform. There should have been more

space behind the building also as it has towards the front side; which could have kept the

museum away from the noise of the heavy vehicular traffic surrounding the building. The

disturbance caused by the adjoining road on the back side of the building could be easily felt by

the visitors viewing its pre-historic gallery or by scholars in using its reference library.

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 (1) Chhatarpati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sanghralaya
with a well laid garden in front.

(2) Site Plan of the museum. Picture (3) Location of the site. Picture
Courtesy: Jewels on the Crescent. Courtesy: Google Maps.

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ARCHITECTONIC DESIGN

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya building is one of the best examples of

the Indo-Saracenic style architecture which combines Hindu and Saracenic architectural

elements with incorporation of some elements of Western architecture.

The main building is built on a rectangular plan and is three storeyed. The alignment of the

building is such that the main facade faces south west and the entry point is through a parte-

cochere in the shape of a Bengali vaulted roof. The entrance foyer of the Museum consists of a

nine domed ceiling supported on polished serpentine marble pillars. This leads to a grand

visitor’s hall with central octagonal atrium surmounted by a monumental dome. The lower level

of this atrium has eight stone pillars reminiscent of the temples of Gujarat. George Wittet

skillfully incorporated the original wooden arched pavilion purchased from a royal house (wada)

at Nasik in Maharashtra, as a circular railing on the first and second floors of the building. The

dome rising above the huge intersecting arches forms a beautiful geometrical pattern.

The huge onion dome of this building is designed after the Gol Gumbaz of Bijapur. It is tiled

in white and blue flecks and is supported on a lotus-petal base. Around the dome is an array of

pinnacles, each topped by a miniature dome. The finial is copied from the Taj Mahal at Agra.

Indian motifs such as brackets, jharokhas, and protruding eaves are combined with so-called

Islamic arches, jalis, semi open verandahs and tiny domes.

The building is constructed of Basalt and Kurla stone masonry, with elaborate brackets and

carved features on its principal exterior. The facing of the structure is done in yellow and blue

stones quarried from the Mumbai region. The building is load bearing and arch and dome

system is used to achieve long span covering. The museum building is situated in 3 acres (12,000

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m²) area, having a built-up area of 12,142.23 sq. metres. The museum building is invariably

imposing in appearance, solemn and monumental.

(4) Ground Plan of the museum. Picture Courtesy: Google

(5) The front facade of the museum building

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 (6) and (7) The left and the right wing of the building respectively.

(8) The facade with a porch in (9) Image showing the turrets, bulbous dome and
front pinnacles at the top

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MUSEUM INTERIOR

The internal space of a museum building is classified into different areas to suit the different

functions of the museum and various activities it organizes for the visitors. The interior of the

Prince of Wales Museum is simple yet spacious. The large central area helps the visitors to

obtain an overall view of the museum, and a rout that avoids giving the impression of a maze.

From the central hall, the staircase leads to the two upper floors with galleries branching out on

the right and left. An extension on the right-hand side of the main building (as you stand facing

its front entrance) houses the natural history section. The second floor houses the Indian

miniature-painting gallery, the pride of the museum, and next to it are the galleries of decorative

art and, to the left of the central well of the staircase, the gallery of Tibetan and Nepali art.

Above, on the second floor are the European painting, armoury and textile galleries.

(10) The Central hall or the Key Gallery, displaying (11) Vaulted roof by intersecting arches; Arched
specimen from all other galleries ways supported on marble pillars.

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(12) Atrium oriented whispering gallery; Overlapping lancet
shaped arches generating aisles, galleries and openings
under the dome

(13) View of the central hall from the second floor;

wooden arched pavilion visible at first floor.

(14) Octagonal domed ceiling with slits

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SPACE MANAGEMENT

As per the ICOM’s definition of the word ‘museum’, a museum building should have storage

for the collection; a laboratory for preservation and conservation, a work-room for

documentation, exhibition galleries, an auditorium for communication, administrative offices and

a library for research. Since a museum is a public institution, it should also provide some public

facilities such as reception-cum-sales counter, cloak-room, water closet, public call booth, etc.

All these specific areas need to be juxtaposed in such a way so as to facilitate museum’s

activities in a most effective manner.

So, space management is an important factor in museum architecture which has been fairly

done by the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya. As regards space distribution,

roughly half has been allotted for exhibition, one tenth for the laboratory, one-fifth for

administration and one fifth as workrooms for carpentry, library etc.

➢ Galleries- Galleries are the main exhibition areas in a museum where objects are

displayed. These should be constructed according to the nature of exhibits and their exhibition

requirements. They should have ample space in order to provide scope for flexibility of the

exhibitions. Dimensions of a gallery should be proportionate to the size and number of exhibits

going to be displayed in them. A huge hall with a few and small objects or a small gallery

congested with innumerable or large sized objects, both are deplorable. The Prince of Wales

museum has rooms of different dimensions and has used different colours for the walls and kind

of flooring. This provides a spontaneous and unconscious stimulus to attention. Layout of the

gallery should have flexibility in orientation of the galleries. The entrance and exit areas should

be easily identifies by the visitors. The galleries in Prince of Wales museum are not

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interconnected. The circular pattern forces the visitors enter and pass through the central portion

repeatedly. This kind of rigidity is experienced in the museum although to a lesser extent.

The galleries should be devoid of structural obstructions such as pillars, staircase, platform, etc.

The Prince of Wales museum has more than twenty galleries. Some of them are -

• Sculpture gallery

• Pre and Proto History gallery

• Natural History section

• Indian Miniature Paintings gallery

• Krishna gallery

• Himalayan Art gallery

• Indian Decorative Art gallery

• House of Laxmi- Coin gallery

• Chinese and Japanese Art Gallery

• Karl and Meherbai Khandalavala gallery

• Sir Ratan Tata and Sir Dorab Tata gallery of European paintings

• Arms and Armour gallery

• Jahangir’s Nicholson gallery

• Premchand Roychand gallery

• Key gallery

• European decorative art gallery

• Textile gallery

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 ➢ Storage- Storage area for reserve collection has acquired specialized and highly specific

features to enable it to fulfil its function. These are now better defined with respect to their size,

height, technical requirements, their links with other parts of museum and their

interrelationships. Curatorial equipments are required for the accommodation of collections. It

may consist of shelves, stacked trays, cabinets, picture racks and perhaps other kind of special

furniture.

The Prince of Wales museum has its storage areas dispersed at four places. The valuable

collection is located at reinforced place. The most sensitive objects such as paintings are located

in board room and are provided with air conditioning. The other objects excluding stone

sculptures are located in a separate room. This room is spacious, properly classifies and suitably

furnished and is adequately ventilated and lightened. The stone sculptures are stored in

basement, slightly away from the main museum building, but within the premises of the museum

compound.

➢ Library- A small library open to the public for reference reading, with some of the leading

periodicals on the subjects the museum serve is highly desirable. The Prince of Wales museum

has its library on first floor.

➢ Auditorium- An auditorium is an essential requirement in a museum, to organize public

functions. It should be located at such a place in a museum building that the audience who want

to attend only the functions without visiting the museum, should be able to do it without

disturbing the general public on museum visit. The Prince of Wales museum has an auditorium-

cum-special exhibition gallery by the name Coomaraswamy Hall with a separate entrance to it.

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At the same time it is accessible from the key entrance gallery of the museum also. It only has a

dais and no permanent seating arrangement because of its dual purpose. The auditorium of this

museum is often leased out to public.

➢ Offices- These are the working areas of staff of the museum belonging to administrative,

curatorial, educational and security divisions. The administrative offices should be located far

away from public areas, but an easy accessibility should be assured at the same time. The

arrangement of offices at the Prince of Wales museum is satisfactory. One has to transverse

through a very negligible exhibition area to reach there. The boardroom is constructed attached

to the Director’s Office, which is very ideal.

(15) Administrative department (right) with Director’s office (left) adjacent to it.

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➢ Conservation Laboratory- A conservation laboratory along with a photographic lab is a

must for every museum. The Prince of Wales museum has a huge laboratory on its second floor

which is presently under renovation.

➢ Studios- Photographic studios and modeling studios have become an indispensable part

of all leading museums. The Prince of Wales museum has both the sections. The taxidermy also

takes place behind the screens.

➢ Security- This should be located at an area where from the counter action to any activity

involving vandalism, theft and any other disaster could be easily initiated. At Prince of Wales

museum, it is distributed at two places. The security alarm is located near the inquiry counter,

whereas the television screens connected to closed circuit cameras located in the office of

Assistant Director of Administration. The inclusion of security installations in the design process

is a further point that reflects contemporary spirit prevailing in architectural planning. Fire and

burglar alarms should be installed at least for important museum areas like reserve collections,

valuable collections, jewellery, coins, rare and valuable objects, conservation laboratory etc.

➢ Entrances- Entrances and exits should be with regard to human fraility. However,

considering risk of theft, the safest arrangement is to have only one entrance for the public and

one for services. The Prince of Wales museum has the same arrangement. It has a separate entry

zone for transaction of objects.

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➢ Museum Shop- A museum shop sells replicas, calendars, journals, catalogues, greeting

cards, jewellery, apparels etc. In Prince of Wales museum, there are two museum shops- One

near the ticket counter and the other one at the first floor.

PUBLIC FACILITIES

➢ Reception- The reception area is especially important inasmuch as it outlines the

different options open to visitors and gives them the opportunity to get into the right frame of

mind for their visit. It may include space for waiting, toilets, public telephones, refreshment

facilities, educational facilities, lecture theatres and shops.

➢ Parking- Parking is a serious problem for most of the museums. However, Prince of

Wales museum provides a facility of parking at the pay and park lots at Hutatma Chowk and

Kala Ghoda which is nearby.

➢ Ticket Counter- If the museum charges entry fee from the people, a ticket counter is to

be located near the entrance as it is done in the Prince of Wales museum. There should be

enough space for the visitors to form queue.

➢ Cloak Rooms- The cloak rooms should be at a considerable distance away from the

museum building as it is in practice now at the Prince of Wales museum.

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➢ Telephone Booth- A public telephone is a basic amenity to the visitors. In the Prince of

Wales museum, this facility is provided at a remote place at the entrance.

➢ Water Cooler- In a tropical country like India, drinking water facility should be essential

requirement at all public places. A water cooler should be preferably at the entrance of the

museum. At Prince of Wales museum, it is near the key gallery.

➢ Toilets- These are another compulsory requirement in public places. At the Prince of

Wales museum, they are at the basement, at stairway landings.

➢ Cafeteria: As visitors spend considerable time during a museum visit, an eatery is an

indispensable requirement in a museum. The Prince of Wales museum has a small cafeteria in

the museum premises on the ground floor itself.

(16) Cafeteria in the museum premises (17) Reception area and information desk in the central hall

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SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS

A museum building has certain definite functions and specific purposes to serve. It must act

as a safe shelter for various collections by providing necessary environment for the preservation

of collections against various forces of decay such as insect pests, direct sunlight, dust, humidity

and temperature. It must act as a place for easy functioning of museum activities and as a

comfortable, delightful and attractive place for visitors. It must also act as a protective shelter

against the danger of theft and fire.

The internal physical and climatological aspects of galleries have an important role to play on the

exhibits to be displayed in them and on the visitors that come to view them. Like any other room,

a gallery also has walls, floor and the roof. The gallery has to be properly lighted and ventilated

also.

The two most important climatological factors that need to be considered while talking about

museum architecture are:-

➢ Light: Light is a ‘necessary evil’ in a gallery. Without light one cannot view the objects.

At the same time light causes damage to a wide range of objects. Two important functions of

lighting in a gallery are to illuminate the exhibits and the passage area.

In Prince of Wales museum, the pre-historic gallery uses the illumination of cases which also

throws some light into the passage area. But this situation makes the galleries look darker and

gives a dramatic effect. Natural lighting also called sky light solves a major purpose in this

museum. Sky light is obtained either from small windows covered with metal grill or in the

atrium by slit inside the dome. Apart from this, they have artificial lights like side light, corner

light, end light, top light, etc. The museum uses white colour to facilitate optimum reflection.

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 (18) Bronze gallery depicting artificial lights (19) Prints gallery depicting use of natural light for
illuminating the cases as well as passage illumination

➢ Ventilation: The circulation of air within the gallery is possible by both natural and

mechanical means. Windows, outlets, exhaust fans; ventilators, etc. can generally solve this

purpose. Some of the galleries in Prince of Wales museum have a provision of lateral window

openings. These windows placed at ordinary level allow pleasant view of the gardens and

provide refreshment to visitor’s mind.

However, nothing surpasses the effect of air conditioning. Air conditioning is a process

consisting of taking outside air to circulate and recirculate after it has been filtered and treated to

correct its temperature and humidity. Two ultimate objectives of air conditioning are comfort of

visitors and employees and conservation of collection.

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 (20) The Miniature gallery having provision of (21) Atrium whispering gallery with
exhaust fans for ventilation natural ventilation

(22) Natural History section using fan for (23) Natural ventilation in museum building by air
ventilation as exhibits are in covered cases vents

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Some of the important physical aspects of the galleries of museum are:-

➢ Circulation: In museum architecture, the circulation or movement of visitors, staff and

the objects should not be failed to consider. The Prince of Wales museum has a ‘Key Gallery’ at

the entrance hall giving an idea of the different galleries inside the museum along with a ground

plan showing the layout of various sections indicating their location.

Good routing promotes full and orderly coverage of exhibits by the visitor who yield himself to

the arrangements made for is guidance; but under no circumstances should the routing interfere

with free circulation of visitors who desire to move at will.

(24) Indian miniature painting gallery showing good routing

➢ Floor: This is an area that bears the exhibits or the showcases and this is also the area

over which the visitors walk. So, it has to be durable. But at the same time is has to be

aesthetically pleasant. So, to meet this requirement choice of construction material should be

ideal. These materials should have long lasting, easily washable, non-slippery and sound-

deadening properties. As far as tiles are concerned they could be of ceramic, granite, mosaic or

marble. Terrazzo, marble, slate, ceramic tile, several kinds of wood, linoleum and concrete can

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be employed for flooring in the museums. Wooden flooring is expensive, difficult to maintain

and noisy unless laid perfectly. But it is still preferred due to its conformity with collection, rice

texture it offers and its hygroscopic property.

The Prince of Wales museum has a floor made of ceramic tiles, but it is now showing faint traces

of chipping of tiles, which is a matter of concern to its authorities. The floor in this museum is

shiny but not glaring. The floor of the European painting gallery of museum is made of wood. At

some places, carpet flooring is also used provided it is maintained moisture free.

➢ Walls: This is the primary exhibition area in a museum, displaying majority of objects

either directly on the wall or in exhibit cases built into the wall or providing space for majority of

showcases with their backs against it. So, the wall area should be free of windows at eye level as

it is a loss of exhibition area.

The Prince of Wales museum has a special provision for space in the walls for construction of

dioramas, especially for natural history section. The exterior walls have heat insulation to protect

the inner walls from condensation and thereby protecting the artifacts and showcases.

The walls must use colours that absorb light, if good visibility of the exhibits is to be assured.

One principle to be strictly followed for its scientific reasoning is that, the colour of the wall

should always be lighter to that of walls, so that it doesn’t absorbs light.

➢ Ceiling: It is the inner roof of a room. The ceilings of exhibition rooms are usually flat.

High roofs are needed for a few galleries to exhibit certain type of objects. The Whale Shark

displayed in the natural history section of the Prince of Wales museum is a case in point. Central

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room ceilings are a decorative architectural feature. The Prince of Wales museum has an

attractive central dome. This dome was damaged due to inadequate maintenance as it is located

at an inaccessible height. However, a successful renovation has been done in the recent past.

(25) Mr. Ratan Tata Gallery depicting high (26) Miniature painting gallery showcasing flooring, false
decorative ceiling ceiling and wall designs

➢ Stairways: Flight of stairways should be arranged in a simple way that offers no

unnecessary circulation problems. One side of the staircase should be wall free. All staircases

should have adequate artificial lighting. Ramps and escalators are also a substitute though

expensive and take up considerable space.

The Prince of Wales museum has three staircases connecting lobbies and corridors. There is also

an elevator located in the extension building.

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 (26) Three staircases of different styles in museum premises

➢ Museum Furniture: Exhibition Cases need to be in conformity with the design of the

rooms and nature of collections. Seats for Visitors though are associated more with interior

decoration than museum architecture, but still some consideration has to be given as it may add

or destroy the aesthetics and goals of a gallery.

(27) Good quality wooden showcases in Chinese and Japanese Art Gallery (left)
and Textile Gallery (right).

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 (28) Wooden showcases and wooden pedestals for showcasing the exhibits in the museum

Skillfully incorporated original wooden arched pavilion purchased from a royal house (wada) at Nasik in
Maharashtra

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CONCLUSION

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya serves as one of the finest examples of

museum architecture. It has excelled in managing the aesthetic as well as the functional aspect of

the museum.

A walk through this museum is akin to a journey made simultaneously through the evolution

of architecture in India. The museum building has a timeless quality about it- like India itself-

where tradition and modernity co-exist, sometimes as collage and sometimes as transition from

the former into the latter.

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Press, Cambridge, 1923. p.139.

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