This page was created by Jaclyn Legge. The last update was by Maegen Sargent.
The User Experience
The programme for the architectural design of the National Gallery included a plea for “the careful consideration of the visitor’s orientation” (Sutherland Boggs, 206). In Safdie’s own words, “true insight grows out of an understanding and resolution of the spatial organisation of human activity and behaviour” (Safdie, 6). It goes without question that from the very beginning of his career, Safdie was designing with user experience in mind. The inclusion of the courtyards, which were introduced as “orientation devices as well as places for rest” (Sutherland Boggs, 205), are a direct result of Safdie’s interest in understanding the desired experience of visitors. The three courtyards help establish a customisable flow that allow a visitor to set their own pace, weaving through the galleries at their desired speed. They offer spaces to sit and rest, digest, wait for a friend to catch up, pull out a notebook, discuss what has been seen so far, make a wish in the Water Court, or whatever is the most comfortable and pleasurable use of the visitor's time.
Visitors come to art galleries for a variety of reasons, and the ideal experience is unique to each visitor. There are a number of different space-types that can exist in a museum or art gallery, as seen in the museum typology grid, and typically a blend of them are necessary to maximize satisfaction. What matters the most is variety, “in order that visitors can choose the pace of their cultural learning experience or transformation” (McIntyre, 167).
The Water Court falls under the category of a “cool” space, detached from the core experience (i.e. art) and with a focus on repose and reflection as opposed to technology or information (McIntyre, 168). This is true for the rest of the courtyards as well. It is thought that the majority of gallery visitors want a blend of “cool” and “warm” spaces, the latter of which are core-experience, low-tech spaces (i.e. the exhibition spaces themselves) (McIntyre, 168). In this sense, the Water Court plays a key role in the National Gallery, not as a detractor from the art but as an additive to the gallery-viewing experience as a whole. Though its purpose is not to display art, the gallery experience would be unbalanced without it.
