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7 June 2001 |
A Virtual Visit To The New Christchurch Art Gallery
Staff of the city's Art Gallery are hard at work, designing exhibitions, hanging paintings and adjusting lighting in preparation for opening day.
That they can do this while the building is still little more than a hole in the ground is thanks to the revolutionary use of a computer application, designed for architects but proving invaluable in planning for the new Art gallery.
Virtual Gallery is a mapping programme that allows two-dimensional plans to be built into 3D models, enabling gallery designers and curators to create the exhibition spaces in the new gallery. "The programme allows us to visualise the space inside the gallery - to translate plans and designs into reality," says Manager of Public Programmes, Ronnie Kelly. "We can hang paintings, plan lighting and explore the visual impact of the works in different locations." "It gives a whole new dimension to our planning for the new gallery - rather than working in numbers and measurements, designers can now see how each space will look, as you would walking through the actual gallery." Virtual Gallery was developed by the Gallery in Vector Works, a programme used extensively for the Americas Cup Village. "While 3D mapping is not new, the real innovation is how we are using it as a planning tool - allowing us to design exhibitions for the new Gallery, long before we have a building to work with," says Ronnie Kelly. "The Virtual Gallery programme has significant implications for galleries, theatres and other display areas, where designers are required to understand the physical space they are planning and how best to use it."