Display Cases in Smithsonian Design Museum | Goppion

The Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum is the only museum in the United States that is dedicated entirely to design. Situated on New York’s Fifth Avenue, it is housed in a Georgian-style mansion from 1902 that was the home of industrial magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The mansion's transformation into an avant-garde museum was done with careful consideration of the original characteristics of the historic building, highlighting its grandeur. Goppion display cases are featured in different rooms throughout the museum.

Exhibition design

The display cases requested for the museum were designed to house temporary exhibitions for at least 10 years. They needed to be flexible enough to adapt to a wide range of different design objects – from fabrics to silver pieces – and to fit in with the mix of period interiors and modern galleries the historic mansion has. The exhibition design is characterized by an essential, minimalist design.

Display cases

Custom display systems were created by Goppion to meet the requirements of flexibility and to be modular with wall, table and freestanding models that can be assembled in different configurations. The glass panels feature an airtight seal to guarantee the standards of conservation required for particularly delicate pieces.

Smaller cases use an Inox steel framework however the larger display cases have an aluminum framework to keep their weight down to stay within the load-bearing limits of the floors in the historic building. To hilight the architectural context and not cause distraction from the varying styles of work displayed, metallic parts were kept to a minimum and the engineering components are hidden in the thickness of the glass or included in the joints between the glass plates, giving overall transparency