The museum and collection
The library was established in 1950 and houses the private collection of Chester Beatty, an Irish-American mining magnate who brought together manuscripts and books, paintings, drawings and prints originating from Islamic, Christian and East Asian cultures. The current library opened in 2000.
The priceless collections made the Chester Beatty Library a world renowned institution and one of the premier sources for research on various religions. In 2002, it received the European Museum of the Year Award.
The assignment
The project was awarded to Meyvaert as the most performant company after a tender procedure. The tenders supplied by each manufacturer were evaluated by a weighted score against both available budget and technical requirements.
We supplied wall cases with hinged doors and table cases with piston hinges and fiber optic lighting.
The project: challenges & result
The invaluable objects that had to be put on display required extremely accurate conditions for conservation. As such, we prototyped each of the showcases.
The main challenge were the “balancing” lighting poles in the table cases, as the position of these poles interfered with the piston hinged opening system.
Our engineering team successfully developed high quality table cases with a fiber optic system that provides an acceptable level of lighting as well as accurate accent lighting.
Project
Chester Beatty Library
Solutions
Country
Ireland
Year
2000
Type of museum
Library
Designer
Event
Scope
Custom wall cases and table cases
More info
Winner of the 2002 European Museum of the Year Award
