The Musée historique de la ville de Strasbourg’s new permanent exhibition presents a chronological tour through various periods of the city’s past. Its ultimate goal is to connect visitors with their own views about history.
gsmprjctº création’s conceptual approach centred on immersing visitors — both symbolically and literally — in a theatrical environment that uses the asymmetrical maze of lanes of the city’s Middle Ages period to completely erase the sense of being in a conventional museum space. Display showcases, lit with concealed fibre-optic lighting, are integrated as niches in the walls of the maze, creating a surprisingly intimate relationship with objects from the museum’s collection.
The high point of the exhibition is a large-scale, 6 x 12 metre relief map of Strasbourg dating to 1725 that reproduces the city and its nearby geographical environment at a scale of 1:600. When viewed from behind a glass partition, the relief map becomes part of a 3D multimedia show in which virtual images interact with the surface of the map, humorously recounting the city’s eventful history.
A user-friendly, hands-free audio guide — using state-of-the-art technology that allows it to be automatically triggered at various locations — is an integral part of the exhibition, which includes audio, video, 3D multimedia, hands-on exhibits, and 1,500 pieces from the museum’s collection.