The other week, at the recent Art Fund prize awards held at RIBA, it was interesting to note the continued emphasis placed on the use of space within a museums and galleries. In the minds of the judges, the triumph of The Lightbox, Woking owed much to its ability to redefining spaces.

The brief for the building, created by Marks Barfield Architects (of London Eye fame), was to create a hybrid space that drew in as many non-museum elements as traditional ones. In the words of the nomination statement:

The Lightbox team “recognised that the kinds of places where these families feel comfortable are the visitor attraction, café or shopping centre. So it is these types of venue that The Lightbox has tried to emulate, rather than other museums.”

The plans for the new Photographer’s Gallery in Soho incorporate an equally radical approach to environment creation, including plans for an innovative digital wall extending the gallery into the cafe / restaurant area. In part, this is to allow the contribution of user-generated content, blurring the boundaries between artist and audience, and enabling audiences to interact with and respond to the curated content.

Food glorious food

It has long been predicted that museum spaces of the future would need to be as much Starbucks as Smithsonian. Nothing new there. But there appears to be an increasing acceleration of this as institutions look to fulfil consumer expectations that demand parity with their experiences of the wider leisure and retail marketplaces.

In many cases this transition is already well-established – witness the number of catering and event companies having link-ups with the sector. This ranges from major players such as Sodexho and their partnership with the National Trust or specialists such as the Quintessentially Group who have delivered events contracts for the Serpentine and V&A (either coming from an external client or the institution itself).

Cultural institutions are also not immune from the cult of the branded restaurant and celebrity chef, whether Thierry Costes at Centre Pompidou in Paris or Gabriel Kreuther at MoMA in New York. The architects that have been turning their hands to creating a generation of iconic spaces are now collaborating with the interior designers to create stunning restaurant experiences that appealing to visitors as consumers rather than just audience members.

The critically acclaimed refurbishment of the Southbank Centre (recently nominated for the RIBA Stirling Prize) has seen a transformation beyond the bricks and mortar. Skylon, the stylish new restaurant in The Royal Festival Hall is a Conran Group / D&D London franchise, complimenting the standard set with the rest of the renovations and adding a new dimension to the corporate hospitality offer.

Attracting the crowd

A glance at many of the restaurant review websites for Bristol always places Arnolfini’s cafe/bar high on the list of must-visits. Its distinctive red decor attracts a bohemian crowd that would not be out of place in any of the city’s edgy nightspots.

Earlier this year Starbuck’s entered into a deal The Beatles Story visitor attraction in Liverpool. Perhaps this is a fitting alliance after the Seattle based coffee empire signed up Sir Paul McCartney in a high profile deal to its nascent record label. That said, the company has not had an entirely happy relationship with the cultural sector after it decided to close an outlet in the Forbidden City in Beijing after an international furore on whether this was appropriate…

Of course, like many of the trends we have explored, the inverse is also happening, with restaurants deploying the arts as a tactic for drawing in the punters for many a year. Sketch in London (listed as one of Time Out’s 50 best restaurants 2008) is one of the more innovative examples with a highly regarded curated programme and dedicated gallery space that now attracts sponsorship in its own right. We’ll explore the rise of the art restaurant further in the next post.