Who Re-builds a National Museum?

Abstract Who re-builds a national museum? This dissertation tries to answer this question by closely studying delimited architectural and material renovation projects in three case studies, where actors from the construction industry, museum institutions as well as global actors meet in the detailed listing of a building instruction or the choosing of a construction material. The dissertation is concerned with processes of architectural and material change, taking place at national museums in northern Europe. The national museum as a public place was established during the 19th century, when many of Europe’s most renowned museum buildings where erected by political and democratic regimes. These buildings have been altered and adjusted during the 20th century to support growing collections, new functions and expanding needs. During the 21st century, many of the largest European museums have initiated large-scale transformation projects, as museums at large continuously are expanding their activities and territories as a result of social, political, and economic changes. The dissertation deals with the history of architectural transformation within three case studies, and the continuously expanding activities and territories of these institutions. The research project discusses these processes from the perspective of the construction site, unfolding histories of material destruction and preservation, questions of labour and production necessary for enabling change, and the trajectories of construction materials and their histories.

The overall method builds on historical methods and archival research, as well as ethnographic methods including interviews and site visits. The first case discusses destruction and reconstruction at the Museumsinsel in Berlin in the period following the Second World War, a time of material destruction and reconstruction as well as a period of evolving internationalisation and global governance within the heritage and museum sector. The second case reflects on construction work conducted at the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, and traces changes from the 19th century until today, in parallel with the use of builders and labour necessary for enabling this change. The third and last case discusses trajectories of building material supply chains at the V&A Museum in London, and how international trade has been part of the V&A since the 19^th century, posing the question: Who Re-builds a National Museum?

Supervisors are Associate Professors Jennifer Mack (main) and Anders Bergström, and the invited discussant is Kathleen James-Chakraborty, Professor of Art History at the University College Dublin (UCD).

Visit the Architecture Research Seminar page for more information and access to the full manuscript: https://www.kth.se/social/group/kth-higher-seminars/event/lena-stina-andersson-phd-thesis-semina/