Archives and Special Collections
Museum Design Archives
Our Museum Design Archives reveal how exhibitions are imagined, shaped and delivered. Bringing together the working records of leading museum and exhibition designers from the late twentieth and early twenty first centuries, our collections document the creative, practical and collaborative processes that usually remain hidden from public view.
From early sketches and models to correspondence, design plans and photographs, these collections capture how museums and visitor attractions were conceived, negotiated and made – in the UK and internationally – during a period of major change in cultural practice.
About the collections
The Museum Design Archives contain the professional records of the following influential British exhibition design companies:
- Casson Mann
- Land Design Studio
- Metaphor
The contents of each collection are different, but include:
- Concept sketches and drawings
- Design plans and layouts
- Physical and visual models
- Photographs and visualisations
- Client briefs and design tenders
- Project correspondence and meeting notes
- Interpretation and storytelling material
- Fabric, flooring and other material samples
Many records relate to well‑known museums and landmark exhibitions in the UK and overseas, alongside unrealised, temporary or experimental projects that would otherwise have left little trace. The archives show not only what was built, but how design ideas evolved, where decisions were tested, and how constraints, audiences and values shaped outcomes.
How to search
The Land Design Studio archive is catalogued and can be browse and searched on our Archives Catalogue.
Work to process and catalogue the Casson Mann and Metaphor archives is ongoing. Please contact us for further information.
How to access
The Museum Design Archives are open to all and can be consulted by appointment in the Special Collections Reading Room. Find out how to book your place and order material.
Image credit: Land Design Studio, PR/19/2001/1/5, Futures Gallery, Millennium Point, Birmingham, 2001