Balancing Public Access and Collections Storage

Across the cultural sector, there is a growing expectation that collections storage facilities — once hidden, highly protected back-of-house environments — should become places that showcase the value of collections care. Internationally, purpose-built collections centers are experimenting with innovative ways to offer controlled visibility, visitor programs, and new forms of engagement, all while maintaining high standards of preservation and security.

As a firm deeply engaged in collections planning and design, we have a particular interest in how these emerging practices influence the next generation of cultural infrastructure. We recently conducted a benchmarking study of collections facilities worldwide, including projects in our own portfolio such as Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory at Jefferson Patterson Park, the AlUla Collection Care Facility, and multiple Smithsonian Collections care centers. Based on that research we’ve synthesized what cultural institutions should consider as they look to balance three critical priorities: public access, collections care, and institutional security.

Starting with public access, we’ve found that for most cultural organizations, the vast majority of their holdings remain out of public view. According to the American Alliance of Museums, only 1% of natural history collections and 3–5% of art museum collections are typically exhibited. This disconnect challenges museums’ educational missions, visitor expectations, and has prompted institutions to rethink what collections storage can and should be.

Our collections benchmarking has found that, on average, publicly accessible collections space constitutes about 12% of the total area across global facilities. However, within the United States, that figure drops dramatically to just 2%.

In contrast, international institutions, particularly in Europe and Asia, are leading the way: research from the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya indicates that on average 40% of stored collections are publicly visible across those regions, nearly double the visibility rate in the Americas.

This aligns with what we hear directly from museum professionals — in a 2025 anonymous poll we conducted across seven national museums, 75% of staff respondents agreed that future collections centers should enable more external user engagement and more effectively communicate the value of collections care.

The appetite is clear, but it’s important to understand that designing collections storage for public engagement requires a clear architectural logic that maintains the integrity of conservation and operational workflows. At its most fundamental level, this logic is supported by planning across four primary spatial zones:

• Public Non-Collections: visitor-facing spaces without collections, including entry, food service, retail, classrooms, and event spaces.
• Public Collections: areas where the public may view stored or displayed artifacts, including exhibitions, visible storage, and labs with controlled views.
• Non-Public Collections: highly secure storage, management, and laboratory spaces without public access.
• Non-Public Non-Collections: restricted staff areas including offices, circulation, mechanical, and support zones.

Our comparative analysis demonstrated that the ratio of these zones varies significantly, as does the manner in which zoning strategies can shape the visitor experience.

A pioneering model for visible storage and conservation, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, was among the first major U.S. institutions to embrace visible storage at scale. Its monumental hangar allows visitors to view aircraft and spacecraft from both floor level and elevated catwalks. The glass-walled restoration hangar remains one of the most compelling models for providing insight into conservation work while maintaining secure, environmentally independent collections care space.

In the past decade, other institutions of various scales and collections from the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver, The Burke Museum in Seattle, the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, and the Natural History Museum in London have highlighted and provided increased visibility of their collections. The Depot of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen placed this approach at its core with a publicly accessible, purpose-built, open-storage museum that presents within a five-story central atrium, with glazed storage cases and visible prep areas that invite visitors to observe the “inner workings” of the museum while maintaining physical separation.

Additionally, the Depot offers three modes of visitor access — free entry, ticketed access, and guided tours — enabled by a network of carefully choreographed circulation paths for staff, visitors, and logistics. Its climate-controlled storage suites, accessible only via guided tours limited to 13 people for 11 minutes at a time, provide buffers of nearly an hour between tours to allow conditions to stabilize — a strategy that merges visitors experience with strict environmental parameters necessary for collections preservation. This operational strategy illustrates how environmental control can be preserved even as visibility expands.

Another well-regarded precedent, the V&A East Storehouse in London features a transformed Olympic broadcast center that reframes storage as cultural infrastructure. The zoning strategy at V&A East has the public entering through a controlled “dirty zone” — a vestibule with lockers, restrooms, and café — before moving into the central Collections Hall, where stored objects dominate the visitor experience. This strategy essentially flips conventional planning inside out with the public occupying the building’s core, while staff circulation threads discreetly around the perimeter. The benefit of this approach is that it allows visitors a range of experiences, from the ability to “order an object” for supervised viewing, to viewing glimpses into conservation labs through transparent walls. Additionally, storage is arranged by physical characteristics rather than curatorial logic, providing a rare, authentic look at the behind-the-scenes reality of museum work.

Across these examples, we have found that public access must be intentional, not an afterthought. Authenticity matters. If an institution hopes to transform their collections facilities into a distinct cultural experience, there is value in showing behind-the-scenes transparency, whether that means allowing visitors to see restoration labs or witness collections storage workflow. The facilities which successfully integrate public visibility from the outset have intentional zoning, circulation, and a clear separation of controlled environmental conditions and public/private zones.

It is also critical that security follows suit; as public access increases, so does the need for innovative strategies to protect collections and manage visitor behavior. Recent global events, including the high-profile Louvre jewel heist, have underscored the importance of robust, layered protection.  Physical barriers alone are not enough; visitor pathways, environmental controls, and operational protocols must work together to maintain safety and access.

Our research and project experience reinforce that the future of collections care can be more than safeguarding artifacts, but also about designing environments that support meaningful public engagement. As institutions grapple with growing collections and heightened public interest, we look forward to helping clients strategically navigate this shift. Whether the goal is full visibility like the Depot, curated transparency like V&A East, or targeted glimpses like the Udvar-Hazy Center, successful outcomes depend on integrated planning rooted in data, benchmarking, and a clear understanding of institutional priorities. By staying at the forefront of these trends, we aim to empower museums and cultural organizations to make informed decisions, ensuring collections remain protected, and accessible for both collections staff and the visitors interested in learning the value of collections care.

Neelab Mahmoud is an architect and planner who specializes in cultural projects. Melonee Quintanilla is an associate in our architecture studio.