Museum of Natural History "La Specola"

OBJECT
Setting up of the Natural History Museum "La Specola"

WHERE
Florence

CUSTOMER
University of Florence

PROJECT BY
Arch. Lorenzo Greppi Firenze

DATE
febbraio 2024

We have realised the fitting out of the Reception, Mineralogy, Ceroplastics and Ornithology sections at the prestigious La Specola Museum in Florence.

Based on a design by designer Lorenzo Greppi, display walls were created with anti-reflection glass showcases, complete with a sophisticated lighting system. Particularly noteworthy is the creation of a sort of 'greenhouse' that envelops the environment in its entirety, immersing the visitor inside a large, completely glassed-in structure that makes it possible to exhibit almost all of the 90 botanical exhibits and approximately 200 pomological models that represent the unpublished heritage of the two Collections.

For the access to the hexagonal showcase, 10 anti-reflective glass doors without uprights were realised, the punctual illumination of the 290 wax exhibits was studied in our laboratories using fibre-optic technology and a sophisticated system of reflection and diffusion of the light source.Particular attention was paid to the issue of air conditioning, as the wax exhibits had to be designed with an air conditioning system inside the showcase to ensure the correct preservation of the waxes.

For the visitable repositories of Ornithology, we have custom-designed glass cabinets with a steel structure, equipped with shelves that allow for the storage of large and heavy exhibits, and one room has been entirely fitted out with a system of compactable modules to hold part of the archive.

In the Prologue of the Minerology section, the visitor is involved in a multimedia show of light, sound and moving images, thanks to a multi-projection with 6 video projectors, while at the end of the Elbana section he will find a self-illuminated display case with LED light fixtures with different wavelengths of ultraviolet light arranged for the exhibition of the exhibits of the Photosensitive Minerals Collection.