Elevating Contemporary Exhibition Design with Sliding Glass Panel Systems (2024)

Some of the most memorable and moving exhibitions are the ones that simplify their staging, illuminating objects and narratives while pulling focus from everything else. A stark but meticulous –and above all modern– presentation is the goal of the museum curator. The process of installation shouldn’t be laborious. The fingerprint of the architect shouldn’t be visible. The eye of the visitor wants to see unbroken silhouettes of couture garments, archaeological treasures, and sculptures. Exhibitions tell stories, and the design of each show is the medium. The presentation must be crisp, clear, and light. A sense of perfection elevates the uniqueness of a collection of objects; barely apparent joins, lines and an overall feeling of transparency make that achievable.

The traditional glass cabinet has been refined constantly since the visually and physically heavy curiosity boxes of the Victorian era. Today, no one wants a cabinet to be a frame. It must be a pared-back platform while creating an imperceptible layer of security for the artifacts it houses. It must also be efficient and hassle-free for a curatorial team. The Sliding Glass Panel System from Zone Display Cases ticks these boxes to create a peerless wall system for contemporary exhibition design. With a portfolio that documents ever-improving designs for institutions, the brand has been involved in landmark destinations such as the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and traveling fashion exhibitions curated by the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Meeting the Unique Demands of Large Display Cases

The Sliding Glass Panel System surpasses museum conservation standards and has also changed the way in which curators and designers can work within a gallery space. It has been engineered to be used by a single person, as the opening mechanism has been designed independently from the rest of the structure, allowing for an intuitive, fast, and simple slide-open/slide-close operation. The panels can be opened from various points and allow for significant opening clearances and a greater ease of access than previous solutions.

This is a system that enables exhibition designers to explore scale and push boundaries without any of the frustrations and stress of “how will it fit?” It also allows for swift and painless rotation of potentially larger artifacts, as well as their removal for restoration. Previously, many exhibition installations required the removal of glass panels, and the configuration of wall cases was limited. Now more possibilities can be explored, and the glass elements of the system simply slide open to create whatever aperture is needed by museum staff, while security for the duration of the work being on show to the public remains paramount.

Seamless Mechanics and Streamlined Structure

The beauty of the Sliding Glass Panel System is most apparent when compared with previous museum standard models. It is about what’s vanished, rather than what’s been added. The design of the system allows it to support greater weights of glass, with a remarkable reduction in visible joints and a far shallower baseline (just two inches in height). The new design cuts the number of visible joints and the amount of glass panels needed for an extended wall cabinet by 50% compared to previous systems.

While the system streamlines logistics for curators and museum professionals, the clean lines of its visual elements enhance the visitor experience. The solution puts everything on show, with an obvious sense of ease, and few restrictions. It is minimalist and, in many ways, barely there, but it helps make visual statements stronger and with more sophistication. This way, the Sliding Glass Panel System offers more versatility, as well as greater creative potential, to the world of museum display design and architecture; a game-changer in the global arena of art and culture.

For more information on Zone Display Cases' Sliding System, visit their website or browse our product catalog.