Fryderyk Chopin Museum

The museum and collection

To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Polish composer Fryderyck Chopin, the Fryderyck Chopin Museum - located in Warsaw’s Ostrogski Palace - underwent a complete renovation. In March 2010 we finalized the delivery and installation of equipment for the permanent exhibition in the Fryderyk Chopin Museum in Warsaw.

The assignment

Meyvaert was assigned with the manufacturing, delivery and assembly of the exhibition equipment for the permanent exhibition, covering a total of 1083 m² spread out over 15 rooms. These spaces are situated on five floors and passageways, including corridors, staircases and landings.

The total cubic volume of the display cases equals 148m³, in which 430 divergent elements are exhibited. Meyvaert was responsible for the complete fit-out of the museum, which encompassed the production, delivery and installation of:

display cases with lighting
glass walls and partition walls in which the display cases are integrated
mirrored walls
graphic panels
furniture and interior fittings such as glass staircases
the hardware for various multimedia including touchscreens, projectors, RFID systems, DALI/DMX automatic control systems

The scope of works also included drafting workshop drawings in accordance with guidelines included in the permanent exhibition design drawn up by the architects, Migliore + Servetto Architetti Associati. Close tripartite coordination (between Meyvaert, the contracting authority, the designer and the museum) was critical in order to execute the project, as modernisation works were taking place simultaneously with the installation of equipment and the provision of software.

The majority of the exhibits at the Chopin Museum are interactive, providing visitors with an entertaining and informative museum experience. We successfully worked together with Centre Screen Productions to provide the Chopin Museum with their AV and multimedia content, which included motion graphics, audio experiences, large format interactive screens, bespoke touchscreens, databases and CMS.

RFID systems allow visitors to ‘awaken’ interactive touchscreens and video projections with the touch of their entrance card. In the Ostrogski Palace crypt, suspended Plexiglas panels with LED strips show piano notes being played from the ceiling. Inside the ‘Uprising’ room, interactive glass tubes made out of curved glass with a patterned film laminated between the glass sheets entice the museumgoers to take a seat within the tube to watch a video on the mounted screens. Passageways between rooms made out of steel have integrated sensors in them that trigger light and loudspeakers, actively guiding visitors from space to space.