Sala degli Ori, Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan, Italy 

Program: Redesign of the “Sala degli ori” that houses an antique jewelry collection from the 7th Century B.C. to 19th Century A.D.
Status: completed in 2006

The “treasure room” is designed to give each piece, generally of small dimensions, individually focused attention. Consequently, the exhibition displays are broken into many small surfaces to give each display box two fully visible sides, creating four faceted, diamond-like showcases, one in each of the four corners of the treasury room. The jewels are exhibited on translucent plexi-glass, while the enclosure of the show-cases is made of full-height security glass that is folded to create an origami-like effect. The four folded-glass panels causes the visitor to lose perception of the room’s true dimensions, a direct reference to the small, yet appealing inner-spaces of traditional baroque chapels.