The System Q

The new generation of high performance glass cases, custom-made for museums

From the Goppion Laboratorio Museotecnico in Milan, pret-à-porter engineering studied for museums in continuous evolution: flexible solutions for exhibit systems of all sizes and a customer assistance service for designers and curators from the planning through to the assembly phases.

Milan, February 2011 – as a result of the continual chain of experiences culminating in the organisation and assembly of the galleries in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (see picture), Goppion is happy to present the System Q, a series of technical glass cases made up of more than thirty types of models in a range of almost 150,000 variations that combine different sizes, functions and accessories.

The System Q creates high performance technical glass cases, well-defined – in all aspects - in terms of industrial design, tested on countless occasions and entirely personalisable by designers and curators, thus becoming the expression of the museum’s very own identity as well as creating the cultural message of the museum.

The collection includes vertical, horizontal, self-standing and wall glass cases with a wide variety of interior fittings. All the models reflect the search for the functional aspects of the cases and the need for formal simplicity which is at the very base of the production philosophy of the Goppion Laboratorio Museotecnico.

In the renewal and building of museum exhibit systems, the Q System is an indispensable addition to the design project. It offers solutions in the field of structural, mechanical and cinematic engineering for security systems, lighting systems and climate control of glass cases. It enables us to design glass cases that are suited to all types of exhibition layout, in history, art and science museums.

The Q System is produced in FIVE classes of product that cater for all exhibition needs:
• cases – the evolution of the glass cabinet;
• cases with exhibition space in a mobile glass case;
• exhibit drawers;
• cases with back frames for paintings.

A new catalogue highlights all the versions and different composition possibilities for each class of Q System product: free-standing, in a gallery and with structures.

Five years hard work lies at the very base of the Q System. The “Research and Development” sector has been continually connected to the organisation and creation of important projects, experiments and collaboration work. With the launch of the Q System, Goppion has set up a Client Assistance Service that will enable designers and curators to create – directly – the exhibit systems they desire most and to adapt Goppion structures to their own space available.

Founded in 1952, today Goppion is a world leader in the construction of exhibition systems for museums. A workshop of ideas in which the engineering of conservation meets the art of presentation, it is distinguished for its capacity to create display cases with high-performance characteristics as regards conservation, able to combine aesthetics and functionality. Icons of the cultural heritage of humanity, such as the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, The Vitruvian Man and the Dead Sea Scrolls, are already protected by Goppion systems. In the Laboratorio Museotecnico, the applied research, the experimentation with prototypes and the use of avant-garde materials and techniques are combined with a tradition of high-level technical craftsmanship. Sensitivity and professionalism distinguish Goppion enterprise culture in every phase of its relationship with the client and the production process, from planning to installation at the site.

The main layout designs created in recent years

• British Museum, London, The Wellcome Trust Gallery (2003)
• The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, The Shrine of The Book (2004)
• Musée du Louvre, Paris, Salle des Etats, Monna Lisa (2005)
• Musée des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, (2006)
• Museo del Monastero di Moni Iviron, Monte Athos (2006)
• Victoria & Albert Museum, London, The Jameel Gallery of Islamic Art (2006)
• The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, The Egyptian Galleries (2006)
• Musée Depertemental del la Ceramique, Lezoux, (2006)
• The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Ceramic Gallery (2007), African Gallery (2008), American Indian Gallery (2009), Egyptian Gallery (2010)
• The Collection, Lincoln (2007)
• Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Atene (2008)
• Museo Archeologico, Ioannina (2008)
• The Newseum, Washington (2008)
• Museo di Arte Orientale, Torino, Sezione di Arte Cinese (2008)
• The British Museum, London, Watches and Clock Gallery (2008)
• Museo dell'Acropoli, Atene (2009)
• Museo Diocesano di Savona, (2009)
• Walt Disney Family Museum, San Francisco, (2009)
• Musée de l’Armée , Paris (2009)
• Musée du Louvre, Paris, Galerie de la Venus de Milo et de la Melpomene (2010)
• Shaanxi History Museum, Xi’An, Tang Dynasty Mural Painting Exhibition Hall (2010)
• The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Bronfman Archaeology Wing (2010)
• The Smithsonian Institution, New York, National Museum of the American Indian (2010)
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Art of Americas Wing
• Museum of Islamic Art, Cairo (2010)
• Museo Galileo, Firenze (2010)

Main layout designs currently under way

• Musée Lalique, Wingen-sur-Moder
• Musée d'Art classique, Mougins
• Museo Archeologico, Milano
• The Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles, Bangkok
• Musée International des Hussar, Tarbes

• Musée des Beaux-Arts, Limoges

• The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, National Museum of the American Indian