The Mistake of the Double-Loaded Gallery

Double-loaded gallery is a term we use in the studio. It’s when exhibits or displays are placed equally on both sides of a long gallery or hallway.

(We stole it from architecture, where a double-loaded corridor means there are doors constantly on both sides.)

The common mistake is assuming visitors will pay equal attention to both sides.

To us designer types, this looks fine in our floor plan. In real life, less so. The space tries to let people move through easily, but also encourages them to stop and constantly look both ways. These don’t work well together.

So visitors pick a side.

They follow one side, stop to look at things there, and often ignore the other side. In busy spaces with people moving through, visitors can’t stand in the middle or go back and forth between walls.

But us designer types, convinced by that floor plan, split a story across walls. Or put two key experiences across from each other, expecting visitors to take in both.

They won’t.

Here’s the thing:

It’s better to design each wall as a separate experience. Each side should make sense on its own, even if someone skips the other.

A double-loaded gallery forces visitors to choose when they shouldn’t have to.

Warmly,
Jonathan

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MtM Word of the Day:
Double-loaded gallery. A corridor-like exhibition space with displays on both sides, also serving as a main circulation route. In a busy situation, visitors can only effectively engage with one side, which creates a forced choice. Each wall should ideally function as an independent experience, rather than a single experience split across two walls.