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Archiviazione ordinata e facile accesso a documenti e fascicoli

MART Rovereto: 17,000 artworks archived with COMPATTA Light, 80% more storage capacity

  • Archives and museums
  • COMPATTA Light
  • Finished products
40 COMPATTA Light mobile shelving units with purpose-built painting racks for artwork archive storage — MART, Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto, Italy

Every square metre reclaimed from the archive is a square metre returned to art

MART, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto, manages a collection of more than 17,000 artworks spanning the nineteenth century to the present day. As only a portion of the collection can be exhibited at any given time, the museum needed a way to preserve non-displayed works without compromising exhibition space. The solution was COMPATTA Light, equipped with custom-designed shelving systems for paintings and framed artworks.

Industry

Archives and museums

Product

COMPATTA Light

Key result

80% more archive capacity within the same footprint

Key feature

Custom-designed shelving systems for the archiving of paintings and artworks

MART: one of Europe’s leading museums, with 17,000 works to safeguard

MART, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto, is one of Europe’s leading institutions for modern and contemporary art. With a total area of 14,500 m², including 1,700 m² dedicated to storage and archiving, the museum manages a collection of more than 17,000 works spanning the nineteenth century to the present day, with a particular focus on Futurism and twentieth-century Italian art.
Only a fraction of the collection can be exhibited at any given time. Most of the works remain in storage, where they must be preserved under optimal conditions and kept readily accessible for research, loans and future exhibitions.
In a museum environment of this calibre, proper archiving is a cultural responsibility.
MART: one of Europe's leading museums, with 17,000 works to safeguard

The logistical challenges

With 17,000 artworks to preserve and only 1,700 m² available for storage and archiving, MART faced a space optimisation challenge: increasing archive capacity without expanding its facilities or compromising the safety of the collection.

 

A museum archive is very different from a conventional warehouse. Every structural and operational decision must support the long-term preservation of artworks of exceptional cultural and historical value.

The main challenges included:

• Limited storage space compared to the size of the collection: the existing system did not make efficient use of the available area, reducing space that could otherwise be dedicated to exhibitions

• Artwork preservation requirements: paintings and artworks require dedicated supports, protection from direct contact and controlled accessibility

• Structural columns within the archive area: an architectural constraint that limited shelving layouts and reduced overall storage capacity

• Protection of high-value artworks: every access and handling operation must take place under the highest safety standards

• Fast and reliable access to the collection: loans, temporary exhibitions and research activities require a well-organised archive with predictable retrieval times

COMPATTA Light: 40 mobile bases with custom-designed shelving for paintings and artworks

ICAM designed and installed 40 COMPATTA Light mobile bases with handwheel-operated mechanical movement, equipped with custom shelving specifically developed for the safe archiving of paintings and artworks.
Each base, measuring 6.5 metres in length and 2.7 metres in height, has a maximum load capacity of 5,400 kg and moves on floor-mounted rails, opening a single access aisle only where and when needed.
The 40 mobile bases deliver a total archiving capacity of 681 m².
Le scaffalature speciali garantiscono che ogni opera sia sostenuta correttamente, senza contatti diretti tra dipinti, con accesso controllato e movimentazione sicura. Il sistema di compattazione elimina i corridoi fissi permanenti: l’unico corridoio si apre dove serve, restituendo alla capacità di archiviazione tutto lo spazio che prima era occupato da passaggi inutilizzati.
MART di Rovereto: COMPATTA Light per l'archiviazione di quadri e dipinti

Key results

More artworks preserved, without sacrificing exhibition space

  • +80% archive capacity

    Same footprint, far greater usable space: the mobile shelving system more than doubled capacity compared to conventional fixed shelving

  • 681 m² total storage capacity

    40 units rated at 5,400 kg each, an archive infrastructure proportionate to the MART’s collection

  • Optimised around structural columns

    Purpose-configured layout exploits every available centimetre of the depot, including spaces around architectural columns

  • Full artwork preservation

    Purpose-built racks for paintings and artworks: every work properly supported, no direct contact, controlled access at every opening

  • Exhibition space uncompromised

    Space gained in archiving is not taken from galleries or visitor services

  • Access and movement control

    The system ensures every access to the depot takes place under conditions of maximum safety for the works

Discover the solution chosen by MART Rovereto

COMPATTA Light mobile shelving system

COMPATTA Light mobile shelving system

Light-duty mobile shelving for document archives, libraries, hospitals, museums, and collections. Available in manual and electromechanical versions, COMPATTALight brings the logic of compaction to environments where space organization is as critical as the content it houses.

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