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Rolled Textile Drawers in Museum Cabinets

Saving space and preserving military flags.

July 16th, 2020 - less than a minute read

Long-term storage of large textiles such as flags, rugs, and quilts presents special challenges for museums. Folding textiles and storing them away for years on end can lead to permanent creasing and cracking along the folds.

To avoid such damage, these items can be stored flat in large drawers or rolled onto tubes.

Design Challenge

Optimize Space in Collections Area

They knew they wanted Spacesaver cabinets with rolled textile drawers, and they knew they would need exceptionally large drawers and cabinets to accommodate the flags. They also wanted to mount the cabinets on Spacesaver high-density mobile systems (often called “compactors”) to optimize space in the collections area. Finally, they wanted to take advantage of the tall ceilings in the collections area by adding storage capacity above the cabinets.

Staff at this national military museum wanted to optimize space in their collections storage area while creating the best possible preservation environment for large flags. To reach their goal, they worked with their Washington D.C.-based Spacesaver consultant to use a variety of Spacesaver products in creative ways.

rolled museum collection storage cabinet

Rolled textile drawers save space and protect collections in storage.

Integrated Solutions

The solution was to design custom 395 Model Oversize Preservation Cabinet that would fit perfectly into large openings created by Spacesaver’s RaptorRAC® Widespan shelving.

The cabinets are fitted with rolled textile drawers up to about shoulder height, with shelving space for other collections items above the drawers. Bi-fold doors on each cabinet provide easy access to all stored items, and the doors can lift off completely to facilitate access to multiple cabinets at the same time. The RaptorRAC shelving extends above the cabinets to provide additional open shelving space for bulkier items.