Noel McCauley – lecture “Narrative Works!”
Wednesday, 15.10.2025. at 17:30
Urania – space of creation, Trg Eugena Kvaternika 3/3

Noel McCauley – workshop “Making Narrative Work(s)”
Thursday, 16.10.2025. at 9:00
School of Design, Frankopanska 12

As part of the series of public events “Space as a Narrative Medium”, Noel McCauley will share insights gained from more than 20 years of experience in creating narrative environments for public cultural institutions. Noel McCauley is the co-founder of the Berlin-based multidisciplinary studio Duncan McCauley, specializing in museum and exhibition design. Using examples from Duncan McCauley’s studio practice, he will show how narrative and spatial design can create transformative visitor experiences.

Lecture “Narrative Works!”
The lecture will cover various aspects of the relationship between space and narrative:

  • Spatial communication: How do spaces “speak” to us and where are the limits of what they can express? How do our senses collectively shape our understanding of space?
  • Architecture and meaning: What feelings and associations do we associate with built spaces and how can these meanings be used to tell stories and communicate ideas?
  • Architecture and experience: How does spatial design influence our mood and emotions? And how can architecture collaborate with other media to create powerful, multisensory experiences that we remember?
  • Structure: How do space and narrative shape each other? And how do thresholds, trajectories and movement guide the way we experience a narrative step by step?

Noel McCauley will conclude the lecture by sharing references that inspired him in his work with Duncan McCauley Studio and will present practical tools for exploring the intersections of content, spatial design and audience experience.

The lecture will be followed by a moderated discussion with the lecturer and the audience, led by Ms Dragana Lucija Ratković Aydemir (Muze d.o.o./Muses Ltd) with the aim of exploring the presented topics in more depth and considering the relevance of McCauley’s experience for creative professionals in Zagreb and Croatia.

Workshop “Making Narrative Work(s)”

The day after the lecture, Noel McCauley will lead a specialized workshop at the School of Design, intended for architects, designers, museologists and curators. The School of Design is also a co-organizer of this international workshop.

The workshop will focus on exploring the unique character of spaces and on creative methods of shaping them into immersive narrative experiences. Through practical work and interdisciplinary collaboration, participants will have the opportunity to develop concepts that connect content, design and audience into a complete spatial story.

The program will be held in English, and registration for the workshop is mandatory. You can register via the link.

More about the lecturer

Noel McCauley is an Irish-born architect, museum specialist and co-founder of the Berlin-based Duncan McCauley studio. The studio specialises in integrating architecture, exhibition design and immersive media to create narrative environments that engage visitors on a cognitive and emotional level, offering a rich sensory experience. Motivated by the positive role that heritage sites play in shaping identity and fostering social cohesion, the studio is actively involved in the development of masterplans for public cultural institutions.

McCauley’s early experience on landmark projects – such as the Jewish Museum in Berlin and the Jewish Museum in San Francisco in collaboration with Daniel Libeskind – shaped his understanding of architecture as a narrative medium and influenced his approach to scenographic space.

Under his leadership, Duncan McCauley Studio’s work for major cultural institutions and UNESCO World Heritage sites – including the Völklingen Ironworks, the James Simon Bellin Gallery on Museum Island and the V&A in London – has attracted large audiences, gained international acclaim and won multiple awards.

A theme that appears throughout his career is the development of strategies for the reuse and reinterpretation of industrial heritage sites – both as places of testimony to their own history and as dynamic spaces for public cultural activity.

In addition to his studio practice, McCauley collaborates with academic institutions such as TU Berlin and UAL Central Saint Martins in London, with a focus on design and narrative. Through regular participation in conferences on museology and interpretive design, he contributes his insights to the international discourse on museum practice and cultural heritage.

Space as a Narrative Medium

Through a series of public events throughout 2025, the creative team of Muze/Muses celebrates its 20th anniversary with the program “Space as a Narrative Medium” by presenting new, experimental and exploratory approaches to designing permanent exhibitions in an international cultural context. The program is carried out with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia and the Goethe-Institut Kroatien, and with the partnership program cooperation with Urania – a space for creation (for lectures) and the School of Design (for workshops).