Visitor Flow Calculator

Calculate gallery visitor capacity, hourly throughput, dwell times, and timed-entry group sizes from gallery area and artwork count.

Gallery area (sq ft)

Number of artworks

Avg. viewing time per artwork (sec)

Open hours per day

Sq ft per visitor (comfort)

Tab to move between fields

Comfortable capacity

Hourly throughput

112

Fire code maximum133

Avg. dwell time (min)26.7

Daily capacity896

Timed entry interval (min)27

Recommended group size37

Max artworks on walls25

Sq ft per artwork50

Comfort / fire code ratio0.38

How to Use This Calculator

Enter Gallery area (sq ft), Number of artworks, and Avg. viewing time per artwork (sec).
Set Open hours per day and Sq ft per visitor (comfort).
Review Comfortable capacity and Hourly throughput.
Use Fire code maximum and Avg. dwell time (min) to inform your decision.

How the result changes with Gallery area (sq ft)

Gallery area (sq ft): Total gallery floor area.
Number of artworks: Total artworks or objects on display in the gallery.
Avg. viewing time per artwork (sec): Average time a visitor spends at each artwork (casual: 15-30s, engaged: 60-120s).
Open hours per day: Gallery operating hours per day.
Sq ft per visitor (comfort): Desired square feet per visitor for a comfortable experience (museum best practice: 30-50 sq ft).

Comfortable capacity: Maximum visitors for a quality viewing experience.
Fire code maximum: Maximum occupancy per NFPA 101 (1 person per 15 sq ft).
Avg. dwell time (min): Estimated time for one visitor to see all artworks.
Hourly throughput: Maximum visitors per hour at comfortable capacity.
Daily capacity: Maximum visitors per day based on hourly throughput.
Timed entry interval (min): Recommended minutes between timed-entry groups.
Recommended group size: Suggested timed-entry group size (75% of comfortable capacity).
Max artworks on walls: Estimated wall capacity at 5-ft center-to-center spacing.
Sq ft per artwork: Floor area allocated per artwork.
Comfort / fire code ratio: Comfortable capacity as a fraction of fire code max (lower = more comfortable).

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Gallery area (sq ft) = 2000, Number of artworks = 40, Avg. viewing time per artwork (sec) = 30, Open hours per day = 8 = 5 input(s) provided
Calculate Comfortable capacity
Comfortable capacity
50 = 50
Calculate Hourly throughput
Hourly throughput
112 = 112
Calculate Fire code maximum
Fire code maximum
133 = 133
Calculate Avg. dwell time
Avg. dwell time = totalViewingTimeMin + transitionTimeMin
26.7 = 26.7