Museums: A Beautiful Challenge

Museums are certainly in the top ten most challenging space types for an A/E team. I, honestly, cannot imagine how difficult the artistic and lighting elements are to design. Mechanically, most of these spaces have tight and sometimes challenging thermal requirements. Temperature will be tightly regulated and likely cooler than most space types. Humidity will be controlled; the limits and variation will be much tighter than most occupied spaces. Thermal comfort is second to art preservation. These special spaces are simply that, special. They are not most space types and must be treated as such.

The architect has responsibilities that I'll never fully comprehend but as a mechanical engineer, we can make sure they remember that this special space requires specific consideration of the envelope attributes. Condensation as well as air and moisture ingress are major concerns. Performing a condensation analysis to help the architectural team determine the appropriate glass performance is a good place to start. Often historic buildings with their amazing brick facade's are transformed into museum's but hanging art directly on these walls may allow condensation to form. Here is a great primer on condensation and temperature considerations: Design guidelines for museums, archives, and art storage facilities

We are not done with the envelope yet. Air movement into and out of the building is often overlooked. Vestibules are a good idea to limit infiltration but may be a hard sell in a historic building that doesn't already have one; and many buildings in California where MTN calls home, don't have them. Let's not let all that conditioned air out of the building and let's ensure that dust from the outside doesn't get in. Mechanically we can help by maintaining positive pressure but in an old leaky building that could be difficult, we need that vestibule. Another common element that can be overlooked in the southwest is vapor barriers (retarders). We are dry and warm, there may not be one installed in our existing older building stock; however, your new museum or existing building conversion will need one. The architect has a million things in a museum project to worry about, let's make sure we are doing what we can to alleviate those concerns.

The mechanical engineer has a lot to keep an eye on. For the ME to even start, they will need to know what the Owner will want the art to be controlled to. If temperature is to be kept below 70F, some (most) regions of the US will need special consideration. At lower temperature and humidity setpoints, conventional direct expansion (Dx) systems may not work. A chiller might work if the temperature and humidity requirements are high enough. The archives area may have even lower temperature and humidity requirements, if so, conventional HVAC systems are a non-starter.

The electrical engineer is not likely to be responsible for lighting of a museum. A lighting designer is more likely to take on this special space. That being said, the electrical engineer needs to be aware of other issues like backup power. If the museum is going to host art installations with temperature and humidity requirements, those contracts may require a continuous thermal environment. Power failures may not be an acceptable outcome for some museums, others it might. Let us be sure to ask the question.

You may think the plumbing engineer doesn't have the same challenges others in the design team have and that may be partially true. However, plumbing eventually leaks. So then how do we route piping to minimize the risk? It ideally isn't over the art, nor can it be over the other areas we need to avoid like electrical rooms. It is just another special element that should be considered. Can we provide secondary containment in critical areas if some piping cannot be moved? It is at least worth considering.

What about our construction team? Can we hire anyone to build this project? Believing so is a recipe for disaster. A general contractor with a proven museum track record who can build a team of specialists will dramatically increase the likelihood of success. The trades involved in the envelope, mechanical systems and lighting are critical to this system functioning.

How could we leave the owner for the end? They are the only reason all the above team members are even working on this museum. The owner has a lot to be concerned with as well. Not only do they need all the folks above and many others do their jobs, but they have to 'own' this building for many years to come. This poses so many questions. Will the facility maintain temperature and humidity 24/7/365? If so, what will their operational costs look like? Does their existing maintenance team have the capacity and skills to maintain the system? Many of the museum projects I have been a part of are owned by municipalities with non-profit involvement. Is the city ready for a 5-10x increase in the utility bills of this historic building? They will need to be. How about the increase in maintenance? It is likely to take a skilled technician at least 25-50% of their work week to maintain this building. Depending on the size of the museum, it could require much more. Is that in the budget?

Commissioning people love to talk about the Owner's Project Requirements (OPR), but this is one of the project types where they are worth their weight in gold. If you are an owner or an architect embarking on a museum project, let us know how we can help you ask the right questions early on to ensure your project is a success, throughout design, construction and, most importantly, operation.