The roundtable at the library of the Museo de la Naturaleza y el Hombre in Santa Cruz, Tenerife, Spain. Photo: Bart Ankersmit

In April 2007, the Getty Conservation Institute organized the Experts' Roundtable on Sustainable Climate Management Strategies in Tenerife, Spain. The objectives of the roundtable were to exchange knowledge and experiences; to identify areas in need of further study or new research; and to identify opportunities for education and training in this subject.

The Autonomous Organization of Museums and Centers of Tenerife Island Government (Organismo Autónomo de Museos y Centros del Excmo. Cabildo Insular de Tenerife), the GCI's local project partner for testing and implementing an alternative climate control system, hosted the event.

Background
Over the last two decades, management and control of the museum environment have been important topics for the GCI. The Institute's Science department has carried out several projects investigating the economical and sustainable applicability of alternatives to conventional air-conditioning systems to establish and maintain preservation-favorable indoor climates for collections in hot and humid climates. The GCI's education department offered a series of courses in preventive conservation that were designed primarily to aid in the changing and expanding role of conservators. Conservators were (and are) increasingly expected to discuss environmental control with architects and engineers when museums are undergoing renovation, expansion, or the design of new facilities.

	Henk Schellen and Sarah Stanisforth. Photo: Foekje Boersma

Based on the growing need to adapt to global climate change, along with a call for more sustainable strategies, the GCI believed it was time for an interdisciplinary dialogue about the museum environment, specifically the indoor climate. A group of international experts—including architects, engineers, conservators and conservation scientists with an established record in the fields of environmental research, management or control were invited to participate in a two-day discussion on sustainable climate management strategies and alternatives to conventional air-conditioning systems for cultural institutions.

Invited Participants

Roundtable
The invited experts were asked to submit a discussion paper prior to the roundtable to inform one another of the research they have been carrying out, as well as to raise issues at the roundtable. The discussion papers included:

Church Heating: A Balance Between Conservation and Thermal Comfort
Dario Camuffo, Antonio della Valle

Climate Control Systems Design: Twenty-Five Years Later and Climate Change
Ernest A. Conrad

The Heritage Building Envelope As Passive and Active Climate Moderator: Opportunities and Issues in Reducing Dependency on Air Conditioning.
Michael C. Henry

Providing Safe and Practical Environments for Cultural Property in Historic Building—and Beyond
Richard L. Kerschner

Climate-induced Damage of Wood: Numerical Modeling and Direct Tracing
Roman Kozłowski

Investigations of Climate Control Alternatives for Cultural Institutions in Hot and Humid Climates
Shin Maekawa

The Ideal Climate, Risk Management, the ASHRAE Chapter, Proofed Fluctuations, and Towards a Full Risk Analysis Model
Stefan Michalski

Exploring the Limits for Passive Indoor Climate Control
Tim Padfield

An Overview of Experimental and Simulation Work on Indoor Climate and Control in Historic Houses and Monumental Buildings
Henk L. Schellen, Jos (A.)W.M. van Schijndel

From Conservation Heating to Slow Conservation: A Tale of the Appropriate Rather than the Ideal
Sarah Staniforth

Museum Passive Buildings in Warm Humid Climates
Franciza Toledo

Microbial Contamination in Museums and Archives—Health Hazards: Preventive Strategies Using Air Ventilation Systems
Nieves Valentín

Topics addressed during the two-day roundtable included current climate management strategies and emerging trends; the advantages and disadvantages of climate control; the meaning of sustainability in relation to the preservation of cultural heritage; and whether cultural institutions such as museums, archives, and libraries can or should play a role in the debate about energy consumption.

	Visit to the Museo de Antropología in Valle Guerra. Photo: Foekje Boersma

The group agreed on the importance of managing environmental conditions in a responsible manner with respect to cost and energy consumption. Several areas for further research were identified: Collecting data on the cost of control (energy consumption, installation and maintenance costs) by comparing building types with different degrees of control in different climate zones against actual indoor climate conditions could result in an extremely useful overview. This comparison could help decision makers determine the level of control they want and the level they can afford.

Another research topic identified was the validation and fine tuning of computer models increasingly used in the design process of buildings and systems. It was also suggested the field could benefit from additional research on the response of different materials to short-term fluctuations. While a large amount of scientific data and practical experience already exists on this subject, recording proven fluctuations of objects and collections in the field would provided needed data.

	Dario Camuffo and Ernest Conrad. Photo: Foekje Boersma

The group stressed that knowledge and experience in technologies appropriate for museums should be disseminated more widely. The participants felt those involved in environmental management strategies for museums—not only conservators, but architects and engineers who work in this sector—could benefit from continual professional development through education, training, and the dissemination of information.

Last, the group agreed that cultural institutions in their role as stewards for cultural heritage could help educate the general public about sustainability.

The edited roundtable discussion along with the individual discussion papers will be published by the Getty Conservation Institute in 2008. An excerpt of the discussion is currently available (9 pp., PDF format, 180KB).

Last updated: December 2007