Vincent Laudato Beltran, Michael C. Henry, Chandler McCoy, Cecília Winter, Ana Paula Arato Gonçalves, Annelies Cosaert, Seema Gera, Megha Kulkarni, Jenny Youkyoung Kim, 2026 Print on Demand (Lulu.com) Environmental Management at the Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh: Analysis and Strategies presents the results of the field project jointly developed by the Conserving Modern Architecture Initiative and the Managing Collection Environments Initiative, with Michael C. Henry as consultant and in partnership with the Government Museum and Art Gallery. Providing an interior environment conducive to preventive conservation of collections and to human thermal comfort in hot and humid climates, without compromising the architectural integrity of a naturally ventilated building, poses significant challenges. In these situations, there are often competing needs between collection management, user comfort, and architecture conservation that need to be considered. This challenge is currently exacerbated by the increasing frequency of climate extremes as a consequence of climate change. The Government Museum and Art Gallery's building is both an iconic work of modern architecture by Le Corbusier and a vessel to protect and display a significant collection that includes outstanding Gandhara sculptures, Pahari miniature paintings, and modern Indian art. In creating this building, Le Corbusier applied all the design elements that define his work while addressing the local climate. The resulting architectural design used natural ventilation and natural lighting to manage the building's indoor environment, but throughout its history the building required changes to its operation in response to security and conservation needs of the collection, such as the installation of air-conditioning in spaces dedicated to storing or displaying the most sensitive and valuable objects. In addition, the need to improve user comfort raised questions about how this could be done without compromising the cultural significance of the site. As such, the project goal was to propose strategies to manage environmental risks to the collection and improve user comfort while respecting the architectural value of the site. The project was implemented in two parts. The first part collected environmental data over approximately eighteen months from sensors installed in late 2019 throughout the building and inside display cases, including a roof-mounted weather station. The second part involved analysis of environmental data and collection risk assessment to understand how the collection and the people in the building are affected by its internal environment, and to develop proposals for improvements in consultation with museum staff and stakeholders. The environmental management strategies developed for the Government Museum and Art Gallery take into consideration how Le Corbusier conceived the building, its location in a hot and humid climate that poses deterioration risks to some of the most valuable objects in the collection, and the resources currently available to the museum. This methodology could serve as guidance to other professionals facing similar challenges in architecturally significant sites housing equally significant collections in hot and humid climates. | ||||||
