Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh, Environmental Management

The Government Museum and Art Gallery in Chandigarh, India was designed by the Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier and completed in 1968. One of only three museums designed by Le Corbusier—the others are in Ahmedabad and Tokyo—it embodies his concept of the ideal museum. The collection housed in the museum has high cultural value to India, especially for its collection of Gandara stone sculptures and its large collection of miniature paintings.

Le Corbusier planned the entire city of Chandigarh, as the new capital of the Indian state of Punjab and Hariana; the Government Museum and Art Gallery was conceived as a key part of the new city’s cultural core. As a completely new city, Chandigarh is an outstanding example of modern planning and architecture designed by one of the Modern Movement’s leading and most celebrated architects.

Reconciling collection care needs and environmental sustainability with the protection of the architecture’s cultural significance is increasingly recognized as a challenge for modern museums. This project aims to demonstrate appropriate investigative methods and methodologies for collections management and building conservation that respect the building’s heritage status.

• A thorough understanding of the environmental conditions within the museum, focusing on temperature, relative humidity, dewpoint, daylight, and pollutants
• Understanding how the original design performed in providing natural ventilation and daylighting to the building interior, and what could be done to enhance these original features
• Understanding the value of the different parts of the collection, their condition, and what the risks are to the respective components of the collection
• Practical and sustainable environmental improvement strategies that the museum can implement to help conserve the collection and make the building more comfortable for its inhabitants over all seasons
• Ensuring collection management strategies are undertaken in ways that retain the heritage significance of the building

Michael Henry, Watson & Henry Associates

Former team members: Reem Baroody, Annelies Cosaert, Kathy Dardes, Susan Macdonald, Jenny Youkyoung Kim