casters). Ample diffused, indirect sunlight allows the eye to perceive color, texture, and variation much better than any other source. Skylights should face north in the northern hemisphere( south in the southern) and be raked at an angle that eliminates direct sunbeams. Paper conservators sometimes also request windows facing east or west, because raking light reveals paper texture optimally. All fenestration in laboratories should be provided with blinds, shades, or louvers, allowing staff to modulate light levels easily. Proposed glazing units should be tested to ensure they adequately filter out ultraviolet radiation and are not tinted.
THE DESIGN PROCESS & PITFALLS
Museum leadership and architects should agree to an interactive, iterative process where conservators’ voices are respected by the design team. Regardless of how clear the brief may be, or how well-intentioned the architect is, no design team can entirely understand clients’ needs and expectations without engaging them in ongoing dialogue. The architect and mechanical engineer should meet regularly with conservators to present design iterations and confirm accommodation of all requirements.
BEST PRACTICE SUMMARY
EARLY INTEGRATION
• INTEGRATE technical requirements into the overall museum design process from the start
• ADDRESS location, fenestration, mechanical systems, and spatial organization during preliminary planning
• AVOID deferring critical decisions to later design phases
COLLABORATIVE APPROACH
• ENGAGE conservators early and maintain ongoing dialogue throughout the project
• DEVELOP comprehensive project briefs with conservator input
LONG-TERM BENEFITS
• PREVENT costly retrofits and operational compromise
• ENHANCE capacity to attract collections, secure funding, and fulfill preservation mission
• WELL-DESIGNED laboratories serve as strategic assets throughout the museum’ s operational life
ROOF FANS A significant challenge involves the appearance of exhaust fans. Solvent exhaust fans must include a 3-meter-high stack( directing fumes upward), so architects must configure the building and roof either to acknowledge these elements or skillfully camouflage them without hindering their performance. Several museum projects have encountered difficulties because project teams did not address this issue during early planning, when a suitable roof configuration would have been straightforward to devise.
ENERGY A mechanical system’ s energy consumption is a function of three factors: how much outside air is introduced, temperature and relative humidity setpoints, and overall system efficiency. Since conservation laboratories occasionally have large demands for exhaust air and relatively strict climate control setpoints, they can consume substantial energy unless the system is designed for efficiency. Unlike biology laboratories, conservation laboratories do not need high air-change rates except during solvent exhaust. Engineers should be cautioned against overdesigning or overcomplicating the mechanical system.
In an era of increased focus on collection care and institutional sustainability, the conservation laboratory represents both a technical requirement and a strategic asset that demands careful, informed planning from the project’ s inception.
Samuel Anderson is principal of Samuel Anderson Architects, a New York based architecture firm specializing in institutional art, library, and archive projects. He can be reached at sam @ samuelanderson. com
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