Creating Greener Museums -- Helpful ideas

Building a new Building Re-using an exisiting Building

Daily Activities

Have the website function as the visitorʼs center - visitorʼs will inform themselves about the museumʼs collection and a new building will not need to be built.

Design multi-functional spaces that can be used for formal parties, classrooms, speakers and lectures, and film screenings, this will keep the footprint small and require space to be used efficiently.

Natural light could function as the only light source for work spaces. But for easier climate control windows should be designed surrounded by walls, entire walls of glazing are inefficient.

The building materials should function as buffers to maintain temperature and humidity levels. Certain materials have a higher thermal mass and function as better buffers. Consider materials like fired or un-fired mud bricks, one of the most effective building materials for buffering temperature and humidity.

Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) provides standards in the United States, Building Research Establishmentʼs Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) is the United Kingdom standard.

Existing buildings are greener than new construction, and can teach us about how people lived before energy was abundant.

HVAC systems are disruptive to the building fabric of historic structures, and may not be necessary if the structure was built to maintain natural ventilation. Consider passive systems or humidistatic controls and smaller air conditioning or heating units when necessary or allowing buildings to freeze in the winter.

It is important to make sure buildings are well-sealed, and well-insulated to place less strain on environmental systems, many types of natural cotton fiber or cellulose insulation are available.

Fluorescent Lightbulbs with UV filters can be a low-energy alternative in historic buildings.

Museums, and museum employees, as stewards of collections and advocates for preservation of collections, can also advocate for the preservation of the environment. They can live and work in ways that use less energy, thus preserving museum collections and the environment.

Employees can be personally diligent about energy use, wearing heavy clothes during the winter so collections can be maintained at cooler temperatures.

Encouraging carpooling amongst co-workers, and living in a walkable distance will use less resources for commuting.

Meetings and conferences can be held over the phone, through online video conferencing, or through online chatting, so employee travel will be minimal.

Recycling can be instated in the workplace

The buying of disposable products can be limited, especially in employee food preparation and for large events, this limits the amount of trash produced.

Museum stores and cafes can use locally sources for products and food.

Poster written by Rose Daly

Objects Conservation Fellow, The Winterthur/University of Delaware

Program in Art Conservation.

Images were taken from Flickr.com commons

Sources for More Information:

Brophey, S. and E. Whiley. 2009. Saving collections and the planet. accessed online November 2, 2009. < http://www.aam-us.org/pubs/mn/savingcollections.cfm>

Brown, J.P., and W.B. Rose. 1996. Humidity and moisture in historic buildings: the origins of building and object conservation. APT Bulletin. 17(3): 12-23

Climate change and preserving cultural heritage in the 21st Century. 2008. 90-minute video of panel discussion. http://www.getty.edu/conservation/publications/videos/public_lecture_videos_audio/climate_change.html

Erhardt, D., C. Tumosa and M.F. Mecklenburg. 2007. Applying Science to the Question of Museum Climate. In Museum Microclimates. T. Padfield and K. Borchensen (eds.). National Museum of Denmark. Also available online at http://www.natmus.dk/graphics/konferencer_mm/microclimates/pdf/erhardt.pdf

From Gray Areas to Green Areas: Developing Sustainable Practices in Preservation Environments Symposium Proceedings. http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/kilgarlin/gaga/proceedings.html