Description:
The museum's brick exterior wall is crumbling. The powder coated metal storage shelves have active rust under the foam padding. Objects in fur storage are covered in mold. It is raining in the exhibit hall. This is the damage that occurs to museum buildings or collection when staff do not understand preservation environments. Preservation Environments is essential knowledge for any collecting institution. Everyone should understand how humidity and temperature are controlled by a building and its mechanical system. For museum staff considering a new building - and any institution planning to expand or rebuild an existing one - Preservation Environments provide important information for calculating whether the proposed improvements will actually improve the environmental control of your protective enclosure. Participants learn the advantages and disadvantages of numerous methods of temperature and humidity control. Preservation Environments does not try to turn museum professionals into engineers. Rather, it arms them with the knowledge they need to work with engineers and maintenance professionals. And helps explain why damaged occurred and how to keep it from happening again.
Course Outline:
1 Introduction
2 Climate Control Basics
3 Monitoring and Psychrometrics
4 Water - The Enemy
5 Preservation Today and Tomorrow
6 Conclusion
Ernest A. Conrad's greatest contribution to the
preservation field was the development of environmental
guidelines for engineers who work on museums, libraries
and archives. For over 20 years, Mr. Conrad has focused on
environmental issues. He is president of Conrad Engineers
and Past Founder of Landmark Facilities Group, Inc., an
engineering firm specializing in environmental systems for
museums, libraries, archives and historic facilities. A
licensed mechanical engineer in several states, Mr. Conrad
holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and a
master's in environmental engineering from Drexel
University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For more
information visit his web site Landmark Facilities Group,
Inc.
The American Society of
Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers,
Inc. (ASHRAE) publishes standards in the areas of HVAC and
refrigeration. Mr. Conrad recently co-authored the ASHRAE
Applications Handbook "Chapter 20: Museums, Libraries and
Archives." For the first time, there are guidelines
specific to our needs in the engineering literature. Mr.
Conrad has studied environments and designed special
climate control systems throughout the United States for
clients as well-known as the National Gallery of Art,
Library of Congress, The Frick Collection, Getty
Conservation Institute, The Pierpont Morgan Library,
National Trust for Historic Preservation, and National
Park Service. He has a special interest in house museums
and how climate affects structures and collections housed
within those structures.
MS211:
Preservation Environments (5 weeks)
July 7- August 8, 2014
www.collectioncare.org/www.museumclasses.org
-- Helen Alten Northern States Conservation Center www.collectioncare.org www.museumclasses.org