Interesting proposal by your architect. Where are the cold air returns
placed in this scheme? As a designer, it would raise the following flags
for me:

a) if the gallery is anything larger than a shoebox, there will be a
substantial airflow pumping out and up from these floor vents to maintain
temp. and RH. Given that most visitors in my experience tend to stand from
2-5 feet from most works of art (depending on the scale of the work, and
they tend to move forward and back to examine works they are really
interested in), this duct will be right in the middle of the "comfort zone"
for viewing, potentially pumping either cold or hot air up their
skirts/shorts-- quite literally. Not an enjoyable experience for anyone.

b) as you mention, these may act as a visual barrier of a sorts. Do you
really want/need this barrier, which subconsciously implies to the visitor
that they should not get too close to a work they may want to get right up
and examine? On the flip side, these vents aren't really a true barrier- if
your works do indeed need protection, then a rail, rope, or plinth would
all be better solutions.

c) perhaps of most concern to me as a designer would be the limitations
these vents would put on future displays. You could not, for example, place
a pedestal/vitrine over these vents without first sealing them off both
under and near the pedestal. Under so that dirty air isn't being pumped up
into a display case, and around so you don't end up with "smoke marks" (as
they are called), the dark lines around vents from dirty airflow. They also
impose a visual rigor on the galleries that will impact what styles of
designs one can do in the future,  as well as make any future changes in
gallery layout (temporary walls, new carpeting or flooring, etc.) both
difficult and potentially expensive.

d) I'm not an HVAC engineer, but there must be some reason that 99% of new
construction for the past 50 years put the vents near the ceiling and the
returns on the floor. I'd get an opinion from an HVAC professional on the
potential inefficiencies of the architects proposal.

In general, we try and follow the rule that with built-in systems we place
all hardware in the location that will have the least future impact on what
we can do in a gallery.

Regards

Dennis Kois
Design Department
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
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