Environmental Management: Building Systems

This content is excerpted from Preventive Conservation: Collection Storage (2019), Elkin and Norris, eds.

Chapter 10: Environmental Management and Related Systems

Michael C. Henry, Watson & Henry Associates, Greenwich, NJ

A successful collection space must provide an environment suitable for the longevity of the collections materials that it contains. The collection environment is a function of several factors including: the exterior climate; the building surrounding the storage space (the building envelope), environmental risks to be reduced, occupancy of the space, and the mechanical systems used to maintain the interior conditions through heating, cooling, dehumidification, humidification, ventilation and filtration. Electrical and plumbing systems are also needed in support of the mechanical system as well as to provide water and electricity for use and occupancy of the space, including housekeeping, collection care, lighting and equipment. A preventive conservation approach to environmental management requires understanding of how these factors are interdependent. This chapter presents a holistic approach for successfully creating, renovating and managing environments for preventive conservation of collections.