Museums, galleries or other cultural venues are often considered providers of public goods. When we talk about climate change, sustainability and other issues, the role of these units is often ignored, and these venues are even exempted from the supervision of related issues. Yet museums can be among the most carbon-intensive buildings in a city.
How to say it? Because the museum is able to properly preserve its collections by strictly controlling temperature and humidity, it has fallen into an air-conditioned "doom loop"[1]. In the process, more energy is used and more carbon dioxide is emitted, which in turn leads to climate change and extreme temperatures. When faced with drastic changes in temperature, more energy is needed to maintain and control the indoor environment, creating a vicious cycle. In addition, environmentally harmful chemicals are also used during the restoration of cultural relics, artworks, etc., further causing environmental damage.
Most museums have strict temperature and humidity controls, so how to reduce carbon emissions has become a big challenge.
Find the sustainable operation mode of the venue with the help of "digital twin", the experience of the Charles H. Wright Museum in the United States
Ten years ago, Leslie Tom visited the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit and found that resources for sustainable development were quite scarce. In 2015, when he became the chief sustainability officer (CSO) of the museum, relying on his background in architecture and design, he discovered that due to a fire in the architect's office, the museum lost the project blueprints at that time. In 2019, a sum of funds was obtained in order to build a "smart museum", which also allowed Tom to see the opportunity for the museum to become sustainable. Using modern tools, digital mapping of the 125,000-square-foot space was carried out, and the building was 3D laser scanned. The data was then input into a digital building information model, and finally on Autodesk's Tandem digital twin platform. Build a virtual digital museum.
Sensors installed around the building provide real-time data at any time, allowing Tom and his museum partners to more effectively integrate environmental sustainability into their process design. For example, digital models are used to estimate the flow of people in the museum and further develop the air-conditioning operation mode to achieve energy saving. Although in the early stages of system construction, there will indeed be additional energy requirements due to running servers and other things. However, being able to use digital technology to obtain comprehensive data on buildings, spaces, etc., and deal with contemporary sustainability issues digitally, for the work team, the additional cost investment at this stage is well worth it.
Are collectibles resilient? Preservation strategies that challenge orthodox methods
In Europe, some museums have adopted the method of "expanding the fluctuation range of temperature and humidity in the building" to reduce energy consumption in the simplest way. For example, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain expanded the temperature tolerance from ±2˚C to ±5˚C, reducing energy bills by 20,000 euros per month; now, it is trying to readjust the system to allow ±10˚ C fluctuation.
However, this approach challenges the traditional working methods of protecting collections. In the Guggenheim Museum’s experience, some institutions are hesitant about lending works to the Guggenheim Museum for exhibitions. However, Caitlin Southwick, founder of Ki Culture, a non-profit organization that focuses on cultural and environmental sustainability, said that although this may make the discussion when lending exhibits (such as exhibition period, exhibit preservation, etc.) more lengthy, as more and more people are willing to Experiment, accept, and the Guggenheim’s approach may become the norm in the coming year.
"Museums also have the opportunity to start adapting cultural relics to changing temperatures." Caitlin Southwick mentioned that although more sensitive collections still need to be preserved under very precise temperature and humidity conditions, other materials have the opportunity to adapt to environmental changes. Take wood as an example. If it is stored in a humid and warm environment, it will expand; if it is placed in a dry environment, the wood may crack. However, if the humidity is gradually increased or decreased, the wood will have time to adapt without being damaged. This approach has been proven through the process of loaning exhibitions to museums and institutions under different environmental conditions. This may also be one of the ways for museums to respond to the impact of climate change on cultural relics in the future.
Use "museums" to exert influence and make the public pay attention to environmental issues together
According to Elizabeth Merritt, director of the Center for the Future of Museums at The American Alliance of Museums, one-third of museums in the United States are located within 100 kilometers of the coast, and one-quarter of museums are located in areas vulnerable to rising sea levels and storms. , extreme climate is an issue that cannot be ignored by the American museum community.
Leslie Tom mentioned that in the face of climate change, the Charles H. Wright Museum is thinking about their positioning: when black people and people of color in the United States are greatly affected by climate change, can the Charles H. Wright Museum be a place for racial justice, A leader for sustainability, climate justice?
"Museums are one of the most trustworthy sources of information in the United States." Merritt said that in the eyes of the general public in the United States, the trust in information delivered by museums is second only to family and friends. Therefore, they can use this power to communicate to the masses what is happening in the world and the actions they can take together.
She believes that re-examining air-conditioning policies and measures is only part of the museum’s social responsibility. It can also provide the community with necessary summer refuge through climate-focused exhibitions or public cooling centers. “Imagine every museum has How much impact can an exhibition about climate have?" Caitlin Southwick also believes that museums have an extraordinary impact on the public.
annotation
[1] The doom loop is also translated as the "doom loop" and comes from "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't" published in 2001 by Jim Collins, a contemporary business management guru. In economics, it is used to describe a negative cycle process in which one negative economic condition leads to the emergence of a second negative condition, which in turn creates a third negative condition, or intensifies the original first negative condition, causing the overall The situation worsened; the term was later used broadly to describe a "vicious cycle".
※ This article is reprinted with permission from "Social Enterprise Stream", the original title is "The Intersection of Cultural Preservation and Environmental Sustainability, Museum Responsibilities and Challenges under Climate Change". CC co-creation licensing terms do not apply.
References:
*Grist (March 27, 2024), As climate change threatens cultural treasures, museums get creative to conserve both energy and artifacts
*Investopedia (April 10, 2024), Doom Loop: Definition, Causes, and Examples
Source:
Environmental Information Center
