DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

Monitoring Object and Visitor Environments (MOVE)

Project disclaimer

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Description

Museums are repositories for our cultural heritage and are responsible for the care of precious collections for the benefit of present and future generations. Key to this stewardship role is the management of indoor conditions to prevent deterioration of vulnerable objects. Preventive control measures are required to keep the indoor climate within conservation limits by maintaining environmental conditions within certain parameters and by minimising environmental fluctuations. Visitors and staff also demand excellent thermal comfort, access to natural light and good air quality to enable them to access these collections. Conflicting environmental requirements often require a degree of compromise, and managing these environmental demands will become ever more challenging for museums as the impact of climate change leads to more frequent extreme weather conditions. Where environmental control and management systems in museums fail to respond to adverse and unstable climatic conditions vulnerable artefacts will inevitably deteriorate, and the need to accurately monitor microclimatic variations over time is fundamental to good museum practice. The safe preservation of cultural heritage is an essential mission of Egyptian museums where some of the world's most ancient and valuable artefacts are conserved (Ingo et al, 2015). The lack of environmental control programmes in the region is generally attributed to resource limitations and skills shortages, which often result in compromised indoor environmental quality leading to the accelerated deterioration of vulnerable objects. These risks can be mitigated with adequate knowledge of the indoor environmental parameters required for collections care and with robust and accurate monitoring programmes. New user-friendly methods of monitoring using cutting-edge technology are needed if Egyptian museums are to take action in response to changing external conditions and reduce the threat of damage to artefacts from extreme weather patterns. Our research project proposes to develop a visual live environmental dashboard of digital data that is aimed at assisting museum curators in achieving stable and controlled indoor conditions to address seasonal variations and unpredictable weather patterns. The project will contribute a new application for the use of real-time environmental data as a means of supporting actions to reduce risks to artefacts and improve comfort in visitor areas. A key principle of the digital platform will be its ease of use. One case study museum in Salford, UK and two in Cairo, Egypt, will provide the basis for prototyping the dashboard. Internal environmental parameters recorded at each site will be used to assess the performance of the case studies against relevant conservation requirements, comfort standards and energy benchmarks, and to develop a user-friendly prototype sensor management live dashboard that can be replicated in other museums across Egypt. The proposed dashboard will provide accurate measurements of a range of criteria including exposure and illumination in natural and artificial light, pollution levels (CO2 and dust particles), relative humidity, solar ultraviolet radiation, internal operative and air temperature, external temperature, and energy use figures. In-situ detailed live monitoring of this environmental data will inform decision-makers and staff on curation, exhibition design and safe storage environments while optimising consumption of resources.

Objectives

The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with developing countries across the world to promote the economic development and social welfare of the partner countries.

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Location

The country, countries or regions that benefit from this Programme.

Egypt

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