Museums, galleries, and other cultural venues are often considered providers of public goods. When we discuss issues like climate change and sustainability, their role is often overlooked, and even exempted from regulatory oversight. Yet, museums can be among the most carbon-intensive buildings in a city.
How can I put it? Because museums preserve their collections by strictly controlling temperature and humidity, they are trapped in an air conditioning "doom loop"[1]. This process uses more energy and emits more carbon dioxide, which in turn leads to climate change and extreme temperatures. When faced with drastic temperature changes, more energy is needed to maintain and control the indoor environment, creating a vicious cycle. In addition, environmentally harmful chemicals are used in the restoration of cultural relics and artworks, further causing environmental damage.
Most museums have strict temperature and humidity control, so reducing carbon emissions becomes a major challenge.
The Charles H. Wright Museum in the United States uses digital twins to find sustainable operating models for venues.
Ten years ago, Leslie Tom visited the Charles H. Wright National Museum of African American History in Detroit and discovered that resources dedicated to sustainability were scarce. In 2015, upon becoming the museum's Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), Tom, drawing on his background in architecture and design, discovered that the museum had lost its original blueprints due to a fire in the architect's office. In 2019, funding for a "smart museum" initiative opened Tom's eyes to an opportunity to advance sustainability. Using modern tools, Tom digitally mapped the 125,000-square-foot space and performed a 3D laser scan of the building. This data was then integrated into a digital building information model (BIM), ultimately creating a virtual museum on Autodesk's Tandem digital twin platform.
Sensors installed throughout the building provide real-time data, enabling Tom and his colleagues at the museum to more effectively integrate environmental sustainability into their design processes. For example, digital models can be used to estimate visitor flow within the museum and further tailor air conditioning operation patterns to achieve energy savings. While the initial implementation of the system will undoubtedly incur additional energy demands due to server operations and other factors, the ability to use digital technology to obtain comprehensive data on the building and space, and to address contemporary sustainability issues digitally, is now well worth the additional cost for the team.
Are collections resilient? Preservation strategies that challenge orthodoxy
In Europe, some museums are also adopting the simplest approach of reducing energy consumption by expanding the temperature and humidity fluctuation range within their buildings. For example, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain increased its permissible temperature range from ±2°C to ±5°C, reducing its energy bill by €20,000 per month. They are now attempting to recalibrate their systems to allow for fluctuations of ±10°C.
However, this approach challenges traditional methods of preserving collections. In the Guggenheim's experience, some institutions have been hesitant to loan works to the museum for exhibitions. However, Caitlin Southwick, founder of Ki Culture, a nonprofit organization focused on cultural and environmental sustainability, notes that while this may lead to more lengthy discussions regarding loan periods and preservation, as more people embrace this approach, the Guggenheim's approach may become the norm over the coming year.
"Museums also have the opportunity to begin adapting artifacts 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, for example. If it is stored in a moist 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 has time to adapt and will not be damaged. This approach has been verified through the process of mutual loans between museums and institutions under different environmental conditions. It may also be one of the ways that museums will respond to the impact of climate change on artifacts in the future.
Using museums to influence the public and raise awareness of environmental issues
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 are located in areas vulnerable to rising sea levels and storms. Extreme climate is an issue that the American museum community cannot ignore.
Leslie Tom mentioned that in the face of climate change, the Charles H. Wright Museum is thinking about its position: When African Americans and people of color in the United States are greatly affected by climate change, can the Charles H. Wright Museum become a leader in racial justice, sustainability, and climate justice?
"Museums are one of the most trusted sources of information in the United States," Merritt said. In the eyes of the general American public, museums are second only to friends and family in their trust in conveying information. Therefore, museums can leverage this power to communicate what's happening in the world and the actions we can take together.
She believes that reviewing air-conditioning policies is only part of museums' social responsibility. Museums can also provide the community with necessary summer shelters through climate-focused exhibitions or public cooling centers. "Imagine if every museum had an exhibition about climate. How much influence would that have." Caitlin Southwick also believes that museums have extraordinary influence on the public.
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[1] The term doom loop, also known as the “doomsday loop,” comes from Jim Collins’ 2001 book Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t. In economics, it is used to describe a negative cycle, where one negative economic condition leads to a second negative condition, which in turn creates a third negative condition, or exacerbates the first negative condition, making the overall situation worse. Later, the term was used to broadly describe a “vicious cycle.”
This article is reprinted with permission from Social Enterprise Flow. The original title is "The Intersection of Cultural Preservation and Environmental Sustainability: Museum Responsibilities and Challenges in the Face of Climate Change." It is not licensed under the CC license.
References：
*Grist（2024/3/27），As climate change threatens cultural treasures, museums get creative to conserve both energy and artifacts
*Investopedia（2024/4/10），Doom Loop: Definition, Causes, and Examples
Sources:
Environmental Information Center
