CCI Newsletter, No. 35, June 2005

CCI Advisory Services for Facilities Upgrading: "Hi, I'm from Ottawa and I'm Here to Help You"

by Siegfried Rempel, Senior Advisor of Collections Preservation, CCI

It is a common scenario… a museum or art gallery finds itself with a collection that has outgrown the available space, but insufficient funding to build a new facility or additional storage areas. The solution to this dilemma usually lies in making better use of the existing space — finding ways to improve or increase collection storage density without placing collections at risk. As CCI's senior advisor of collections preservation, I visit many clients to facilitate building upgrade projects. One example is the recently completed renovation of the Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG), a multi-year project that included upgrading the collection storage space that had been in use for more than 30 years. As a result of this upgrade, WAG's original space can now provide the gallery with another 10–15 years of growth capacity.

WAG is Canada's oldest public art gallery. Its existing building (see Figure 1), a triangular-shaped structure designed by Gustavo da Roza, opened in 1971. Purpose-built as an art gallery, the facility has always included a collection storage area in the basement. Over the years this area was modified and expanded to accommodate the growing collection, but eventually it became inadequate.

The collection storage area had a number of problems. The ceiling height varied according to the function of the floor above (it was particularly low in the area directly under the auditorium), and there was no fire suppression system.¹ As shown in Figure 2, it was a crowded space in which numerous adaptations had been made to provide collection storage. Rolled artifacts were either hanging off chains in the ceiling cavity or racked on a portion of the ceiling drop down from the floor above. Access to artifacts was difficult and handling was a safety issue for both the object and the individual attempting to retrieve it.

Gallery staff knew that the storage area needed to be revamped, and included this project in the larger, multi-year renovation plan. Financing for the building upgrade was obtained through government funding (from the City of Winnipeg, Province of Manitoba, and Government of Canada) as well private-sector fund-raising. The Department of Canadian Heritage provided both direct funding through Cultural Spaces Canada, and advisory support through the Canada Travelling Exhibitions Indemnification Program and the Movable Cultural Property Program, as well as facility advisory services from CCI.

After a series of consultations, it was decided that the capacity of the collection storage area could be expanded through the use of compact shelving and adjustable hanging racks. For increased safety, a fire suppression system would also be added.

Before work could begin, the collections were moved to another location within the gallery. Non-load- bearing walls were then removed to increase the storage density, and new storage equipment based on compact storage and movable racking was installed. Other space upgrades included installing better lighting, painting all surfaces, and sealing the concrete floor. The fire detection system was also upgraded and a fire suppression system installed. This system was based on a relatively new technology, water mist (fog) which provides fire suppression without "wetting down" the collection.

The renovated storage area is shown in Figure 3. Note that artifacts have been grouped by size and storage configurations that reflect collection needs. Smaller artifacts or collections with different environmental requirements have been segregated into their own spaces. Paintings and framed artifacts are hung on racks while boxed and three-dimensional items are shelved in compact shelving units.

This is just one example of the benefits of carefully planned facilities upgrading. As other Canadian museums, art galleries, and archives address their individual needs, CCI is available to assist them too. We also offer a workshop Heritage Facility Planning that examines the planning and development approaches involved in upgrading a heritage facility, and discusses the adaptive reuse of existing facilities to respond to changing collection and programming needs.

1. At the time the building was constructed, most museum professionals avoided the use of fire suppression systems based on water (sprinklers) due to fears that such a system might damage the collection.