In times of energy shortages and rising energy costs, cultural heritage institutions such as museums, archives, libraries and storage facilities are facing enormous additional expenses in their construction and maintenance. In addition, the ever-worsening climate crisis raises the following questions: How can such buildings be operated appropriately? How can existing buildings be further developed? How should potential new buildings of memory institutions be constructed?
The special characteristic of cultural heritage buildings lies in the interaction between objects, buildings, visitors and other users. In the future, a central and fundamental criterium in the planning and realization of construction will be sustainability. Museums and collection facilities must reduce their comparatively high carbon footprint in order to counteract the effects of the global climate crisis as well as to reduce resources. One example is the optimal indoor climate in terms of ventilation, temperature and humidity. By today's standards, rooms are operated with the maximum technology to condition the indoor air. From a conservation point of view, however, this maximum operation would not be necessary at all. This approach is correspondingly harmful to the climate.
In the project, the researchers therefore first analyze the "Sustainable Building" rating system of the German Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Construction. They then examine the extent to which the evaluation system can be transferred to cultural heritage buildings. In the process, the specifications for preventive conservation of archived cultural heritage must be re-evaluated on the basis of holistic risk management.
The basis for this is provided by building-related elements such as digital models (Building Information Modeling - BIM), thermal-dynamic simulations and direct monitoring by sensors on the building. Sensor data can be used, for example, to adapt and optimize models. This will mark the necessary transition from a protocol to a process-driven decision-making culture, which will be incorporated into the "Sustainable Building" evaluation module for Memory Institutions. At the end of the two-year research project, new planning approaches for museums, archives, libraries and storage facilities should be developed.
The scientists from the four research institutions are therefore focusing on the analysis of four core areas, targeted at the "sustainable building" evaluation system:
- Adequate preservation requirements for objects, collections, and buildings
- Appropriate building technology systems
- Recommendation on appropriate sensor technologies and monitoring systems for a building model in terms of a digital twin
- Conception of a memory institution module for the "Sustainable Building" evaluation system
The joint research project "Resource-Optimized Cultural Heritage Buildings (Memory Institutions) - ReKult" is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Construction. The research sponsor is the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (BBSR).
Contact:
Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Christian U. Große
Chair of Non-Destructive Testing