AIC 53rd Annual Meeting

“Understanding the Problem and Defining the Goal: Environmental Assessments in Historic Buildings and Collections in the NPS, Region 1”

 

Historically within Region 1 in the NPS, environmental problems within historic house museums were dealt with by either complete replacement of their HVAC systems or by the installation of new, sometimes invasive systems that could fix the perceived problem.   However, this problem was often not fully identified, or not well defined from what was originally perceived as the initial issue such as a mold outbreak, high or low humidity, or too high or low temperatures.  Additionally, the condition of the collections was not examined for evidence of environmental damage.  Now, the Historic Architecture, Conservation, and Engineering Center (HACE) in Region 1, has developed Environmental Assessments that, often with the assistance of contracted professionals, assess the historic building envelope, collect environmental data, and examine the condition of the collections contained therein, to determine any problems and to define the goal of the interior environment before a solution is implemented.

Too often, condition problems in historic house museums are viewed as solvable by the implementation of controlled HVAC systems.  Mold outbreaks or uncomfortable summer or winter conditions are the impetus for system upgrades.  However, without examining the current condition of the buildings and exhibited collections in greater detail, as well as the behavior of the building to the ever-changing exterior environment, we cannot know how to effectively solve any system problem.  These Assessments use targeted systems-wide evaluations of the building envelope and building systems to fully understand the current environment.  Evaluations such as envelope condition assessments, differential pressure testing, scoping of ductwork and chimneys, thermal imaging, pollution monitoring, temperature and humidity data analysis, moisture monitoring, and other data collection that might inform decisions and shed light on observed conditions.  

The objective of these assessments is to propose what environmental parameters can reasonably be maintained in the Region’s uninsulated historic exhibition buildings. This can be achieved by thoroughly understanding the building design, and the current quality of environment the building has been able to achieve.  This approach has been taken with numerous historic buildings in Region 1 of the National Park Service over the past five years, such as Lindenwald, the home of Martin Van Burren; the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park, New York; and the Rockefeller Mansion in Woodstock, Vermont.   The projects are supplied with specific funding for the purpose of determining the best possible outcome of system replacement for these historic buildings.  Smaller condition assessments of collections have also been implemented as requirements for changes or upgrades to building systems of any kind to ensure that the interests of the collections and building fabric are considered during system design.  It is the hope of the author that these Environmental Assessments be viewed as baseline documents for any historic building, just as Historic Structure Reports (HSRs), Historic Property Project Documentation (HPPD), or Historic Furnishing Plans (HFPs).