Planning the Improvement of Environmental Conditions for the Brick Store Museum Collection

FAIN: PF-260713-18

Brick Store Museum (Kennebunk, ME 04043-0177)
Cynthia Walker (Project Director: November 2017 to December 2024)

The development of a plan to improve environmental conditions in the Brick Store Museum’s Kimball House, which houses a significant collection of textiles and historic objects related to the history of shipbuilding and tourism in Maine.

The requested Planning Grant will be used to improve environmental conditions in the Kimball House, which is used as a storage facility and program center.  The proposed planning project will investigate three main areas:  improving the envelope of the building, installing an HVAC system, and increasing the museum's storage capacity.   This planning project will support bringing together a team that includes staff, trustees, preservation specialists, architects and engineers who will analyze the characteristics of the building and its envelope, survey the existing mechanical and electrical systems, and evaluate the storage conditions.  The outcome of this investigation will be sustainable preservation strategies that can be applied to vastly improve the environmental conditions inside the building and thereby preserve the collection housed there for future generations. The end result will be an executable plan and schedule that will guide future steps.