Analysis and Optimization of the High Point Museum's Preservation Environment

FAIN: PF-266605-19

City of High Point (High Point, NC 27262-3451)
Corinne Midgett (Project Director: January 2019 to October 2022)

A Planning grant to monitor and analyze the preservation environment in the High Point Museum’s storage and exhibition spaces.  The museum’s collections include 20,000 artifacts, 8,000 archival records, and 15,000 print photographs that document the furniture, transportation, and textile industries of High Point, North Carolina, located in the state’s Piedmont Triad region.

Through this grant, a multi-disciplinary team, including two consultants from the Image Permanence Institute, will monitor and analyze the preservation environment in the High Point Museum’s storage and exhibition spaces. The museum’s environmental systems are aging, complicating maintenance and causing partial failures. After collecting and evaluating environmental data for one year, the project team will be able to optimize the performance of the current systems for preservation and energy savings.

Associated Products

Preservation Consulting Report (Report)
Title: Preservation Consulting Report
Author: Kelly M. Krish
Author: Christopher Cameron
Abstract: In the fall of 2019, the High Point Museum contracted with the Image Permanence Institute (IPI) to support a project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to conduct a mechanical system assessment for the air handling units serving the main collection storage space and the gallery spaces. The purpose of this project was to provide short and long-term recommendations for the improvement of the collection environment that the High Point Museum can reasonably implement. The goals of the project were to analyze the preservation quality of current environmental conditions provided by the mechanical systems and provide short and long-term recommendations to improve preservation and energy-efficient operation, while considering the historic nature of the building envelope. The report summarizes an evaluation based on a site visit performed by IPI Sustainable Preservation Specialist, Christopher Cameron, and Executive Director, Jae Gutierrez, as well as documentation review by Preventive Conservation Specialist, Kelly Krish, and discussions and data analysis with High Point Museum staff over an 18 month period. Findings include recommendations to improve dehumidification, implement seasonal set points, and address possible building envelope issues.
Date: 07/31/2021

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