Collections and Archives Storage Improvements Planning Project

FAIN: PF-50371-13

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (Philadelphia, PA 19102-1424)
Harry Philbrick (Project Director: December 2012 to January 2015)

A planning grant to assess the environmental conditions for a collection of 12,000 works of American art spanning more than 250 years.

In preparation for a planned major renovation of its 1876 Furness-Hewitt Historic Landmark Building, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) requests a $40,000 SCHC planning grant for a Collections and Archives Storage Improvements Planning Project to conduct a study of environmental conditions and potential for improvements through passive design in its current collections storage space and in two spaces identified for possible storage expansion or relocation. The grant will support study of conditions and the work of an interdisciplinary team of consultants, led by Michael C. Henry, PE, AIA (Watson & Henry Associates Preservation Architects & Engineers), who will build on internal expertise to guide PAFA through this process. The consultants will prepare a Collections Storage and Archives Improvements Plan final report describing the suitability, sustainability, and potential for improvements in the current and prospective storage areas identified by PAFA.