The Museum of Anthropology
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, B.C.

(Objectives) (Background) (The Architect) (Museum Sequence) (Systems)
(Long Term Measurements) (Conclusion) (References)

Introduction

This case study was conducted by Kate Borgner, Doug Brookbank, Stan Hanson, Stan Jaworowski, and Lisa Ye, students at the University of Washington. The faculty advisor was Marietta Millet. The team was assisted by Barbara Erwine, from the Seattle City Light Lighting Design Lab. The field investigation took place during the winter and spring of 1996.

These totems are representative of artifacts, produced by native people of the Pacific Northwest, that are on display at the Museum of Anthropology

The Museum of Anthropology was selected for study by our group at the University of Washington because of its acclaimed status as an example of a museum built to respond to a particular collection and site. We were also interested in the building because of its extensive use of daylighting, and the perceived level of satisfaction of visitors.

The nature of the physical environment of museums is by definition dialectic: one set of environmental criteria are set to ensure preservation of the objects, while a different set of environmental conditions are considered optimum for human comfort. We therefore determined to study the environmental characteristics of the Museum of Anthropology according to these two different set of criteria:

(1) Performance of the building in terms of lighting, temperature and humidity as they relate to the artifacts in the museum. Are building systems performing withint standards set for these kinds of artifacts?

(2) Performance of the building in terms of lighting, temperature and humidity as they relate to the occupants of the building - visitors and staff. How does the building environment enhance or detract from the experience of the museum?

The Vital Signs Group for this project was organized by our faculty advisor at the University of Washington, Marietta Millet. Lisa Ye and Stan Jaworowski wrote the initial proposal and were joined by three other students at the onset of the project: Kate Borgner, Doug Brookbank, and Stan Hanson. Barbara Erwine, from the Lighting Design Lab in Seattle, worked with the group to more clearly outline research goals and methods.

The project team met for a seminar/work session once a week for the majority of the research period, which extended from January to May of 1996. Trips to Vancouver to set up Onset Hobo data loggers and to retrieve information occurred about once a month. We had an opportunity to interview Arthur Erickson, the architect who designed the museum, during our last group trip. Meeting the designer was a special treat.

Thanks

Special thanks to Arthur Erickson for his generosity in taking the time to meet with us. We would also like to thank David Cunningham, Miriam Clavir, and the rest of the staff at the Museum of Anthropology

A Roadmap for this Report



This report is broken into nine main sections.

On this Home Page we offer some introductory information.

Second, in the Research Objectives section, we discuss what we hoped to learn from the study and describe some of the instruments we used to measure conditions.

Next, we provide some Building Background information. This lists the members of the design team and briefly describes the site, climate and building program.

In the Architect And His Intent section, you'll find a brief description of Arthur Erickson's goals for the design of the museum.

Next, in the Museum Sequence section, we describe the sequence of visual experiences of a museum visitor. Here we include measurements of light levels taken at key points along the route, along with a narrative describing our subjective experience as we walked through the museum.

In the Building Systems section, we describe the glazing and mechanical systems, as well as how these systems attempt to control humidity and light levels inside the museum. We also mention some of the problems that have arisen with building systems over the years.

The Long Term Measurements sections provide a description of our data collection methods plus illuminance, temperature and humidity data over extended periods of time. Here we provide contour maps of illuminance and temperature in different rooms of the museum. We also provide luminance and radiant temperature maps that contrast the museum artifacts on display with their surrounding built environment.

The Conclusions section summarizes what we learned by studying the Museum of Anthropology.

The References section provides a brief list of relevant articles featuring the Museum of Anthropology.

To read this entire document, simply follow the "next" buttons at the bottom of each page. These will take you sequentially through the whole report.

Please read on to find out more about our investigation of the Museum of Anthropology.

Comments to author: vitalsigns@
ced.berkeley.edu

All contents copyright (C) 1998. Vital Signs Project. All rights reserved.

Created: 05/06/97
Revised: 09/09/02

http://www-archfp.ced.berkeley.edu/vitalsigns/workup/museum_anthro/anthro_home.html