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[[underlined]] Custom House Concept [[/underlined]]

Concept Assumptions

The Custom House is a GSA-operated seven-story building with a basement and sub-basement levels. It has been partially renovated by GSA to receive new tenants. The building exterior appears to be in good condition and new insulated glass windows have been installed. The exterior walls are primarily of heavy stone, clay tile, and plaster-lathe construction. The interior partitioning appears to be clay tile and plaster-lathe. Many of the interior halls are finished with marble, have ornate architectural detailing, and are penetrated with multiple doorways and interior windows. The heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) plant is capable of providing an office environment for building tenants. GSA has refurbished and updated the passenger and freight elevators and installed new fire stairs to meet today's codes. A new shipping and receiving area has been created and the restroom facilities have been completely redone. GSA maintains a control room in the northeast corner of the first floor level.

Most of the unoccupied spaces are in a raw condition, and all finishes will need to be provided. Much of the plaster still remains on the walls and the original marble flooring remains in the hallways. Basic heating and fire protection devices have been installed. Security modifications will be necessary before museum artifacts can be received and displayed.

The basis of this program is that the museum facilities use as much of the first floor level as possible, and use the basement level for areas not needed to be located in the museum's major activity areas. This is illustrated on the concept floor plans that follow these assumptions and the concept program. The first floor is readily accessible from the street level making visitor access, particularly handicapped access, direct and efficient. Restricting the museum to one floor also simplifies museum security and HVAC requirements. Even though the museum system may use a building energy source for HVAC, an independent system is assumed to assure a quality environment, long life, and reliability. Another assumption is that the building electrical system is based on commercial or office needs. Some adjustment will be required to meet the power and lighting needs of a museum.

Exhibition Areas are shown in the central portion of the first floor level. These large open spaces are the most conducive to accommodating a variety of exhibit arrangements. Other Public Facilities Areas and Museum Support Area spaces are located in the perimeter areas and have ready access to the Exhibition Areas. The temporary exhibition areas are placed so that they can be closed for reinstallation without disrupting the permanent exhibition area. It should be noted that the south portion of the oval area in the permanent exhibition area is not now part of the existing building square footage. This area is now open to the basement level courtyard area. This program "recovers" that square footage by decking over the basement area to the existing structure and enclosing the first floor space.

An unfortunate aspect about the exhibition spaces, as well as the entire building, is that no vapor barrier exists. This barrier is necessary to maintain the constant humidity level most artifacts require. With no air-tight barrier, water vapor in the museum environment would condense within the cooler exterior walls and cause extensive damage. Although impractical for the entire floor, some attempt will be made enclose the central exhibition areas within a newly created vapor barrier, that is, the oval area of the permanent and the temporary exhibition areas. This could be achieved by creating false walls which include a barrier at the existing perimeter walls. This wall could also resolve another problem associated with the numerous windows in the exhibition areas. In most cases natural light is not desirable in exhibition situations. It hampers flexibility in the exhibit design and, if not filtered, can be harmful to the collection. The windows, although new and insulated, represent an energy loss or "weak spot" in the building envelope. An extra layer of insulation will be added in the false wall. A vapor barrier also could be included during the installation of the new floor, ceiling, and lighting. Because security devices will be installed at each window, access panels will be required. It is important to note that the barrier must be airtight, and some accommodation to this must be made at the entrance to the exhibition area. Doors may need to be added to contain the exhibition area humidity level.

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