“Shhh” when you’re visiting the Louvre, silence is golden.
New acoustic challenges are increasingly emerging within the cultural heritage sector. Vibration generated by construction sites, refurbishments, or extension works can have a considerable impact on both the buildings and the objects they contain. Heavy machinery, excavation works, and major construction adjacent to sensitive cultural sites present risks to both the building fabric and collections. Excessive vibration in the structure may contribute to cracking, either through high peak velocity or response of individual building elements amplified by resonance at certain frequencies. Depending on their construction, condition and support, vibration can lead to movement of unsecured objects or contribute to mechanical stress in fragile materials such as ceramics and glass.
The institutions exhibiting these types of works are therefore asking themselves: how can these critical refurbishments, extensions or infrastructure works be carried out without closing doors to the general public while adequately protecting both the building and its irreplaceable contents? A common starting point is monitoring vibration against recognised standards like DIN 4150-3 aimed at evaluating and limiting vibration to prevent building damage, including historic buildings. However, for complex museum collections with thousands of different objects, compliance with generic standards alone can be insufficient. Collaborating with acoustics and vibration experts is essential to establish project-specific thresholds and specify control measures to reduce the risk of damage to sensitive objects and artwork. Analytical research, combined with specialist expertise, provides a robust strategy for long-term protection of heritage assets.
The increasing significance of acousticians for the protection of our cultural heritage
Reliable data collection is fundamental to effective analysis and monitoring. Appropriate instrumentation, installed and maintained correctly, is required to provide accurate and continuous measurements throughout the monitoring period. Preliminary studies, ranging from vibration transfer investigations, acoustic assessments to in-situ measurements, inform predictive models and allow us to establish appropriate criteria. However, monitoring equipment alone cannot provide effective protection. Without the expertise to select the correct parameters, interpret the results, raw data cannot protect an artwork. Sensors record vibration, but only experienced consultants can understand their significance, identify developing risks and translate the data into practical solutions to prevent damage before it occurs.
A critical part of this protection is real-time warning and action thresholds, with defined response procedures. Triggers and pre-triggers can notify the appropriate stakeholders instantaneously allowing works to be reviewed, modified or stopped where required.
Ultimately, data acquisition is merely the starting point: expert interpretation combined with reliable monitoring is key to safeguarding irreplaceable heritage assets.
20 Years of Trust
“We have been working with Acoem 01dB for nearly 20 years. Their multi-channel and remote vibration monitoring systems have been a backbone of our data collection, analysis and monitoring across numerous projects in museums, galleries and heritage buildings.
We particularly value the flexibility and reliability of Acoem’s systems, which give us the freedom to carry out advanced surveys, develop bespoke vibration monitoring criteria and adapt our monitoring strategies to the specific risks presented by each site and collection. This is especially important when working with vulnerable collections, which often comprise objects of unique construction and varying condition.
Acoem’s monitoring systems provide the high-quality, reliable data that underpins our specialist consultancy. By combining this capability with our understanding of building response, sensitive collections and project-specific risks, we can establish appropriate criteria, interpret monitoring results in context and provide practical advice throughout the works.
This combination of robust instrumentation and experienced consultancy allows monitoring to become an active risk-management tool, helping clients protect irreplaceable buildings, artworks and collections with confidence.”
Tom Galikowski, Bickerdike Allen Partner LLP
