AAS OPENS NEW BOOK CONSERVATION LAB SPACE

When the architects asked us about our hopes and vision for the new lab space, my desires were simple: light, space, climate control, and updated equipment of course . . . and maybe a comfy ergonomic chair? Those architects delivered on every account! A perfect combination of functionality and aesthetic, the new conservation studio is a space designed for the modern age. Outfitted with five workstations, state-of-the-art specialized equipment, and a chemical treatments room, it is a streamlined and spacious facility that will accommodate more staff and interns than ever to help process, preserve, and make collection items safe and ready for use.

It was exciting to watch this complex project unfold, from the initial floor plans to its construction to finally moving in. Babette Gehnrich, our Chief Conservator, worked closely with Lis Cena of Sam Anderson Architects to create both a beautiful and functionally efficient space. It was the perfect collaboration, merging art and science–much like conservation!

As part of the renovation, a new climate-control system was installed to ensure the preservation of the Society's extraordinary collections, which date back to the seventeenth century. The expansion also created the opportunity to update new tools and to add new state of the art equipment. Now, we can now perform multiple functions (washing, drying, leather consolidation, making paste and solutions, cutting mats, custom designed enclosures, mold remediation, binding books . . . this list could go on forever) with safety, ease and efficiency. As great as this equipment is, however, the lab's most impressive elements are its space and its light.

Our new conservation studio is filled with gorgeous light. A lofty cathedral skylight crowns the new space with extra height and natural northern light. We have an entire wall of windows next to our work stations, which we can modulate throughout the day as needed with light filtering shades and the latest in LED light technology overhead. I no longer require my humble task light to see what I'm doing. Having this generous and multi spectrum of light is ideal for the exacting conservation work we do, making subtle color matching and paper mending much easier. It's also a joy to be able to look up from my detail-oriented work and connect with what's happening in the outside world, whether that's storm clouds, the summer sun, or the first snowflakes of winter.

To read the complete article, see:
Above Us Only Sky: A Close Look at Light and Space in the AAS Conservation Lab (https://pastispresent.org/2020/good-sources/above-us-only-sky-a-close-look-at-light-and-space-in-the-aas-conservation-lab/)

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web