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In June, 2009 the
Museum of Northern Arizona dedicated its new Easton Collection Center,
named in honor of the facility’s donors, Betsy and Harry Easton of
Flagstaff and Sedona. This 17,000 square foot building symbolically
represents the importance of
collections to MNA’s mission by its construction in the heart of
the Museum’s historic Harold S. Colton Research Center, in MNA’s 8th
decade. The Collection Center is designed to hold a significant
portion of MNA’s collections within its solid walls and provide a
stable and secure environment for collections, with optimal ranges of
temperature and humidity; a fire suppression system; protection from
insect damage; and a high degree of security.
The building was designed by a team
led by James Roberts, senior principle architect at Roberts׀Jones
Associates, Inc. of Phoenix, an award-winning architectural firm that
specializes in sustainable design and the sensitive integration of
buildings with their natural and man-made environment. Also advising
on the building design was Richard Cronenberger, an architect for the
National Park Service who specializes in designing collections
facilities, and collections conservation consultant Matt Crawford.
The development of a new collections
facility has been one of MNA’s top priorities for many years and was
listed as one of MNA’s highest institutional goals in the 2006
Institutional Plan. Over the past two decades various conservation
consultants who have worked with MNA on collections care have
consistently pointed out the need for new collections facilities.
Museum Director Robert Breunig
states, “The construction of the Easton Collection Center is one of
the most exciting—and significant―events in MNA’s history. MNA has
needed this building for over 30 years to house its comprehensive
collection of natural and cultural history of the Colorado Plateau.
Since the late 80s, collections consultants have been advising us of
the pressing need to improve our level of care. With this new
facility, MNA will be able to fulfill its stewardship responsibilities
to the public to take the best care possible of MNA, Federal, and
tribal collections.
Breunig continues, “We believe that
the building is a model for collections facilities and will provide an
ideal environment for the Museum’s collections for generations to
come. Funded by a private gift, the Collection Center represents one
of the most significant building projects in MNA’s history and
underscores the long-term commitment of MNA to its incomparable
collections.”
“The design of the Collection Center
has been a very enlightening and challenging process for our entire
team,” adds architect Jim Roberts. “Our goal from the beginning has
been to create a core facility for the Museum that embodies the spirit
of the MNA mission, ‘to inspire a sense of love and responsibility for
the Colorado Plateau.’”
The building has been carefully
designed, taking into consideration how collections “flow” through a
building from initial acquisition, through the cataloguing process,
and on to the various stages of collections care and storage. The
design optimizes access to these important cultural resources by
researchers, and by the public through regular public tours. The
building will accommodates those collections that are most at risk of
damage due to improper storage environment including the Museum’s
sensitive anthropological (archaeological and ethnographic),
biological, fine art, and archival collections. Collections will be
stored in new cabinets that glide on tracks embedded in the floor,
creating a storage system that makes efficient use of space.
The new building will be “green.” It
has been registered through the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED
(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification program
and will embody the best principles of environmentally sustainable
design. It has been designed to maximize energy efficiency, minimizing
the use of fossil fuels. The high thermal mass of the building will
efficiently provide stable environmental conditions for collections.
More information on the LEED program is at
www.usgbc.org.
In 2007 the MNA Collections
Department received two major federal grants totaling $825,000 to
support the acquisition of new storage cabinetry for the Collection
Center. These grants, from the federal Save America’s Treasures
program and from the National Endowment for the Humanities, will
provide new museum grade cabinets for the long-term care of MNA’s
anthropological collections.
The office area for the collections
staff is located on the south facing side of the building to maximize
access to natural daylight and solar gain in the winter months.
Careful selection of materials for minimal environmental impact
eliminates off-gassing substances harmful to people and collections.
The new MNA Collection Center will provide not only an ideal
environment for collections, but also for the collections staff.
The building design also emphasizes
connections to the region’s American Indian community. Following
recommendations from an American Indian Advisory Committee, the
building has a number of symbolic and functional elements designed to
make the Native community feel at home in the structure. The building
entrance faces to the east and the building lobby captures dramatic
views of the San Francisco Peaks. A glazed solar aperture next to the
main entry door casts rays from the rising sun onto the structure’s
inner door on the vernal and autumnal equinoxes and marks the path
between the summer and winter solstices on the inner wall of the
building’s vestibule. The front facade of the building forms in a
gentle curve composed of native basalt rock. The exterior landscape
design consists of plants native to this region.
Perhaps one of the structure’s most
innovative features is an extensive living roof, planted with native
grasses and wildflowers, and designed to provide a high degree of
insulation for the structure and to slow run-off from the building
onto the surrounding landscape. The primary consultant on the living
roof design is Paul Kephart of Rana Creek Living Architecture, a firm
specializing in green roof design and ecological restoration projects.
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