Coming soon!!!

This blog is about to undergo a major update, improvement & a name change!
Stay tuned.

Sustainable Exhibition Design Workshop 2010

The second Sustainable Exhibition Design Workshop will be held in Sydney on Wednesday 21 & Thursday 22 April 2010. This follows from the successful inaugural workshop held in Melbourne last year. The workshop will allow museum exhibition and graphic designers to share sustainable design solutions with an emphasis on practical advice and case studies and including a focus on lighting innovations. The workshop will be held at the Historic Houses Trust and the Powerhouse Museum with a dinner hosted by the Australian Museum and a site visit to the Australian National Maritime Museum. The workshop will again coincide with DesignEx (23-24 April) so participants can easily attend this key event during their trip to Sydney.

Green Matrix: Home

This is a pretty neat little tool with a very easy interface, that could be easily adapted as a quick guide and reference for a Museum exhibit checklist. Roll over and click
Green Matrix: Home

Sustainability links | Museums Association

Another nice long list of links (international) to work your way through.
Sustainability links | Museums Association

Gunns resolves - if you can't beat 'em, join 'em

Interesting article in the Age about AFS/FSC timber accreditation & Gunns
Gunns resolves - if you can't beat 'em, join 'em
The Age: Paddy Manning 13-03-2010

Some new reading recommendations

Here's a couple of new links to some documents kindly recommended by Margaret Birtley at Collections Council.

Museums and Sustainability: Guidelines for for policy and practice in museums and galleries.
Museums Australia. 2003
and this one
Towards Sustainability Indicators for Museums in Australia
Eleanor Adams. Collections Council. 2010

LG energy efficient monitor

From the site: LG 1942TE gives you both 50% energy saving and easy/fun experience

W2242TE Monitor Display /global/products/display/monitor/index.jsp

Green Museums Initiative sponsored by CAM

Just found this US site: Green Museums Initiative.
From the site: The Green Museums Initiative Committee has created this new website to inspire and offer practical ideas to help your institution become a "green museum". Whether you are just starting out or are already accomplished in your green practices, join us in the realization of a green and sustainable museum field.
It looks very interesting with content relating to: collections, exhibitions, buildings and operations, education etc.
It also includes The Green Museum Accord. From the site: The Green Museums Accord is a non-legally binding commitment to
sustainable practices: an institution-wide pledge to begin greening your
museum.

Would be great to have an Australian focused version.

Green Museums Initiative sponsored by CAM: "Sponsored by the California Association of Museums"

the_designers_field_guide_to_sustainability_v1.pdf (application/pdf Object)

the_designers_field_guide_to_sustainability_v1.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Ecolect - Discover Sustainable Materials

Ecolect - Discover Sustainable Materials

NYC Sustainable Design - Department of Design and Construction

A range of guidelines in .pdf format from NYC Department of Design and Construction
Sustainable Design - Department of Design and Construction

Design - Marketing and Communications

Here's a link from a colleague regarding considerations for graphic designers
Design - Marketing and Communications

Dust barrier - Core77

Contraption for quickly setting up a dust barrier - Core77
Looks like a great way to minimise risk, when working in public places.
Though it'd be even better if the guy in there had a mask on!!!

LED replacement for fluro battens

My jaw dropped at the price of these replacement LED tubes, however there is a return on investment calculator which allows you to compare LED and standard tube lifecycle costs and indicates some quite surprising results. Worth looking at.
From the site:
EverLED
Green for your pocket and the environment.

The EverLED-TR™ brings to you the many advantages of LED Technology, in the simplest way possible, wrapped into a light tube that is compatible with existing standard fluorescent fixtures.

• No Glass
• No toxic phosphor, mercury, or lead
• Recyclable
• 10 year life (typical)
• Typical power reduction of 30% or more
• No "burn out" failure
• Cold temperature compatible
• Flicker Free
• T8 model works in T10 and T12 applications
• No light wasted on reflector
• Light output comparable to popular, similar sized fluorescent tubes
• No electrical work required for installation
• Compatible with existing:
• Lenses
• Magnetic and electronic ballasts
• Programmed/instant/rapid/trigger start
• Eliminates need for starter can

Australian (Vic) retailer:
Cutter Electronics

OMSI Green Exhibits Guide.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Downloadable checklist and rating scorecard to help set benchmarks
OMSI Green Exhibits Guide.pdf (application/pdf Object)

NAME: National Association for Museum Exhibition - Issues and Online Archives

NAME: National Association for Museum Exhibition - Issues and Online Archives

The California Academy of Sciences Delivers a Sustainable Message With Sustainable Exhibition Design | Designerati | Fast Company

from the site:"For text and images the designers used a direct-to-plywood printing process that saved a step of printing on other substrates or plastic and using excessive adhesives to attach to display panels.
To ensure that the exhibits could be easily updated, the team created a self-contained, modular system that integrates seamlessly with the architecture. Panels and kiosks can be easily removed, and all signage is on easily-replaceable panels, not painted on walls as is common in most museums. All elements were designed to be free-standing and easily moved, each containing its own electrical, lighting, AV and climate control systems. "We found that there were not a lot of choices in the one-off exhibition realm that are super-sustainable" says Heiman. The choice to have a system that didn't create excessive waste helped to make up for the lack of options.
The openness of the exhibits themselves gives visitors opportunities to interact with each other. "You're also engaging with other people," says Brodsley. "You're looking through walls and starting dialogues with people."
"Like every industry they're going have to rethink how they do things," says Heiman. "Our results came from the fact that we don't work in the industry that often, so we came to it with fresh eyes."
The California Academy of Sciences Delivers a Sustainable Message With Sustainable Exhibition Design | Designerati | Fast Company

esute Flip Book

ESute: A traveling exhibit system of 'flip top boxes' from Exhibition Studios in Adelaide that transforms from a travel container/road case to a display plinth. Tough, durable and potentially easily adaptable for other areas. Looks great for outreach programs, touch trolleys etc. Worth a look. Very re usable

www.esute.com.au

Water based timber finishes

This is the timber finish we usually use that has been approved by our Conservators as suitable for use inside object showcases.
Its great and dries back to a nice finish however is very clear and tends not to bring out the warmth of the natural timber like an oil, hence the search for a natural zero VOC oil... see post below.

Natural oil finish for timber

We're using some recycled timber in an upcoming exhibition and whilst searching for suitable finishes came across this VOC free oil finish which is a by product of wood pulp... looks interesting.
synteko_natural_eco.pdf (application/pdf Object)