Monash University Museum of Art

The Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA) had to be relocated from its original building on the university’s Caulfield campus to a larger existing building. The reason was to gain flexibility for an expanded exhibition program and other projects alongside the permanent displays of the institution’s contemporary art collection.

Delivering Multidisciplinary Services in an Operational Environment

Our building services team worked to minimise any disruption to the day-to-day operations of the facility as the museum remained open for the duration of the project.

One of the major challenges was how to maintain the correct environment and not compromise the aesthetic integrity of the galleries. We addressed this issue by sourcing the mechanical, electrical, hydraulics and fire protection services through a purpose-built services canopy outside the building. This allowed for maximum space within the gallery and maximised the ceiling height to increase the gallery’s capacity to display larger artworks.

To achieve best-practice climate control, we designed an innovative system. It uses a constant dew point, close air conditioning with high-efficiency particulate filtration and gas phase filtration to reduce dust, soot, fungal spores and harmful gases that could potentially damage the artworks.

Benefiting the Community

MUMA connects art, architecture and landscape to make the art experience more incidental and accessible to the public. Its climate control system is of international museum standard.