Parrish Art Museum

Water Mill, NY, USA

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Key Facts

14 acre site in the village of Water Mill, in the heart of Long Island’s East End

Underfloor ventilation system that offers tight control of temperature and humidity within the artwork display zones in the gallery spaces

ventilation systems saving energy and cost

A collage of galleries with a wilderness motif

Located on a 14 acre site in the village of Water Mill, in the heart of Long Island’s East End, the new Parrish Art Museum integrates architecture and landscape that both respects and reflects the singular natural beauty and rich artistic legacy of the area.

Working in collaboration with the Parrish, the design concept was tailored to create a visual narrative that unfolds in a light-filled network of connected galleries, simple shapes that evoke the idea of a collection of studio spaces, or an artists’ colony.

Key to the project was maintaining thermal control of the rooms, so artwork is safe from excess humidity. Image: Matthu Placek

CHALLENGE

A key challenge for the team was to provide a robust sustainable solution for the facility that balances energy performance and close thermal control.

High ceilings allowed us to integrate an underfloor ventilation system that lets the air above the artwork to vary in temperature, saving energy and cost. Image: Matthu Placek

SOLUTION

BuroHappold Engineering provided MEP engineering services as well as essential advisory services in its review of the proposed facade and structure to ensure energy efficiency and mitigate condensation and thermal property issues that could result in damage to the artwork and building.

The high ceilings of the building allowed for the integration of an underfloor ventilation system that offers tight control of temperature and humidity within the artwork display zones in the gallery spaces. The system introduces air through floor grilles so that the higher spaces outside of the artwork display zone are not subject to the same close control conditioning, thereby saving energy and cost without impacting the museum’s art preservation efforts.

The heating and cooling is dealt with via a highly efficient open-loop system. Image: Matthu Placek

VALUE

Perhaps the most notable part of the energy system design for the museum is that which is entirely integrated into the site and landscape. BuroHappold designed an open-loop ground source heat pump system to provide all heating and cooling for the building. The open-loop system is considered the most efficient ground source heat pump configuration, and it allows Parrish to maintain stringent control conditions for its collection in a comfortable environment.