From Measurement to Measure: AI-Supported Evaluation and Optimization of the Indoor Climate in Historic Museum Buildings

Austrian museums are faced with the challenge of keeping climatic conditions in their historic buildings within conservation grade acceptable limits without carrying out far-reaching structural interventions. Buildings have structural constraints, especially in summer: lack of insulation, inadequately shaded or insulated windows, and historically induced ventilation systems with limited effectiveness; in some cases, ventilation or air conditioning systems are also missing due to the building. This results in large climatic differences between rooms and usage units. Humidity and temperature fluctuations endanger exhibits and have already caused damage in some cases. For visitors and employees, they lead to a loss of comfort, while conservation requirements can limit the possibilities of using the museum and the loan traffic between museums.

Seasonal fluctuations and short-term weather events lead to changes in temperature, relative humidity and air quality that are difficult to control. Conflicting goals can then arise between the protection of employees and visitors and the protection of collections and buildings. Weighing these different requirements often leads to uncertainties in the selection of suitable measures. At the same time, the museum industry is undergoing a change in the conservation climate assessment. Current recommendations from museum associations provide extended climate corridors for many collections, within which temperature and humidity values can be considered acceptable. This creates the challenge of not only recording climate data but also evaluating it regarding its actual relevance for different object groups, rooms and usage situations. Not every deviation requires the same reaction, but at the same time, individual collections may have stricter conservation requirements. As a result, the derivation of suitable measures is becoming increasingly complex.

Further information on climate corridors:

• A new climate corridor for exhibitions?: https://www.museumsbund.at/museumspraxis/ein-neuer-klimakorridor-fuer-ausstellungen
• Expansion of the climate corridor: https://www.museumsbund.at/museumspraxis/erweiterung-des-klimakorridors
• Air conditioning of depots and showrooms: https://www.museumsbund.at/museumspraxis/klimatisierung-von-depots-und-ausstellungsraeumen

During operation, it becomes apparent that manual ventilation, mobile humidifiers or dehumidifiers as well as simple measuring systems or data loggers are not sufficient to ensure an indoor climate suitable for conservation. Although climate data is partially recorded, employees lack clear, data-based recommendations that can be implemented during ongoing museum operations, consider monument protection and derive appropriate measures for different seasonal weather conditions. Instead, measures are implemented based on experience and thus depend very much on the individual competence of the respective employees on duty. This leads to inconsistent measures, some of which can even be counterproductive for the indoor climate and worsen the situation.

How can intelligent or AI-supported measurement and recommendation systems use climate, building and weather data to recommend concrete measures for a suitable indoor climate in museum buildings?

The search is for an intelligent and heritage-compatible solution for museum buildings that makes climate and building data usable and derives concrete, implementable recommendations for action. The aim is to better protect cultural assets and buildings, to relieve the burden on visitors and employees and to keep museum operations stable in the long term. Clients are therefore looking for solutions that are effective, comprehensible and sustainable under these conditions and enable the integrated collection, evaluation and use of climate data.

The aim is an intelligent, data-based approach that analyses climate, building and weather data and can be adapted to different rooms and types of use, taking into account different requirements such as property protection, visitor comfort and employee protection. The proposed measures should be comprehensible, understandable and easy to implement for staff during ongoing operations. The focus is on safe, traceable and energy-efficient operation for a preventative conservation climate. The solution is intended to conserve resources, avoid unnecessary air-conditioning measures, make risks for exhibits and buildings visible at an early stage and support the planning of exhibitions, including loans.

Solutions can include existing products as well as innovative approaches, such as sensor solutions, data-based platforms or AI-supported decision-making and recommendation systems.

Must-haves of the solution:

• Simple implementation in museum operations with as little technical effort as possible and without extensive structural interventions
• Integration of existing data sources as well as optional additional sensors (indoor climate, outdoor climate, weather data)
• Consideration of conservation climate corridors and the different requirements of collection, depot and exhibition areas as well as comprehensible assessment of risks, priorities and need for action
• Consideration of existing measures and building conditions
• Automated evaluation and generation of concrete recommendations for action that go beyond pure monitoring
• High user-friendliness and clear visualization
• Adaptability, extensibility and openness (no proprietary "black box" systems)
• Data security and GDPR compliance

Take the opportunity to present your innovative approaches for intelligent, practical and heritage-compatible indoor climate and policy management in museums. The competition is looking for companies and cooperation partners that support museums in identifying climate risks at an early stage, prioritising measures and making conservation-based decisions during ongoing operations.

The focus is on solutions that use existing indoor, outdoor and weather data to assess the need for action in a comprehensible manner and to derive concrete, situation-related recommendations. Of particular interest are approaches that consider the conservation requirements of different collections, evaluate different usage and building situations, and support museums in effectively protecting exhibits, buildings, employees, and visitors. In particular, solutions are sought that can be implemented with little technical effort, integrate existing data sources and do not require extensive structural interventions.

Your submission should present the technical and organizational approach, possible areas of application in museum operations, and the concrete added value for protection for employees, visitors and collections. Present the requirements for installation, operation, maintenance as well as support and further development in a comprehensible way. Prizes and other cost-relevant information may be provided as confidential information (only visible to the jury).

Description:
Submit your solution approach via the online form and prove how your solution supports museums in controlling indoor climate, air quality and climate-relevant measures in a data-based, understandable and practical way. Describe which data sources your solution integrates, how indoor values, outdoor data and weather forecasts are processed and how this results in concrete recommendations for action for different rooms, uses and groups of people.

You should also discuss how your solution can be introduced during ongoing museum operations, what technical requirements are necessary and how existing technical and organisational measures are taken into account. Also explain how security aspects such as fire and burglary protection, requirements of monument protection and conservation target values are included in the recommendations.

Convince with concrete use cases, references, pilot examples or comparable implementations that show that your solution not only makes measured values visible, but also enables museums to take effective, comprehensible and implementable measures.

Summary of added value:
Get to the heart of the unique selling proposition and decisive advantages! What makes your solution particularly innovative? What distinguishes them? Application examples, references and a realistic project process help with the evaluation.
Optionally, you can also attach a file. This file is intended to complement the texts of the form fields, but not to replace and repeat! Use the file attachment, e.g. for graphics.

Confidential information (for the jury only):
This information can be submitted confidentially via the platform. In this text field, you can enter further information that you want to share exclusively with the project owners. Alternatively, it is possible to send a PDF by e-mail to the moderators of the challenge.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Submissions in the consortium are possible. Keep it short (guideline: maximum 10-12 presentation slides or 4-5 A4 pages). We are exploring the market with the challenge. It is therefore not necessary to prepare designs or feasibility studies specially prepared for this occasion.

Submissions will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. on November 27, 2026.