Construction,structuresandservicesintegration

CaribbeanSchoolofArchitecture
Assignment3|RyanBattick|1106110

TheLouvreLens:Servicesreport

Overview

In2009,SANAAarchitectswonthecompetitiontodesignthefirstsatellitemuseum,forthe
IconicLouvremuseum.TheLouvre,inLens,France,wouldshowcasesomeofthemostprecious
andsensitivepiecesofart,datingbackto3500BC.Thearchitectswerefacedwithaprojectthat
involveddesigningcomplexsystems,toprovidetheoptimalinteriorenvironmentforthe
protectionofthevaluablepiecesofartwork.Aswellasprotectingtheartwork,thearchitecthad
toconsiderthevastamountofvisitorstothebuilding,approximately500,000peryear.The
LouvreLensmuseumhasatotalsurfaceareaof28,000m2thatincludes7,000m2ofexhibition
galleriesandstoreroomsopentothepublic.Theservicesneededtoallowsuchabuildingto
functionaremuchgreaterthananyvisitorwouldimagine.Behindthescenes,thebuildingis
riggedwith60airhandlingunits,3000squaremetresofducting,complexinformation
managementsystemsanddetailedlightingsystems.Manyofthefunctionsthatthisbuildingwas
intendedtofulfillweredesigned,bythearchitects,intothefabricofthebuilding.TheLouvre
museuminLens,isastunningexampleofservicesintegration.Thearchitects,SANAA,
implementedtheirtraditionaljapanesestyleofdesigning,makingsimplicityanextremely
importantpartofthedesign.However,thegreatachievementofthejapanesearchitects,istheir
successfulintegrationofcomplexservicesystems,withoutcompromisingtheiraestheticvision.I
willlookintohowthearchitectshavemanagedtopoeticallyamalgamatebeautifuldesignand
efficientservicesdesign.Iwillattempttobreakdownthebuildingintoitsfunctionalparts,in
ordertoanalysehowthearchitectshavedealtwitheachissueregardingservicesintegration.

Figure1.TheinteriorgalleryspaceoftheLouvre.(Above)Figure2.ExteriorviewoftheLouvre(Below)

HVACsystem
Uponopening,theLouvrewasexpectingapproximately500,000visitorsperyear.Accounting
forthespecifictemperatureandhumiditythatwasnecessaryfortheartworks,theHVACsystem
forthelouvrehadtomeetverystrictcriterias.Firstly,themuseumsHVACsystemhadto
accountforthedifferentzonesandheatingandcoolingrequirements.Themuseumwasdivided
intofour(4)basiczones,supportzonesthisinvolvedcafeandgiftshopareas,permanentgallery
spacesthisinvolvedartpiecesofaspecifictype,mainlypaintingsandsculptures,temporary
gallerythisspaceholdsawidervarietyofartpieces,andfinally,thebasementstoragespaces,
thisrequiresconstantairconditioninganddehumidifying.Eachzonerequiredaspecificair
qualityandtemperature,andthesystemwasdesignedaccordingly.

Thesystemhas60airhandlingunits,eachzonewasfurtherdividedintosubzones,whereeach
airhandlerservesaspecificzone.Toensuretheircollectionsarewellpreserved,museumsmust
maintaintemperaturesandhumidityatverypreciselevels.Thespecificationsforthe
LouvreLensmuseumstipulatedamaximumallowablefluctuationof1Cand5%relative
humidity.Oneofthemainpermanentgalleriesmeasure3,000m2andhasaceilingheightof6

m,creatingavolumeofalmost20,000m3.Sixairhandlingunitswithairflowratesof25,000
m3/hwereinstalledtomeettheroom'srequirements.AHUswithairflowratesof25,000m3/h
werealsoinstalledinthetemporaryexhibitionroomsandtwo20,000m3/hAHUswereinstalled
intheglasspavilion,wherethecafeandgiftshoparelocated.

Figure3.Underfloorcavity,withhvacductingsystem.(Above)Figure4.Complexnetworkofairducts(Below)

TheLouvremechanicalengineersusedunderfloorcavitiestoruncomplexnetworksofducting.
Duetothegeographiclocationofthebuilding,theclimatecalledforgreaterheating
requirements,ratherthancooling.Thereforethediffusergrillswereintegratedintothefloorof
thegalleryareas.ThesystemisacentralisedallairHVACsystem,whichisalsosubsidisedby
naturalventilation.

Figure5.Theintegrationofunderfloorductingandfloorvents.

Thearchitectsintegratednaturalventilationintothedesignofthebuilding.Usingadoubleskin
facade,thebuildingprovidesnaturalheatingbyallowingfreshairtoenterthecavityoftheskin.

Oncethefreshairentersthecavity,theairisheatedbythesunasitrisesthroughthecavity,
eventuallyenteringthespaceaswarmair.

Warmairpassesintothespace

Airisheatedasitrisesthroughthecavity

Airistakeninthroughexteriorgrilles

Figure6.Howthedoubleskinheatingeffectworks.

Electricalservices
Anextremelyimportantpartoftheinteriorspaceisthelightingofthegalleries.Theartpieces
requireextremelyspecificlevelsofilluminationandlightcolor.Allowingalargeamountof
naturalsunlighttofallinthespacewascriticaltoachievingthearchitectsintention.The
architectmadespecialeffortstomaintainthelightanddelicatelookoftheceiling,without

overcrowdingitwithlightingdevicesandservices.ThelightingdesignerARUP,explainsthatit
wasahugechallenge,balancingartificiallightsandnaturallighting.Thedesignersdevelopeda
beautifulcombinationofskylights,louvresandartificiallighting.

Figure7.Howthetracklightingandceilinglouvresareintegrated

Arupdevelopedanintegratedsystemofartificialandnaturallighting,withoutcompromisingthe
lightnessoftheinteriorspaces.Theelectriclightingforthegalleriesissimpleandfunctional.A
regularlayoutoflightingtracksholdsexhibitionspotlightsaswellasanarrayofceramicmetal
downlightsforambientlighttothegallerieswhenthereisinsufficientdaylight.Metalhalidewas
chosenasanenergyefficient,lowmaintenance,highcolourrenderingsource,withflexibilityin

thechoiceofcolourtemperature.Theyusedatracklightingsystemtoallowflexibilityof
fixtures.AccordingtoARUPThedeepbeamsofthegalleryroofhidealltheelectriclighting
fromviewcreatingcalmspaceswherealllightfortheexhibitionsappearstomagicallycome
fromthesky.

Figure8.Howthetracklightingandceilinglouvresareintegrated

Firesafetyservices
GiventheexceptionalandpricelessnatureoftheworksthatareexhibitedattheMuseumona
regularbasis,itsfireprotectionsystemsareamongthemanymajorrequirementsforthe
architect.Themaingalleryhousespiecesofartoveravasttimeperiod,protectionoftheseis
essentialintheeventofafire.Themainareasofthebuilding,includingthemaingallery,are

coatedinafireresistant,highinsulativespray,providedbyPROMAT.Forextrafireresistance,
thebuildingsrestorationandstorageroomsarecladinafireresistantboard,alsoprovidedby
PROMAT.Around3,000m2ofsmokeextractionducts,withadiameteroflessthan1,200mm
havebeenassembled,madewaterproof,andlaid.Themostimportantpartsofthebuildingare
fittedwithunderfloorsmokeextractionducts,capableofremovingsmokefromthegalleriesata
quickspeed.

Figure9.Fireprotectionwithinfloorcavity

Overallbuildingintegration
Thelightspacesandthecrisplinesofthisbuildingareatestamenttosuccessfulservices
integration.Thereisnointerferencewiththepeacefulplanesofthefacadeortherhythmofthe
ceiling.Mechanicalorelectricalserviceshavebecomeapartofthedesignofthebuilding,and

thereforedonotinterruptit,butenhanceit.Thearchitectandconsultantsuseddifferent
componentsofthebuildingtohousethebuildingservices,bydoingthis,theygreatlydecreased
theserviceszoneneededineachbuildingcomponent.Bysplittingtheservicesup,anddesigning
cavitiesinwalls,floorsandceilings,ratherthanonlyceilings,thesespacesbecamemuch
smaller.Forinstance,theceilingwasdedicatedtolight,withonlytracklighting,louvres,the
floorswerededicatedtosmokeextractionandairconditioningducts,andthefacadewas
dedicatedtoheatingandcooling.eachbuildingelementhousedaspecificpartofthebuilding
services,andincorporateditintothedesignofthesecomponents.Withoutcompromisingthe
peacefulatmosphereofjapanesearchitecture,SANAAsuccessfullycreatedahighly
technological,highlyefficientbuildingandwellintegratedbuilding.