The refurbishment of the Marchesi Hall, Metropolitan Cathedral Museum, Mdina : a heritage-sensitive, energy-conscious approach

Abstract

This paper focuses on the refurbishment of the Marchesi Hall at the Cathedral Museum, Mdina. Specifically, it is a study of the microclimate of the indoor environment that could influence the artefacts on display. Given the dire need for relocation of the wooden panels (icons), from another hall, where they had suffered structural and paintwork damage, due to temperature and humidity fluctuations, there was the need for scientific monitoring of the new hall, before and after refurbishment, to predict any potential extremes in environmental parameters that could affect the artefact’s conservation and presentation quality. Given the thermal mass of the historic edifice, which curtails extreme temperatures in summer and winter, and given the high ceilings, these were exploited for natural stack ventilation, combined with the exposed site on the crest of Mdina. A deliberate effort was made to avoid air conditioning, in favour of utilising such passive design features of a museum, originally with the design intent of housing a seminary with self-sustained habitable halls.