Effects of Visitor Influx on the Indoor Climate of the Milan Cathedral
The indoor climate of non-climatized churches is usually subject to cyclical fluctuations of temperature and relative humidity induced by external climate conditions which might be dampened by the high thermal capacity of their envelope. However, several phenomena affect their indoor climate (e.g.,...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/14/4/743 |
| _version_ | 1797606432647938048 |
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| author | Harold Enrique Huerto-Cardenas Niccolò Aste Claudio Del Pero Stefano Della Torre Fabrizio Leonforte Camille Luna Stella Blavier |
| author_facet | Harold Enrique Huerto-Cardenas Niccolò Aste Claudio Del Pero Stefano Della Torre Fabrizio Leonforte Camille Luna Stella Blavier |
| author_sort | Harold Enrique Huerto-Cardenas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The indoor climate of non-climatized churches is usually subject to cyclical fluctuations of temperature and relative humidity induced by external climate conditions which might be dampened by the high thermal capacity of their envelope. However, several phenomena affect their indoor climate (e.g., internal gains due to people and artificial lighting, air infiltration, etc.), which lead to environmental variations that might jeopardize the artworks contained within. In particular, one of the most influential parameters that may affect non-climatized churches is the massive and intermittent presence of people who constantly visit their spaces. In such regard, long-term monitoring allows the collection of environmental data with different building operation conditions and visitor fluxes. This paper analyses the indoor climate of the Milan Cathedral (Duomo di Milano) in Italy for three continuous years (including the lockdown period that occurred in 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic), with a focus on visitors’ effects on the indoor environment and the conservation of the main artworks contained within. The results of the analysis have shown that spaces with huge volume are most influenced by the opening of the doors rather than the hygrothermal contribution of the intermittent presence of massive crowds. Moreover, the absence of visitors for a prolonged period correlates with an improvement in the indoor conservation conditions for artworks, especially those made of hygroscopic materials, due to the reduction in short, rapid climate fluctuations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:15:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7bcdb9a63b444a45a39952281fd72bf7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:15:06Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-7bcdb9a63b444a45a39952281fd72bf72023-11-17T18:18:08ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332023-04-0114474310.3390/atmos14040743Effects of Visitor Influx on the Indoor Climate of the Milan CathedralHarold Enrique Huerto-Cardenas0Niccolò Aste1Claudio Del Pero2Stefano Della Torre3Fabrizio Leonforte4Camille Luna Stella Blavier5Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering Department, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milano, ItalyArchitecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering Department, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milano, ItalyArchitecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering Department, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milano, ItalyArchitecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering Department, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milano, ItalyArchitecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering Department, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milano, ItalyArchitecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering Department, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milano, ItalyThe indoor climate of non-climatized churches is usually subject to cyclical fluctuations of temperature and relative humidity induced by external climate conditions which might be dampened by the high thermal capacity of their envelope. However, several phenomena affect their indoor climate (e.g., internal gains due to people and artificial lighting, air infiltration, etc.), which lead to environmental variations that might jeopardize the artworks contained within. In particular, one of the most influential parameters that may affect non-climatized churches is the massive and intermittent presence of people who constantly visit their spaces. In such regard, long-term monitoring allows the collection of environmental data with different building operation conditions and visitor fluxes. This paper analyses the indoor climate of the Milan Cathedral (Duomo di Milano) in Italy for three continuous years (including the lockdown period that occurred in 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic), with a focus on visitors’ effects on the indoor environment and the conservation of the main artworks contained within. The results of the analysis have shown that spaces with huge volume are most influenced by the opening of the doors rather than the hygrothermal contribution of the intermittent presence of massive crowds. Moreover, the absence of visitors for a prolonged period correlates with an improvement in the indoor conservation conditions for artworks, especially those made of hygroscopic materials, due to the reduction in short, rapid climate fluctuations.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/14/4/743historic buildingsindoor climateinduced climate risksconservationvisitor impactlockdown |
| spellingShingle | Harold Enrique Huerto-Cardenas Niccolò Aste Claudio Del Pero Stefano Della Torre Fabrizio Leonforte Camille Luna Stella Blavier Effects of Visitor Influx on the Indoor Climate of the Milan Cathedral Atmosphere historic buildings indoor climate induced climate risks conservation visitor impact lockdown |
| title | Effects of Visitor Influx on the Indoor Climate of the Milan Cathedral |
| title_full | Effects of Visitor Influx on the Indoor Climate of the Milan Cathedral |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Visitor Influx on the Indoor Climate of the Milan Cathedral |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Visitor Influx on the Indoor Climate of the Milan Cathedral |
| title_short | Effects of Visitor Influx on the Indoor Climate of the Milan Cathedral |
| title_sort | effects of visitor influx on the indoor climate of the milan cathedral |
| topic | historic buildings indoor climate induced climate risks conservation visitor impact lockdown |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/14/4/743 |
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