EN
Show menu

Active & intelligent PAckaging materials and display cases as a tool for preventive conservation of Cultural Heritage (APACHE)

Total eligible budget: 6.837.732,75 EUR
Funding: EU Horizon 2020, topic NMBP-33-2018 | Innovative and affordable solutions for the preventive conservation of cultural heritage (Innovative Action)
Duration: 01. 01. 2019 - 30. 06. 2022
Project partners: Consortium of 26 institutions from 12 countries, coordinator University of Florence, CSGI – Research Center for Colloid and Surface Science

Project description

Project consortium at the kick-off meeting, hosted by the University of Venice.
Sampling of air pollutants in a drawer in the depot, where objects made of different materials are stored. Certain materials in the photo can act as a source of volatile compounds, i.e. pollutants.
Air pollutant sampling in the National Museum of Slovenia – Metelkova depot.
Air pollutant sampling in the display case containing Hasan’s cloak.

The project aims to investigate preventative conservation of museum collections, focusing on smart materials for the transportation and storage of objects that include sensors (e.g. for temperature, relative humidity, volatile pollutants) and / or absorption agents that regulate the microclimate around the object (e.g. by controlling relative humidity or removing volatile pollutants). In addition to the development of transport and storage materials, the project will include the development of so-called smart display cases that allow for advanced microclimate regulation.

A key part of the project is cooperation with the end-users of any developed solutions, which is why several museums and galleries of different sizes are involved in the project. In addition to the continuous monitoring of temperature and relative humidity, several campaigns for measuring concentrations of air pollutants will be carried out in the museums and galleries. This will be first pollution monitoring in the National Museum of Slovenia. Researchers at cultural heritage institutions will also participate in the development of an online tool for comparing different preventive conservation measures based on dose-response functions for various factors that influence degradation of materials the objects are composed of. Dose-response functions for a few materials already exist, and some will be developed through experimental work during the project. This tool will also be able to evaluate the positive effects of newly developed materials.

The target audience for the results of the project are small and medium-sized museums, galleries, archives and libraries, for which comprehensive preventative conservation solutions, such as climate-controlled depots and / or showcases, are less accessible. By using advanced storage materials, they could effectively protect at least the most important or sensitive items by regulating the microclimate.

Two Slovenian institutions are involved in the project, the National Museum of Slovenia and the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana. They will be involved in the development of new dose-response functions, monitoring of depots and display rooms, and developing and testing online tools.


Project website: https://www.apacheproject.eu/


National Museum of Slovenia Researcher

  • Dr Eva Menart

Project partners

  • CSGI – Research Center for Colloid and Surface Science (Italy) – coordinator
  • National Research Council – CNR (Italy)
  • Tyndall Institute – University of Cork (Ireland)
  • University College London (United Kingdom)
  • Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (Greece)
  • Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden)
  • National Technical University of Athens (Greece)
  • Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil)
  • Zentrum für Bucherhaltung ZFB (Germany)
  • Ionvac Process S.r.l. (Italy)
  • University of Ljubljana (Slovenia)
  • Max Plank Institute for Polymer Research (Germany)
  • Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials (Germany)
  • Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (Italy)
  • BeWarrant Group (Belgium)
  • Antonio Mirabile (France)
  • Goppion S.p.a. (Italy)
  • Nouryon (Sweden, Italy)
  • Ericsson (Sweden)
  • International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property – ICCROM
  • Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage – Superintendency of Abruzzo SABAP (Italy)
  • Centre Pompidou (France)
  • National Museum of Slovenia (Slovenia)
  • National Museum of Hungary (Hungary)
  • Fondazione Scienza e Tecnica Museum (Italy)
  • The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation – Peggy Guggenheim Collection Venice (Italy)