Established in 1972 by merging the de Young and the Legion of Honor, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF) is the largest public arts institution in San Francisco and one of the largest art museums in the United States. Annual attendance surpasses 1.5 million visitors. The mission of FAMSF is to connect visitors with local and global art in order to promote their knowledge of and curiosity about the past, deepen their engagement with the art and ideas of today, and stimulate their creative agency in their own futures. The Fine Arts Museums’ permanent collection of over 300,000 objects is truly global in nature and one of the most important collections in the western United States.

FAMSF will use this FCI Technical Assistance Grant to work with Linden Preservation Services to review the air handling equipment used to create an environment in the deYoung Museum that is healthy for its visitors and staff, and promotes the preservation of its art collections. The consultants will assess the equipment and identify changes in how the equipment could be used or maintained to reduce energy consumption now. Over the course of twelve to eighteen months, adjustments to the climate control systems will be tested to see how they impact both energy use and environmental conditions in the building. This study will also help determine priorities for upgrading or replacing aging components to achieve even greater energy savings in the future. This assessment is an opportunity to identify energy and cost savings at a critical time in the age of the museum’s building and systems, while also adapting to changes in thinking about collections preservation environments since the building was designed.