Horniman Museum
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LocationForest Hill, London
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ClientHorniman Museum & Gardens
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PhotographerHorniman Museum & Gardens
Introduction
The museum has seen an evolution over the last few decades therefore the refurbishment of the Grade 2 Listed Building required a sympathetic approach that incorporates the original building details. The project restored the gallery space, improved the systems and energy use to create a bright environment that showcased the eclectic collection of anthropological artefacts.
Gallery
Background
Harley Haddow undertook a detailed condition survey and produced a recommendations report focused on the chilled water systems serving the museum’s aquarium facilities. The existing installation comprised primary and secondary chilled water circuits feeding plate heat exchangers for multiple aquarium tanks, each requiring precise and independent temperature control to support coastal, reef, jellyfish and pond ecosystems. The review was critical to maintaining operational reliability and supporting the museum’s internationally recognised coral research and reproduction programmes.
Challenges
The key challenge was ensuring sufficient cooling capacity and operational resilience to maintain stable temperatures across hydraulically separate saline water systems with differing thermal requirements. Any system upgrades needed to allow accurate modulation of cooling capacity without compromising the continuous operation of sensitive aquarium environments.
Solutions
Harley Haddow’s recommendations included increasing the overall chiller capacity and reconfiguring the hydraulic arrangements to enable full modulation of the chilled water systems. This approach allowed each aquarium system to be treated independently, ensuring precise temperature control for all four tank groups. The completed upgrades have significantly improved system resilience, enabling the Horniman Museum to safeguard its aquatic collections and expand its specialist research activities with confidence.
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