Energy saving and environmental control

How can one plan for energy savings in the climate controlled areas
of a new museum/archives/library?  I'm aware of the last two years'
debate about whether the temperature and RH must be kept within
tight bounds; but assuming that one comes down on the side of not
letting the environmental conditions vary much, what can be built
into a structure to keep the utility costs from becoming exorbitant?
For instance, I've read that McDonald's opened a flagship "smart"
restaurant in Baypoint, California, which uses evaporative
precoolers to chill the air with water as it enters the system?  I
realize that our "stuff" is rather more significant than hamburgers
and fries, but what can we plan into a new building's design so that
the energy costs don't fry our institution?

In our particular instance, we're planning for a facility in which
nearly 30,000 square feet will need to be climate controlled.  A
little more than half of it (i.e., the collections storage areas)
will be in the basement; the rest (research room/library and exhibit
space) is on the ground floor; none of the second/top floor
(academic offices and classrooms) will be climate controlled.  The
building will be faced with stone, with few windows facing north.

Thanks for any help--it could save us.

Todd Ellison, Archivist
Fort Lewis College
1000 Rim Drive
Durango CO 81301
970-247-7126

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 10:67
                 Distributed: Monday, January 27, 1997
                       Message Id: cdl-10-67-011
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