The whole publication in PDF - Culture in Development

Below we will discuss the literature on some important topics that play a major part in the current discussion on
building archives in the tro pics. First some general literature on climate and building is looked at, in which it
becomes clear that the tropics are not just one climatic zone. In moving to new premises the archivist is often
confronted with the choice of adapting an old building to become an acceptable archive, or building a new archive.
It is important that the architect and archivist work together and take preservation as a starting point. Any modern
archive building has to fulfil the many demands dictated by a modern sustainable society, be it east or west. Passive
climate control and climate responsive buildings are key concepts in sustainable building, an integrated building
view that frequently corresponds with to the principles of a number of traditional building styles. The location of
the building is crucial. O ne possibility is to b uild underground, though humidity rem ains a prob lem. In the
construction of the archive safeguards can be built in to overcome problems of high temperatures and high relative
humidity. A lot can be done by use of proper building materials, the correct positioning of doors and windows and
the appropriate construction of the ro of.
4.2 Climate and Building
Western cultures have inherited many stereotyped and colonial ideas abo ut the tropics. N ot all these regions are hot,
humid and underdeveloped in their capacity to preserve their rich documentary heritage, as was often believed. In
fact, the climatic range is diverse and the tropics contain some of the world’s most venerable and modern libraries
and archives (Giese, 1995). Nevertheless, the complexities of tropical climates with high temperature and soaring
humidity present major problems for any building, including archive buildings. The ground is primarily dry and
dusty and foundations become compromised in these conditions. There is also a great variety of insect pests that
destroy the fabric of the b uilding. This situation is often exacerbated by poor m aintenance, with many opportunities
for penetrating the building by larger animals such as rats and mice. Biodeterioration is very much a concern with
mould growths resulting from flooding and bad air circulation (Rhys-Lewis, 1999).
In tropical zones the mean annual temperature is not as important as the annual temperature range which gives
an indication of the variation throughout the year. Even more important is the daily range. For example, temperatures
on stone surfaces of the Borobodur temple complex in Indonesia were recorded as having risen from 25 ºC to 45
ºC in 4 hours to a depth of approximately 5 cm. The same applies to relative humidity. The distribution o f rain is
an important factor and it is the daily fluctuation that counts for conservators. During the day the maximum levels
of relative humid ity occur a little before sunrise and the minimum levels in the early evening, approximately the
reverse of temperature. Naturally there are other factors involve d such as gro undwater level and marine environment.
It is this large and frequent variation in temperature and relative humidity that causes so many problems in our
efforts to safeguard our cultural property (Davison, 1981).
The main climatic factors affecting human comfort and relevant to construction are (Gut et al., 1993):
• air temperature, its extremes and the difference between day and night, and between summer and winter;
• humidity and precipitation;
• incoming and outgoing radiation, the influence of the sky condition, air movem ents and winds.
For further reading on building in the different tropical climates see Agrawal et al., 1974; Baxi, 1974b; Chan, 1978;
Fry et al., 1956 and 1964 (perhaps somewhat outdated); Fullerton, 1979; Holdsworth, 1974; Konya, 1984; Moreno,
1991; Overseas Division of the Building Research Establishment, 1980; Saini, 1980; Thomson, 1974. For old
bibliographies see Anonymous, 1953 and 1954b; National Research Council, 1953.
4.3 New Building
In the planning and construction of an archive building both archivist and architect should take preservation as a
starting point. It has an important and decisive impact on the building of the stacks, the laboratories, the areas for
the public and the offices. Climatic conditions are of special importance (Buchmann, 1998). In 1959 Plumbe noticed
optimistically that coope ration between architect and librarian was not so much a recognisable trend as normal
practice (Plumbe, 1959a). Nonethe less, according to Holdsworth in the same journal, architects were a rare
phenomenon in many developing countries. It is the local public works departments, largely under the direction of
civil engineers, which have been the principal building organisations (Holdsworth, 1959). Apparently some decades
later the situation had not improved much (Havard-Williams et al., 1987).
It is shocking that even in a very recent publication of the IFLA Section on Library Buildings and Equipment
so little attention is paid to preservation through building construction and design; only two out of the 16 speakers
on the seminar broached preservation issues (Bisbrouck et al., 1999). At the next IFLA meeting in Shanghai it
became clear that the libraries were increasingly people-orientated instead of book-orientated, and still there were
no extensive accounts of building as a first line of defence. The designs are predominantly functional (Bisbrouck,
2001). M. Amosu raised the point that in Sub-Saharan Africa it is rare for any institution to start with all newly built
edifices and the libraries in particular are often housed in temporary quarters. All the same, she considered this an
advantage because m ost library staff involved in the planning had personally suffered the discomfort of inadequate
space and noise (Amosu, 1974).
When planning the first permanent building for the Nigerian National Archives at Ibadan preliminary inquiries
were made in the USA, Great Britain and Rhodesia about the basic features and requirements of a modern archive
building. The important fact revealed by these investigations was that the proposed building would be the first of
its type in tropical Africa. It was decided that its ultimate shape and structure would be determined by local
considerations, a situation European and North American architects had not encountered previously (Gwam, 1963).