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obviate the problem of condensation. Together with a large mass of earth surrounding the building, these features
make the structure react very slowly to any change in the weather (R owoldt, 1993). In the absence of any storage
area in the planning of a small Zambian museum it was decided to alter the plans and incorporate underground
storage facilities into the building. This was achieved with the help of Norwe gian colleagues who had successfully
built underground storage in their own cold climatic zone (Bakken et al., 1987).
The idea of underground storage is closely linked to protection against the risks of war. In addition in areas
where land is expensive, as in big cities, it might have economic advantages. Yet, in principle, the cost of an
underground structure is much higher than for building on the surface, unless of course an existing underground
installation is used. The disadvantage is usually that these are a long way from town and still need essential airconditioning
and ventilation equipment (Duchein, 1988). Underground cells were also prepared in ancient India for
the preservation of manuscripts (Swarnakamal, 1975). For further reading see Labs, 1980.
4.8 Adaptation of Existing Buildings
To save costs existing buildings are sometimes adapted, or were adapted in the past, to house public records. Many
old archive build ings date back to the beginning of the colonial period. The circumstances, under which the
documents were kept, were not ideal. In surveys of African archives and libraries the majority of the institutions,
especially archival ones, adapted premises to house their collections. Obviously archival and library materials
housed in such premises will not receive adequate protection. Adapted buildings are normally old and sometimes
dilapidated structures (Khayundi, 1995; Laar, 1985; Mbaye, 1995). Other reasons to adapt or reuse an old building
as an archive building include cultural ones, offering a government a chance to put some important architectural
heritage to use (Duchein, 1988).
The attitude of archivists to adaptation has changed. In the 1960s opinions varied. By the 1980s, international
opinion had turned against recycling, maintaining it would result in buildings which were either expensive, or
unsatisfactory, or both. Converse ly, and especially in Latin America, countries face the dilemma that archives are
seen as the most suitable institutions to occupy old buildings. Unfortunately, there is often not enough money to
permit proper conversions that would solve the problems of unsuitable environment, air-pollution and security.
Under these circumstances it would perhaps be better to see scarce resources spent on simple and economical new
buildings which are in harmony with the natural environment (Thomas, 1988).
This is in agreement with the experiences in Ghana where a regio nal chief house was adapted to acco mmoda te
the National Museum of Ghana. In effect the whole process o f redesigning and adapting this building cost far more
and took longer than if a m useum built specifically for this purpose had been erected. Additionally, it confirmed the
preconceived notion that a museum is the place where old and curious objects are kept (Myles, 1976).
It is noticeable that the modern trend is to build new facilities, and not only in the west. To gauge the quality
of an archive building first make a thorough inspection of the proposed facility. Apart from functionality one should
look for any signs of possible problems. There are many factors to consider when refurbishing an existing building:
exterior, walls/floors, walls/doors, roof, drainage, floors, air-conditioning system, duct-work, fire protection, security
protection, electrical system, plumbing system, asbestos, light fittings, pests (Ling, 1998). There are several
possibilities for adapting recycled archive buildings to tropical climate zones that will help to protect cultural
heritage better. One is the radical thermal insulation of buildings and rooms (Schüller, 2000).
Some of the European experiences in adapting archive buildings were discussed at the ICA/CBQ 1989 Meeting
in Turin, published as Janus, 1992(1) and also at the Expert Meeting, Archive Buildings and the Conservation of
Archival Material, held in Vienna, Austria October 30 – November 1, 1985 published in Mitteilungen des
�sterreichischen Staatsarchivs 1986(39), see also Committee on Archive Building and Equipment ICA/CBQ, 1992;
Swartzburg et al., 1991 and Teuling, 1994.
4.9 Construction
One of the requirements for archive buildings in the tropics is that the building materials should be able to withstand
all possible hazards and nuisances, from earthquakes to insect pests. Another, more recent, demand is that
construction fabric should have a high insulation value in order to help control the interior climate. Noise pollution,
a serious problem in many libraries, is another factor that can be reduced by cho osing the right ab sorbent materials
(Singh, 1982). Other requirements are low initial cost, low maintenance, appropriate surrounding buildings, and
building materials with good weathering and durability quality. (Ozowa, 1988).
In passive building in South Africa the use of appropriate insulating materials is highly encouraged. It is both
econom ically and practically counter-productive to import products where local alternatives can serve the same
thermodynamic purposes (Rowold t, 1993 and 1994 ). Local materials are always less costly than the usual reinforced
concrete, and may often prove to be superior insulators. There is also less noise from such materials as mud and
wattle, or clay (Havard-Williams et al., 1987), but for some reason builders prefer expensive imported materials.
In Nigeria most library buildings are built in concrete (Ozowa, 1988). It is unfortunate that during the last decade
general interest in the use of appropriate technology seems to have declined.
Selection of building materials is no doubt the responsibility of the architect and not the librarian. But it behoves
the librarian to advise the architect because of the discomfort a wrong choice of materials can cause library users,
(Ozowa, 1988). Strangely enough Ozowa forgets to mention the impact of a wrong choice on environmental
conditions. For all elements of the fabric have a part to play in seeking a total preservation environment – the walls,
doors, roof, floors and windo ws. They sho uld all be designed to come together to form an integrated and sealed unit
(Ling, 1998). Or as Daniel puts it: the first task of the building fabric is to reduce the impact of climate loads on the
building (Daniel et al., 2000).