After 10 years operating in the Brazilian market as the country's only private art storage facility with museum standards of security and climate control, Clé Chenue do Brasil is today approaching full occupancy.
With the initial five years of implementation and paradigm shifts behind us, the trend towards greater demand for qualified storage and conservation spaces is clear. Growing awareness among collectors and institutions of the importance of caring well for their collections suggests a gain in maturity, placing Brazil at a new level in terms of the professionalisation of collection management.
Compliance and accountability are driving institutions
As far as institutions are concerned, both public and private, the pursuit of collection security reflects greater concern with compliance rules and the need to account to various stakeholders for the proper management of collections. In this scenario, sending collections to ordinary warehouses ceases to be an acceptable option, as it cannot demonstrate that all the technical measures for the conservation and security of works and objects are being taken.
The parameters of a museum standard
At Clé Chenue do Brasil, a rigorous climate-control system maintains temperature and relative humidity throughout the year between 18°C and 22°C and 45% and 55%, respectively. These internationally recognised parameters represent the ideal museum standards for ensuring the optimised conservation of collections.
In a country with a tropical climate like Brazil, where high relative humidity is a critical factor in the proliferation of mould and pests, this environmental control becomes not merely recommended but essential to the integrity and longevity of the items we seek to preserve.
One of the secrets to maintaining this stable microclimate lies in a substantial investment in thermal insulation. Much like a matryoshka doll, what you find in this singular preservation space is, essentially, a thermally insulated warehouse built inside another warehouse. This ingenious structure ensures that external climate fluctuations have minimal influence on the internal environmental conditions, which, combined with an intelligent automation system, provides continuous and efficient conditioning and monitoring of the internal environment.
This technology has delivered excellence in the conservation of collections without losing the commitment to sustainability through low energy consumption.
An expansion on the way
"This scenario led us to conclude that it is time to expand Clé Chenue's storage space and also the services offered to clients. We are in the planning phase of this expansion, but we are certain the market is ready for a next step. We will have news soon!" says Diogo Losito Mantovani, the company's CEO.
Clé Chenue's partners are the French company Chenue, world leader in fine art logistics, and the Brazilian company Expomus, a pioneer in Brazil in cultural projects with a museological focus.
