October 28, 2014

The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) is Australia’s leading museum dedicated to exhibiting, interpreting and collecting contemporary art from across Australia and around the world.

Located on the edge of Sydney Harbour, the MCA offers a major national resource for education and interpretative programs, as well as two floors of galleries for exhibitions. The new National Centre for Creative Learning includes a library, digital and multimedia studios, a seminar room and lecture theatre. The MCA has over 4,000 works of art in its collection, all of which rely on specific temperature and humidity conditions for preservation purposes.

A.G. Coombs has been appointed by the MCA to deliver specialist maintenance services for the building’s HVAC and energy systems. This includes preventative maintenance, minor works and repairs, log book maintenance and inspection and testing, along with annual system condition reporting and the annual Certification of Essential Services. Specialist systems include use of the adjacent Sydney Harbour’s sea water as a source of heat rejection, where this water is used through heat exchanges to facilitate the chilled water plant. Specialist energy systems include a heat rejection reclaim system for heating applications in the main air handling units.

Being harbour side also demands that a stringent Environmental Management System (EMS) be in place to best manage waste water and potential contaminants. As part of its approach, A.G. Coombs will also implement a number of environmental and sustainability initiatives including the monitoring of heat rejection into the Harbour and the quarterly auditing of the facility’s energy, gas and water consumption. In general, the works of the contract will be undertaken outside of opening hours, with the Museum being open to the public 364 days a year.

Brad Adlam, Building Services Manager at the MCA said, “We are confident in A.G. Coombs’ ability to maintain the Museum’s HVAC system. They have extensive experience of working in critical environments, as demonstrated through their work with other galleries and the State Libraries in both Victoria and New South Wales, where they have improved overall building efficiency and reliability as well as successfully delivering a number of energy-saving initiatives. We look forward to working with the team in achieving the same results for the MCA”.

For more information on the MCA, visit http://www.mca.com.au/.

For more information on A.G. Coombs (NSW) project and service maintenance capabilities, please contact us.