Carlo Crivelli, 'The Demidoff Altarpiece', displayed in the Sainsbury Wing in its ornate Victorian frame.

The Sainsbury Wing: Environmental Control

Ventilation supply and extract points are housed within the fibrous plaster moulding of the gallery ceilings. The Building Management System comprises a number of computer programmes that monitor and control the temperature, relative humidity and ventilation within the galleries so that while the outside conditions may vary, stable internal environmental conditons are maintained to preserve the delicate Early Renaissance collection (which includes paintings on wood panels as well as canvas). Conditions are maintained within narrow bands: winter temperatures of 18-21°C, summer 22-24°C, and a year-round relative humidity of 50-60%.

The air conditioning system also allows dust and chemical pollutants to be controlled using filtration systems. The air circulating within the rooms is passed through filters which trap the dust and through beds of activated carbon which remove the major chemical pollutants such as ozone, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide.

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