Poor air quality inside museums is one of the main causes influencing the state of conservation of exhibits. Even if they are mostly placed in a controlled environment because of their construction materials, the exhibits can be very vulnerable to the influence of the internal microclimate. As a consequence, museum exhibits must be protected from potential negative effects. In order to prevent and stop the process of damage of the exhibits, monitoring the main parameters of the microclimate (especially temperature, humidity, and brightness) and keeping them in strict values is extremely important. The present study refers to the investigations and analysis of air quality inside a museum, located in a heritage building, from Romania. The paper focuses on monitoring and analysing temperature of air and walls, relative humidity (RH), CO₂, brightness and particulate matters (PM), formaldehyde (HCHO), and total volatile organic compounds (TVOC). The monitoring was carried out in the Summer–Autumn 2020 Campaign, in two different exhibition areas (first floor and basement) and the main warehouse where the exhibits are kept and restored. The analyses aimed both at highlighting the hazard induced by the poor air quality inside the museum that the exhibits face. The results show that this environment is potentially harmful to both exposed items and people. Therefore, the number of days in which the ideal conditions in terms of temperature and RH are met are quite few, the concentration of suspended particles, formaldehyde, and total volatile organic compounds often exceed the limit allowed by the international standards in force. The results represent the basis for the development and implementation of strategies for long-term conservation of exhibits and to ensure a clean environment for employees, restorers, and visitors.

The quality of the indoor microclimate in museums is a problem of great interest to the contemporary society, given that it is in close connection with the health and comfort of visitors and employees, as well as with the integrity of the exhibits. Taking into account the fact that museums are places that have a special role in the community’s life and therefore attract a very large number of visitors of all ages, a very important issue is to determine the degree of safety that the indoor microclimate presents. Thus, the quality of the indoor microclimate was investigated inside an iconic museum in Romania, dating back to the 19th century, because pollutants from external or internal sources of the building, generated secondary, often anthropogenic, as a tendency to defend/adapt to climate change (CC), contribute to both local and regional pollution, but also lead to challenges in identifying links between air quality (AQ) and and climate change (CC). The methodology used was based on monitoring the main parameters of the microclimate (temperature, relative humidity and CO₂) over a period of between October 2020 and March 2021, 21 weeks, as well as on determining the microbiological contamination of the air and some indoor exhibits located in three different areas of the museum. At the same time, the study aims to identify cheap, easy to implement and non-invasive solutions for removing fungi identified on exhibits for long-term preservation and reducing the risk of various pathologies in humans following prolonged exposure. The results obtained show that the indoor microclimate in the old heritage building favours the development of fungi, which have a high degree of contamination of the air (over 800 CFU/m³) and of the exhibits, representing a potential risk for the health of the visitors and museum workers. Thus, six species of yeast and five different fungi genera were identified in the air, while on the exhibits were individualised six fungi genera, a species of yeast and a bacterium. The most viable solution for cleaning materials, prolonging their lifespan and reducing the risk of disease in humans was represented by the use of essential oils (EO). Three essential oils (lavender, mint and lemon) were applied on an exhibit with five different microorganism genera, and it was observed that they have the ability to inhibit the spores from moulds and bacteria, being a very good alternative to the usual chemical treatments that are used in the cultural heritage field.

One of the principles of the circular economy is to recycle used or unused materials, in order to reuse them in the creation of new objects or the restoration of old ones. But due to the fragility, some of these materials, such as old textiles and clothing, are quite difficult to handle. This study presents a completely digital method with the help of which two pieces of clothing of different ages and physical properties, have been restored and stylized; the two pieces are made up of a traditional Romanian women’s shirt about 100 years old and a modern sports t-shirt. For the application of the principles of the circular economy, the restoration-stylization processes of the pieces were based on the material and ornaments collected digitally from a series of old Romanian towels, which are currently no longer used. For this we considered the creation of 3D models of all the materials considered by the method of photogrammetry in Agisoft Metashape 1.6.2 Professional Edition and their processing in MeshLab 2020.2, as well as the vectorization of traditional motifs in ArcGis 10.6. Such an approach limits to the minimum the numbers of attempts that the restores have at their disposal while also allowing the obtaining, storage and transmission of information about traditional textiles, aimed at capturing the imagination of modern artists and designers to restore them for future generations.

Poor air quality inside museums can have a double effect; on the one hand, influencing the integrity of the exhibits and on the other hand, endangering the health of employees and visitors. Both components can be very sensitive to the influence of the internal microclimate, therefore careful monitoring of the physical parameters and pollutants is required in order to maintain them within strict limits and thus to reduce the hazards that can be induced. The current study considers the determination and analysis of 15 indicators of the internal microclimate in an Art Nouveau museum built at the beginning of the 20th century in the Municipality of Oradea, Romania. The monitoring spanned a period of seven months, between September 2021 and March 2022, targeting three rooms of the museum with different characteristics and containing exhibits with a high degree of fragility. The results show that, although there are numerous indicators that have exceeded the thresholds induced by international standards, the possible negative impact on the exhibits and/or on human health remains moderate. This is due to the fact that, most of the time, exceeding the permitted limits are small or only sporadic, the values quickly returning to the permitted limits. Thus, only 22 of the 212 days of monitoring recorded marginal conditions regarding the quality of the indoor air, the rest having acceptable and good conditions. To improve the indoor conditions, a more careful management is needed, especially regarding the values of temperature, humidity, particulate matters, natural and artificial light, volatile organic compounds (VOC) and formaldehyde (HCHO), which during the measurements recorded high values that fluctuated in a wide spectrum. The obtained results can represent the basis for the development and implementation of long-term strategies for stabilizing the microclimatic conditions in the museum in order to preserve the exhibits preventively and to ensure a clean and safe environment for people.

Indoor air quality (IAQ) and indoor air pollution are critical issues impacting urban environments, significantly affecting the quality of life. Nowadays, poor IAQ is linked to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, allergic reactions, and cognitive impairments, particularly in settings like classrooms. Thus, this study investigates the impact of indoor environmental quality on student health in a university classroom over a year, using various sensors to measure 19 environmental parameters, including temperature, relative humidity, CO₂, CO, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matter (PM), and other pollutants. Thus, the aim of the study is to analyze the implications of the indoor microclimate for the health of individuals working in the classroom, as well as its implications for educational outcomes. The data revealed frequent exceedances of international standards for formaldehyde (HCHO), VOC, PM_2.5, NO, and NO₂. HCHO and VOCs levels, often originating from building materials and classroom activities, were notably high. PM_2.5 levels exceeded both annual and daily standards, while NO and NO₂ levels, possibly influenced by inadequate ventilation, also surpassed recommended limits. Even though there were numerous exceedances of current international standards, the indoor microclimate quality index (IMQI) score indicated a generally good indoor environment, remaining mostly between 0 and 50 for this indicator. Additionally, analyses indicate a high probability that some indicators will exceed the current standards, and their values are expected to trend upwards in the future. The study highlighted the need for better ventilation and pollutant control in classrooms to ensure a healthy learning environment. Frequent exceedances of pollutant standards can suggest a significant impact on student health and academic performance. Thus, the present study underscored the importance of continuous monitoring and proactive measures to maintain optimal indoor air quality.

The Jewish architectural heritage is and will remain an integral part of the local cultural heritage, but part of it still needs to be discovered, rehabilitated, maintained and valued. For Oradea, a Central–Eastern European city, this challenge is very specific because the Jewish communities before World War II were very strong and prosperous and because of the current desire to assert the city in the tourism market through urban regeneration. The Jewish community of Oradea had an important representative in Éva Heyman, a child of the Holocaust, nicknamed “Anne Frank of Transylvania”, which became famous. At the age of 13 years, Éva Heyman kept a diary during the Jewish ghettos in Oradea. In addition to the diary, her story is about the house where she grew up, built in the Art Nouveau style at the center of Oradea. Even though this house is of inestimable value from an aesthetic and cultural point of view, very little is known among the local population. Moreover, it is not listed as a historical monument, and its current state of preservation is precarious. With the increasing importance of preserving cultural heritage and computer graphics development, the digitization of historical buildings began to be used more and more for evaluation, preservation and promotion. This paper attempts to highlight the story of Éva Hayman and the house where she grew up. The paper further presents the innovative methods by which it is desired to achieve the presented goal for this architectural jewel. The results show that three-dimensional digitization methods are powerful tools for preservation and use for the benefit of the general public, education professionals, administrators and investors, art historians, restorers, etc., who are concerned with the collection preservation, exploration and mediation of the Jewish cultural heritage.