Carrier Cooling Solutions help preserve Vatican art pieces

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The upcoming papal visit to the Philippines has generated renewed interest in the Vatican City —including its precious works of art. 

The walled city within the enclave of Rome receives up to 20,000 visitors a day. These huge crowds bring in a mix of dust, body sweat, and carbon dioxide, which end up on the surface of the paintings and can harm them over time.

Earlier this year, the Vatican partnered with Carrier Corporation to install top-end HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) units in the Sistine Chapel in an effort to properly preserve Michelangelo’s frescoes.

According to Concepcion Building & Industrial Solutions, proper ventilation and heating plays a critical role in preserving works of art.

“In light of the oncoming papal visit, our brand is proud to have played a role in helping protect the Vatican’s art pieces,” said Rajan Komarasu, Group Director of Concepcion Building & Industrial Solutions.

Jointly developed by museum experts and the Carrier Air Conditioning Company, the Vatican’s new air-conditioning system regulates humidity and temperature to help preserve some of the most famous art pieces in history.

High-tech cooling for the Sistine Chapel

Carrier installed and designed the Sistine Chapel’s first air-conditioning units in 1993. At the time, the HVAC system was engineered to accommodate a maximum load of 700 visitors.

Over the last two decades, however, the foot traffic in the renowned chapel has significantly increased. In fact, visits are estimated to have grown by over 300 percent from the 1980s.

To address these changes, Carrier has installed a new system using two AquaForce® 30XWV water-cooled chillers–an enhanced HVAC system that enables optimum temperature control which prevents climate fluctuations in the process. It also comes with air-filtration technologies that prevent the proliferation of airborne contaminants.

“Foot traffic is a major consideration for buildings in general when installing a HVAC system,” said Komarasu. “Cooling solutions need to be able to manage temperature and energy consumption in wide variances of traffic.”

In the Philippines, Carrier commercial air-conditioning is part of Concepcion Building & Industrial Solutions, which provides local companies and establishments with an end-to-end integrated business solutions portfolio, ranging from HVAC to escalators and elevators.

The outfit, which was established earlier this year, anchors its product values on energy efficiency, reliability, and operational stability.

Papal Coverage in Smart Araneta Coliseum

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The much-awaited event in the Christendom is set to happen this January, as Pope Francis conducts his first-ever apostolic visit to the country.

It is a chance to keep abreast of Pope Francis’ Papal visit to the country, LIVE on big screen.

To celebrate this global event, The Araneta Center, together with official media partner TV5, invites everyone to an exclusive coverage of the papal visit at The Smart Araneta Coliseum from January 16 to January 18, 2015. The event starts at 9 am until 1 pm, but gates will open as early as 7 in the morning. 

The papal streaming gives viewers the opportunity to vicariously share in Pope Francis’ meaningful journey through the Philippines, which will become the 3rd Asian country the Pope visits this year as head of the Catholic Church, after Sri Lanka and South Korea.

Also featured in the event is the “Tu Es Petrus Tour of Papal Relics”. Petrus is a Latin derivation of the name Peter that refers to all the Pope successors in the Catholic Church.

These relics include not only the mortal remains of the Popes who previously visited the country, bearing the title of “Saint” or “Blessed”, but also some of the things they touched or used. These were all authenticated and recognized by the Church, thus highly esteemed and valued for their sacredness.

Present in the exhibit are first and second class relics, from major to minor kinds, including blood stains, hair strands, and skull cap of Pope John Paul II, as well as the sacred zucchetto of Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI.

This once-in-a-lifetime experience is in line with The Araneta Center’s public service efforts and genuine desire to fulfill its corporate social responsibility.

Admission is absolutely free! Tickets are now available in Gateway, Ali Mall and Farmers Plaza concierge. T-shirts will also be given away to participants for free to serve as memento of the said event.

The relics are also available for viewing at the Gateway Activity Center from January 19 to January 31, 2015.

For more information on the Papal coverage at The Big Dome, visit www.aranetacenter.netand www.dearpopefrancis.ph