By LARISSA DUBECKI Tuesday 31 July 2001
The Melbourne Museum yesterday admitted that visitors were present when a glass panel in a balcony shattered last week, covering the area five metres below with glass fragments.
The admission comes after a museum spokesman last week said the building was not open when the incident happened. Four similar incidents involving shattering glass have occurred since the $290-million complex opened last year. Museum spokeswoman Sue Hobbs confirmed yesterday that the building had been open, contradicting statements made by Joseph Corponi, the museum's corporate services director. Several witnesses contacted The Age after the incident last Monday. The witnesses described hearing a loud explosion and shattering glass as the three-metre by 1.2-metre panel in the balcony, located on the lower-ground level, gave way at about 10.15am.
"It was like a bomb going off. It was just frightening," one witness said. "There were people standing only metres away from where the glass fell." Ms Hobbs said the earlier report that the museum had not been open was the result of an incorrect verbal report given to Mr Corponi before an official incident report was filled out. A similar incident occurred in August last year during the museum's construction when a glass balustrade outside the museum shattered. Glass panes in doors and windows had shattered on three other occasions, although two of them could be directly traced to the actions of contract staff in the days leading up to the explosion, the spokeswoman said. State Opposition major projects spokesman Robert Clark has called for an inquiry into the use of the glass panels in public buildings. "It needs to be followed up. The question that needs to be asked is, are there plans for similar glass structures at the National Gallery or Federation Square?" he said.
But museum architects Denton Corker Marshall yesterday defended toughened safety- glass panels, describing them as safe and widely used. Firm director John Denton said toughened glass was used "all over Melbourne", including Colonial Stadium, the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, and most shopping centres. "There is no problem. When it chips it can break, but then it explodes into fragments that are safe." He said a chip on the edge of the glass could create a weakness that would later cause the glass to explode, seemingly without cause.
"Because it's glass it has the potential to do some very minor damage. But it would be like dumping a pound of loose sugar on top of you from three or four metres." The museum spokeswoman said 26 glass panels would be replaced, others would receive protective surrounds and panels would be checked for chips at least monthly. http://www.theage.com.au/
Hard-up museums are left leaderless
BY DALYA ALBERGE, ARTS CORRESPONDENT
REGIONAL museums housing some of the nation’s finest treasures are unable to attract directors because of a lack of funding. While billions of pounds in public funding continue to pour into London and the South East, cuts in staff and opening hours are the reality for impoverished museums in the North.
more: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-2001260999,00.html
Sprinkler Systems Could Fail, Commission Says
215,000 Recalled Sprinkler Heads Sold In State
OKLAHOMA CITY, 7:16 a.m. CDT July 30, 2001 -- Sprinklers the state bought to protect schools and jails from fire might not work because of a faulty part, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said.
Central Sprinkler Co. of Lansdale, Pa., has sold more than 215,000 of the sprinkler heads in Oklahoma. The sprinklers have been installed in homes, apartments, hospitals, day-care centers, schools, dormitories, nursing homes, supermarkets, parking garages, warehouses and offices. The company is offering to replace 35 million sprinkler heads it has sold worldwide. Buildings with the sprinkler heads include the Oklahoma County jail, Thelma R. Parks Elementary School in Oklahoma City, the Early Childhood Center in Muskogee and the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History in Norman. The safety commission says the sprinkler heads can corrode, or minerals, salts and other contaminants can affect their rubber seals. The sprinkler might not activate during a fire, the commission said. The replacement program also covers 167,000 sprinklers with O-rings manufactured by Gem Sprinkler Co. and Star Sprinkler Inc. from 1995 to 2001, officials said. The sprinkler heads have the words "CENTRAL" or "STAR," the letters "CSC," the letter "G" in a triangle, or a star-shaped symbol stamped on them.
Laboratory testing shows most of the heads would operate in a fire, but certain tested heads required higher water pressure to activate than may be available. Ken Giles, commission spokesman, said Central contacted his agency and is following the law. He said the replacement is not a recall. Central spokeswoman Anne Buchanan said the company has known about the problem for a year. The company has received 13 reports of sprinklers failing to activate during a fire.
None of the problems were in Oklahoma.
Oklahoma County jail inspectors noticed problems with the sprinklers several weeks ago, before the warning went out, said Joe Hardman, building systems supervisor. All of the building's sprinklers will be replaced, except those in the cell blocks, which already have been changed. In Muskogee, the problem was found during an annual inspection. Tim Holderby, Muskogee Public Schools custodial and safety supervisor, said about 200 sprinklers need to be replaced in the Early Childhood Center. He is checking other schools in the district. http://www.channeloklahoma.com/ From: newsletter@theartnewspaper.com Subject:
LONDON. Treasures from the Wernher Collection are to go on show in Ranger’s House, an English Heritage property in Greenwich Park. This follows years of uncertainty as a result of the financial problems and death of Nicholas Phillips, the great grandson of mining magnate Sir Julius Wernher (1850-1912). http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=6970
LIFELINE FOR THREATENED MONUMENTS
ARLES. A seven-year scheme to preserve and restore ancient monuments in the South of France has been announced. The scheme, with a budget of Ffr 600 million (£60 million), will benefit specified sites, many listed as historic monuments by UNESCO. These include the arena and amphitheatre at Arles, the amphitheatre at Vaison-la-Romaine and the amphitheatre and triumphal arch in Orange. Works are to begin next year on completion of archaeological assessments of the sites. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=6951
UK ARTS: BIG SUMS CLEARED WITHOUT ENOUGH INFORMATION
LONDON. The most comprehensive investigation ever undertaken into the subsidy of the arts in Britain concludes that decisions on huge sums of public money are being made without the proper information. A report on the UK Cultural Sector [published on 24 July], by the independent Policy Studies Institute, claims that there has been “a consistent failure to establish dependable data” on subsidies, accompanied by “a serious lack of analysis, which impairs both decision making and policy outcomes.” http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=6950
MORE REGULATION FOR THE EUROPEAN ART TRADE?
BRUSSELS. More regulation of the art trade seems likely as a result of an European Union conference here held in May and entitled “Prevention of Illicit Trafficing in Cultural Goods”. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=6930
LEO VILLAREAL: SYNTHESISER’S SYNTHETIC SYNTHESIS
NEW YORK. In the last few years Leo Villareal has become an ubiquitous presence in the Manhattan art community, as perhaps the leading young "New Media" artist. A teacher, talker, theoretician, organiser and hands-on sculptor, Villareal is constantly trying to push the limits of innovative technology. The Art Newspaper talked to him just before the opening of his first show in New York as a curator. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=6910
CHRISTIE'S BAGS GAFFÉ COLLECTION SALE
PARIS. Ending months of speculation about the sale of a group of major 20th-century paintings collected by a secretive Belgian businessman, Christie’s has announced that it will sell them in New York this autumn. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=6892
ART DEALER FOUND GUILTY AFTER 11 YEARS OF LITIGATION
PARIS. At the end of 11 years’ litigation, the criminal appeals court in Versailles has found the art dealer Adam Williams guilty of dealing in stolen goods in a case that has outraged the art world. Mr Williams was fined just £50 and given a suspended eight-month sentence, which because of the length of the case, is covered by a Presidential amnesty. He therefore will not have a criminal record. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=6891
Anna Somers Cocks, Editor contact@theartnewspaper.com
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