After four years of planning and construction, the Sherman Fairchild Center for Objects Conservation at The Cloisters opened officially on May 6, 2002. This new facility was made possible by the continued generous support of the Sherman Fairchild Foundation, and provides, for the first time, an on-site, modern laboratory specifically designed for the examination and treatment of objects.

The Center houses workstations, office space, and a library that comfortably accommodate four to five staff members and interns. The facility was designed for convenience and flexibility, with the health and safety of the conservators in mind. Its location in proximity to The Cloisters' freight elevator, and the installation of large doorways without saddles, assure a safe route for objects brought to the laboratory. Three worktables are mounted on wheels and can be adjusted in height so that a comfortable working position is easily obtained. Each workstation has been equipped with an air exhaust trunk that can be positioned as desired, while the ambient air quality is monitored and controlled from the central computer system in the Museum's main building on Fifth Avenue. An additional station was designed specifically for the treatment of stained glass, and features a large, built-in, light table and special drawer units for storing complete and disassembled panels.

Overhead fixtures with daylight-balanced fluorescent tubes, suitable for inpainting, supplement the western light that enters through three large lunette windows. Additional spotlights that match the color temperature of the lighting used in the galleries allow conservators to check how the objects will appear when on display. All fixtures are equipped with polycarbonate shields that filter out damaging ultraviolet radiation, while interior storm windows serve the same purpose for sunlight. These windows are also designed to filter out infrared light and thus reduce heat gain, to create a thermal barrier that prevents condensation on the metal and glass of the outer frames, and to serve as an auxiliary security measure.

Scientific instrumentation at the Center now includes a 200 kV X-ray radiography system that enables the successful imaging of most objects at The Cloisters. The new Zeiss Axioplan is a modular transmitted-light and incident-light polarizing microscope, configured with ultraviolet-light filter cubes and a digital camera connected directly to a dedicated computer. A Zeiss Stemi SV-11 stereomicroscope, several computers, and a Nikon digital camera were acquired as part of a program for digital imaging separately funded by the Booth-Ferris Foundation.

The wall color, cabinetry, and cork flooring in the facility's design are based on the original Cloisters offices as they appeared when first constructed in the nineteen-thirties. Modern materials, such as laboratory-grade, stained oak cabinets with counter tops made of Fireslate, a fireproof and solvent-resistant artificial material that resembles stone, were employed to create this appearance, and as a result the new, state-of-the-art conservation center blends perfectly with its historic surroundings. MM