Journal of Film Preservation - FIAF

Stockholm: New Facilities at the SFI
Jan-Erik Billinger, Bo Wedelfors
News from the
Archives
Nouvelles des
archives
Noticias de los
archivos
En 2001, le gouvernement Suédois
chargea le Swedish Film Institute
d’aménager des installations
d’archivage de ses collections nonfiction
à Grängesberg, localité située
à quelques 250 km au nord-ouest de
Stockholm. Le Swedish Film Institute
saisit cette occasion et décida d’y
faire construire également des
entrepôts de conservation de pellicule
nitrate, en remplacement de ceux de
la proche banlieue de Stockholm
devenues obsolètes.
Les travaux commencèrent en
novembre 2002 et les installations
sont opérationnelles depuis le
printemps 2004. Le complexe est
divisé en deux sections : un bâtiment
de deux étages abritant la réception
ainsi que les services techniques et
des locaux sur un étage comprenant
20 compartiments isolés et équipés
séparément d’une cheminée de
sécurité pouvant chacun abriter 1500
kg de pellicule nitrate.
D’autres caractéristiques du bâtiment
sont décrites, telles que les conditions
de température (-5°C, +/-2°C),
d’hygrométrie (22,5%HR, +/-2,5%) et
surtout, les mesures de sécurité et de
limitation des dégâts en cas
d’incendie.
In 2001, the Swedish Government appointed the Swedish Film Institute
to establish a new archive for non-fiction film in Grängesberg, 250
kilometres north-west of Stockholm. In addition to the archive, we
decided to build new vaults to preserve nitrate film. Our present vaults
for nitrate film in Rotebro, a resident area outside Stockholm, are not
good enough for long-term film preservation.
The construction work started in November, 2002, and the building is
expected to come into service in Spring, 2004.
Technical description of storage vaults
Plan layout
The building consists of two parts: a one-storey section containing the
archives, and a two-storey section that houses rooms for technical
installations and an entrance hall.
In the archive section, 20 compartments are placed on either side of a
central corridor. Each compartment is dimensioned to house 1,500 kg of
nitrate-base film.
Two emergency escape routes are incorporated: one exits into the
entrance hall and the other, at the opposite end of the corridor, is a
direct exit out of the vaults.
Fire security
As we know, nitrate film combusts explosively. The expansion of
combustive gases associated with a nitrate fire would expose the walls
and ceiling of the compartments to very high pressure. Each
compartment is therefore fitted with a separate pressure relief
“chimney”, through which the combustive gases can escape. A nitrate
fire could reach a temperature of 2000° C. The radiant heat of this fire
would ignite everything in close proximity. The building’s walls and roof
construction are therefore made entirely without combustible
materials. Floors, walls and ceilings are made of reinforced concrete.
Doors leading to the compartments swing inwards to resist high
pressure in combination with high temperature. To minimize the risk of
fire propagation, openings to ventilation ducts are specially designed in
order to withstand high pressure and close immediately in case of a
fire. The construction is designed to eliminate fire propagation. Thus, in
the event of a fire in one compartment, only this would be destroyed
and others would remain unaffected.
Temperature and humidity
The building is constructed to store film at a temperature of –5° C (+/-
2 degrees) and with an air humidity level of 22.5% RF (+/- 2.5%). To
obtain these values, while minimizing variations, the archival areas
(outside the compartments) consist of a temperature zone of + 5° C (+/-
2 degrees). The compartments themselves are constructed to be freestanding
from the basement floor. Exterior walls and roof are
73 Journal of Film Preservation / 67 / 2004