Symbioses of Tradition and Present Times

The historic Albertina palace in Vienna originates in the 18th century. The Albertina and its art treasures came into Austrian possession in 1920 and have been on public exhibition ever since. Even with various alterations it has not lost its traditional character, especially since it now exists as a modern museum within a historical palace. For decades the Albertina has required secure storage, space for restoration facilities and exhibitions that can meet international standards.

Time for fire protection

These days up to 8,000 people visit the Albertina every day. This has entirely changed the building’s requirements in terms of security. A large number of people as well as delicate artwork make the  provision of strict security measures essential. The security arrangements, however, can conflict with the individual architectural design of the building. As a result, the artistic value of the interior design may be impaired by, say, a functional fire detection system.
The exhibition hall for temporary exhibitions is certainly one of the most outstanding attractions of the Albertina. Planning fire detection systems that meet all security requirements as well as the architectural conditions is an extremely challenging process. Therefore, the entire exhibition area for temporary exhibitions is secured by a highly sensitive air sampling system for early fire detection. Since all smoke extraction ducts are concealed, it does not affect the architectura style of the building. Thus, underfloor and ceiling areas are secured by the fire detection system at the same time. On account of its modular duct system, the sampling system can be perfectly adapted to all building requirements. Even the storage rooms located below the exhibition hall are covered by our fire detection system to protect all valuable artwork stored in these rooms. All in all, an area of 4,200 square metres is secured against fire.

Protection against unauthorised guests

The unique artwork exhibited in the Albertina generally attracts the attention of various criminals. Therefore, delicate areas are effectively protected by a special intrusion and access management system. Non-public areas in the Albertina are secured by networked door terminals in order to grant access to authorised people only, whose magnetic or chip cards are checked for authorisation. Furthermore, these door terminals can manage defined room and time zones. Thus, certain employees are only granted access to those areas they work in for a specified time period.
Effective intrusion detection is guaranteed by various sensors and passive infrared detectors that protect premises, independent of their floor plan. Doors and windows are additionally secured against opening and entering by monitoring devices.

WINMAG: various monitoring and information systems – one display

The WINMAG control centre programme provides an overview of complex hazard alarm systems with several security systems such as fire, intrusion and access control. With WINMAG, all information is clearly structured and bundled on one PC. The programme also allows user-friendly system operation of a wide range of functions, clearly arranged on one display.

The technology we apply

Ideally synchronised system components guarantee the highest reliability and unlimited system expansion. The conceptual design enables connection of further security systems such as escape door routing. This information would also be visualised via the existing WINMAG hazard alarm system.

• Fire alarm control panel
  1x8000 M FACP
  100 series 9200 optical detectors
  17 Esser smoke aspiration systems
  
• Intruder alarm panel
  1 x 561-MB256 IAP
  
• Multifunctional technology
  WINMAG hazard alarm system
  
• Access control system
  25 ACS-1 access control terminals
  MultiAccess software