Optex Fiber SenSys protects artwork from Seattle Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum

The museum's aesthetic requirements did not allow the display of protection systems, so Fiber SenSys fiber optics, distributed by ProdexTec in Spain and Portugal, was the solution to the problem.

The project of the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum of Seattle (Washington – Usa. U.S.) included surveillance with IP cameras, both exterior and interior, perimeter security, access control and alarm monitoring.

Another requirement was that garden areas should also be protected, as one of the museum's architectural artworks had been fabricated as a fence in which vegetation becomes entangled. The care of aesthetics in a museum is greater than in other locations, so the management did not want any component of the security system to be visible and needed a way to protect the artistic fence without interfering with it or visitors seeing the security system..

In addition, the case of Chihuly Garden and Glass was special, while this installation has been created both to show art in interior spaces in the traditional way, as outdoors, which was a challenge for the deployment of the security system.

Plants and art in blown glass intermingle in the museum and had to be protected from vandalism. The fence is formed by a series of iron poles, curved and welded together to resemble tall grass, and anchored to the cement of the ground.

This design did not make it easy for anything to be installed directly on the fence without it being seen., and plantings around the fence did not let a buried sensor monitor soil vibrations.

The use of volumetric or beam sensors was also ruled out, as they were impractical due to the obstructions created by the rocks, the fence and the plants.

That's why, in the design of the solution it was determined that the installation of a fiber optic sensor cable, just below the surface of the soil and the bark of the fence, was the best option. That is why the fiber optic system was tested Optex Fiber SenSys in a section of the fence successfully and a system was defined that included five zones connected to the Fiber SenSys receivers.

After a few sessions of adjustment and calibration of the system, perimeter security alarm solution works in the museum effectively and meets design requirements. Alarm notifications from five personal protection zones are recorded and integrated with the VMS so that the cameras receive the relevant warnings and record properly.

All this development and deployment of the system was achieved without altering the aesthetics of the artistic works and ensuring monitoring and protection against accidental or intentional intrusion. Optex Fiber SenSys perimeter protection is distributed and marketed by ProdexTec in Spain and Portugal.

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