An institution established in the 18th century is joining the ranks of 21st century smart buildings.

IBM announced a partnership with the Louvre to preserve and protect its artwork and facilities, which cover more than 650,000 square feet, making the Parisian museum one of the largest in the world.

More than 65,000 repairs and maintenance visits per year, involving reams of paperwork, called for a more efficient, computerized maintenance system.

Louvre staff will now use the IBM Maximo Asset Management software to streamline their processes and improve customer service as well as the real-time operation and management of the museum.

Following a record breaking attendance year with 8.8 million visitors in 2011, the Louvre aims to reduce gallery closures due to maintenance issues.

Gallery planning, repairs, cleaning and more can be monitored along with air-conditioning, heating, elevators, lighting, and the locking system for more than 2,500 doors protecting priceless masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa.

"Buildings are massive systems of systems, and these systems need to talk to each other for a building to become smarter," said Metin Pelit, department manager of computerized maintenance management system, The Louvre Museum. "In The Louvre's case, there's the added challenge of being home to thousands of irreplaceable pieces of art which must be carefully preserved while trying to accommodate millions of visitors annually."

The single database efficiently monitors the condition of assets across the museum's facilities, while simultaneously reducing costs and energy consumption.