Architectural Archives
David Gilly, Schloss Paretz, Front Elevation, c. 1797–1799, drawing
Bruno Taut, glass building set Dandanah, 1920–1921
Paul Baumgarten, Refuse Loading Station, Berlin-Charlottenburg, 1932–1936
Konrad Wachsmann next to his model of the United States Air Force aircraft hanger, c. 1951–1953
Hans Scharoun, The Geschwister-Scholl-Schule, Lünen, 1955–1962
Wassili Luckhardt, Competition for Toronto City Hall, Canada, 1958
Mark Braun, Spreedreieck Tower Block, Berlin-Mitte, 2004
Storage tubes for architectural drawings in the Architectural Archives
Although the oldest historical architectural materials in the Archives date from the late eighteenth century when the Akademie der Künste became established as an educational institution for architecture, the largest section of the collection is dedicated to the twentieth century. The Archives’ personal papers, estates and collections from architects, engineers, landscape architects, theoreticians and photographers document architectural projects not only in Berlin, but across Germany and internationally. The holdings also focus particularly on archives of architects who emigrated during the Nazi period. After the inclusion of important holdings from the GDR after the Wall came down in 1989, the Archives can also now document post-war developments in architecture in East Germany. Thanks to regular donations of personal papers and collections from leading contemporary architects, the Archives can also trace architectural history as it is created in innovative approaches today.
The Architectural Archives comprises more than 160 archives and collections with around 450,000 plans and drawings, approx. 150,000 photos, 1.2 kilometre of written material, 750 models and 12,000 samples of material. The archival materials can be viewed in the Reading Room.