Architectural drafts in the Hans Scharoun Archive

The Berlin Academy of the Arts owns an important collection of 12,000 drafts by the architect Hans Scharoun (1893-1972). Because of material-technical problems and improper storage in cardboard tubes, the drafts could no longer be handled, and thus, were inaccessible to researchers. The collection is typical for architectural oeuvres of the 20th century – in addition to large-format original drawings on transparent paper in ink, graphite, chalk, coloured pencil and water colour, it contains a wide range of photographic reproductions and blueprints of drawings. Consequently, the conservational-scientific focus of the project was on preserving materials that demonstrated significant signs of aging.
Scharoun’s works, now stored at the Architecture Archive at the Academy, were first analyzed and documented, which served as the basis for developing a concept to conserve and create a storage system for the collection. The process was tested on approximately 4,200 original drafts of important construction projects, large parts of which were digitalized. Furthermore, the project created a visual atlas for identifying photographic reproduction techniques and compiled a list of preservation guidelines. The results of the project and the visual atlas were made into a learning module for continuing education courses for conservators.

Project administrator:
Academy of the Arts, Berlin

Cooperative partners:
State Academy of Art and Design, Stuttgart