Meet our Team

"I experience the archive in connection with our approaches at the Chair of the History of Architecture and Construction, where we are working on the transition to environmental history. By including civil engineering, the saai offers a variety of starting points, for example with regard to the role of infrastructures as mediators between the built and natural environment. We also pursue such questions in seminars in which archival research is conducted. I hope that the saai will continue to offer a broad, interdisciplinary basis for a variety of architectural history questions."

"For me, archives are fundamentally porous constructs, full of gaps and holes. I am interested in how they came about as places of knowledge, how they work and function, and how we can think them into the future. In this context, I find the tension between long-duree time frames and accelerating AI processes just as exciting as deciphering notes between documents or finding new formats to fill the holes and add to the gaps – but in such a way that you can trace the seams of the mending!"

"A super important project is to test and install a digital system for the saai to manage our archive data. This is connected with many practical research questions, but even more interesting are the fundamental questions for the archive, such as those regarding the metadata, the way the objects are indexed, and those regarding access and the visibility of the archive. The pressing question of how to collect born digital projects is also closely related."

'The nice thing about my work is the unpredictability; the fact that you are constantly confronted with new tasks, the discoveries and also the chance discoveries that continually arise through enquiries.'

'My favourite collection at saai is the children's book collection. I would never have thought that there were so many children's books relating to architecture. I made an inventory of all of them, added them to the catalogue, packed old books together with our conservator and made dust jackets. It really was a project full of surprises.'

"As a conservator at saai, I work to preserve and restore historical documents and models. My job is to protect these valuable artifacts from decay and make their history accessible to future generations. I find it particularly exciting to gain insights into the original techniques and materials through my work."

'I come to saai several times a week and usually have a larger task, such as doing an iventory of a collection. There are also short-term tasks, such as trips to external locations, picking up new estates or assisting with general tasks. It is precisely this variety that makes my work so exciting.’

"Repackaging the inventory and producing the podcast gives me exciting insights into the research and the many hidden stories behind the thousands of photos and plans."