On Archives: Masterclass Series Volume II

The ‘On Archives’ Masterclass Series Volume II explores the fundamental aspects related to architectural archives and libraries around the world. Given by leading experts in the fields of archiving, architecture, art, design and heritage management, this Masterclass series supports the Norman Foster Foundation’s extensive educational programme by promoting an exchange of knowledge across a range of geographic and disciplinary perspectives.
The experts included in this second volume offer diverse knowledge across the field of archiving and include Giovanna Borasi, Sol Camacho, Esther Cruces, Estrella de Diego, Michelle Elligott, Norman Foster, Patricia Hartmann, Charles Hind, Barbara Jatta, Valerie Maasburg, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Mar Pérez Morillo, Marcia Reed, Mathias Schwartz-Clauss and Bill Sherman. The masterclasses are divided into chapters that encapsulate the most pressing issues related to archives today, from the role of technology and digitisation, to the importance of matierality and the work that must be done to activate archives.
The book features a chapter by the Norman Foster Foundation’s Archive, Exhibitions and Publications Unit team—James Jago, Irene Pedrazuela and Alicia Valdivieso—giving valuable insight into the Archive held at the Foundation in Madrid, Spain. Responsible for the cataloguing, conservation and dissemination of all architectural records, the Archive forms the institutional heart of the Foundation.
This is the second volume in the Norman Foster Foundation’s Masterclass Series, an initiative from the Education + Research Unit, whose mission is to transfer advanced knowledge in a wide range of design
fields.