Paper – Line – Light. The Preservation of Architectural Drawings and Photoreproductions from the Hans Scharoun Archive
Eva Glück, Irene Brückle, Eva-Maria Barkhofen im Auftrag der AdK (Hg.) · AdK, Archiv, Berlin 2012 · dt./engl. · ca. 130 Farb-Abb., ca. 160 S., mit DVD und Bildtafel · ISBN 978-3-88331-179-1, Best.-Nr. 2059 · 49,00 €
In a four-year project, 5000 architectural drawings and photo reproductions by Hans Scharoun (1893–1972) from the architectural archive of the Akademie der Künste, Berlin, have been subjected to a materials analysis, preserved with a new, efficient treatment method, and digitized. The collection comprises plans on 144 important construction projects by Scharoun, such as the Berliner Philharmonie (fig. 1). The book presents the results of the analyses and the methods applied in a clear and detailed manner. The main focuses of the conception were on minimizing the conservation treatments carried out on the plans, which had been damaged through storage and use, and on developing an efficient system for rehousing them. In particular, the methods for flattening the rolled, large-format plans, and for mending tears in tracing paper, were adapted to fit the special technological features of architectural plans. The book is accompanied by video documentation on DVD, illustrating the application of the techniques. The project was funded within the framework of the KUR-Programm (Program for the Conservation of Moveable Cultural Assets) of the Federal Cultural Foundation and the Foundation of German States.
A particular focus of the project was the technological analysis of the photoreproductions. The Hans Scharoun archive mainly contains diazotypes, but also ferrogallic prints, gel lithographs, and silver gelatin contact prints. History, technology, related processes and characteristic identifying features are described and explained using macroscopic and microscopic illustrations. The accompanying plate of illustrations reproduces the documentation in summarized form and facilitates identification of photoreproductive techniques on the actual object.
