The saai holds one of the most impressive collections of its type in Germany
consisting of more than 270,000 plans, drawings and sketches, 500,000 photographs, slides,
negatives and audio and video tapes, 1,100 meters shelving of files and records,
about 420 models and items of furniture, as well as a wide range of monographs and periodicals.
The collection originates in the former collection, which was probably used for teaching purposes and belonged to the faculty of architecture at the Polytechnical School, known today as the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). In the 1970s, major donations and bequests bestowed by contemporary architects enriched the collection. These donations were the initial impulse for the foundation of saai.
The project continued in 1989 when the government of Baden-Württemberg decided to incorporate the saai into the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, and attach it to the Chair in Architectural History. Since 1989, the collection expanded through the addition of new materials relating to contemporary architects.
The collection originates in the former collection, which was probably used for teaching purposes and belonged to the faculty of architecture at the Polytechnical School, known today as the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). In the 1970s, major donations and bequests bestowed by contemporary architects enriched the collection. These donations were the initial impulse for the foundation of saai.
The project continued in 1989 when the government of Baden-Württemberg decided to incorporate the saai into the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, and attach it to the Chair in Architectural History. Since 1989, the collection expanded through the addition of new materials relating to contemporary architects.
General view oft the Zeughaus, photograph taken around 1910
