OUT OF STORAGE

Hans Scharoun, 1920; Skizzen aus der Insterburger Zeit, Gartenzimmer; Bleistift, Aquarell, auf Karton
Ankauf durch Gesellschaft der Freunde des Deutschen Architekturmuseums, 2000 © Deutsches Architekturmuseum, Frankfurt am Main

OUT OF STORAGE – Focusing on acquisitions by the Friends of DAM

November 22, 2025 – March 1, 2026 
Exhibition Opening: November 21, 2025, 7 p.m.
Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM) >> 1. FL

Since its foundation 40 years ago, the Society of Friends of Deutsches Architekturmuseums (DAM) has been helping expand the museum’s collection – by acting as an intermediary, by acquisitions and donations of plans, drawing, photographs, models, and books. On the occasion of its 40th anniversary, the exhibition “Out of Storage” for the first time brings together all the archived materials that have become part of the DAM collection thanks to the efforts of the Society of Friends“. Over 130 exhibits from different decades in the 20th and 21st centuries will be on display – including works by renowned international architects such as Archigram, Future Systems, Bruce Goff, Hans Poelzig, and Hans Scharoun. At the same time, the exhibition will invite visitors to reflect on collecting architecture, namely on the role of archives, on issues of access to the items and their storage, and on the importance today of architecture museums as knowledge and education spaces.
Preview Exhibitions 2025 Frankfurt / Main, 10/06/2025
PRESS INFORMATION page 5
The title “Out of Storage” was chosen for its ambiguity: It should be read first as an appeal to render the items in the collection supported by the Society of Friends publicly visible and second as a reference to the logistical challenges of ever larger archives in which a large part of what is collected remains invisible and can only rarely be exhibited.
The presentation will be supplemented by the voices of international curators and collection directors, e.g., from the Museum of Modern Art or the Korean Museum of Urbanism and Architecture that is currently being planned. In interviews, these experts reflect on the potential archives offer not only as a storage medium but also as sources of stimuli for new knowledge and as a productive, inspiring force within the discipline of architecture.