The Norman Foster Foundation and Yale University present the first edition of their joint programme ‘Deploying the Archive’, mentored by Iñaqui Carnicero, Professor at Yale School of Architecture, Yale University and Co-Founder of Rica Studio, New Haven, CT, United States.

This programme celebrates the potential contained within architectural archives and what makes them more than a repository of material, how does research stimulate and enrich our knowledge and understanding by opening new intellectual approaches?

During four weeks students will be introduced to the Norman Foster Foundation Archive, a collection reflecting six decades of Norman Foster’s career, with expert input from their mentor and a specially assembled academic body, they will gain an understanding of the benefits of archival research and practical experience of encountering physical documents.

Interpreting original documentation, across a diverse range of media, will enable students to comprehend the thought processes behind design evolution and deepen their architectural thinking.

Through working at the Norman Foster Foundation in Madrid, students will see how ideas researched in the Archive can be further developed with reference to the extensive collection of objects and models displayed in the Foundation’s archive galleries. Lectures and workshops will complement the exploratory sessions in the Archive, allowing students to gain practical experience of navigating a leading architectural collection and of using these encounters to confidently pursue their own research project.

The programme will be mentored by Iñaqui Carnicero, Professor at Yale School of Architecture, Yale University and Co-Founder of Rica Studio, New Haven, CT, United States, along with the professors Estrella de Diego, Academician, Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid, Spain and Luis Fernández-Galiano, Professor at ETSAM, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and Director of AV/Arquitectura Viva, Madrid, Spain.

‘Deploying the Archive’ will bring the opportunity for the students from Yale School of Architecture to develop a deep understanding of the content and aims of an architectural archive through the use of archival resources in broad, creative ways.