Norman Foster

In his introduction to the series, Norman Foster says that archives play an important role in anticipating the future, as they hold the lessons of the past for many different disciplines. With regard to architecture, he notes that it is not only documents and drawings which should be preserved, but other types of objects that show the physicality of this profession, such as three-dimensional models, and the legacy left by other disciplines as well, in turn shaping the practice of design and architecture.