Rams archive in the Villa Metzler of the Museum Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt a.M.
© KGV-Frankfurt
The Dieter an Ingeborg Rams Archive
Dieter Rams views designers not only as practitioners, but also as constructive social critics who develop ideas for a better world. In his numerous lectures and writings, his critical reflections, cautions and maxims can be read with that perspective in mind, although the questions and themes of the time have not lost any of their relevance.
The Dieter and Ingeborg Rams Archive is dedicated to collecting, maintaining, indexing and permanently preserving documents by, or relating to, Dieter Rams’ work. It is intended that the archive material should provide scholars and those with specialist interests the opportunity to learn about his life and work in an authentic way. The archive holdings include numerous original research materials such as texts, files, photos, drawings, films, sound recordings, handwritten notes, and many other materials in analogue and digital form. In addition, donations and permanent loans as well as the photographic estate of Ingeborg Rams are housed here.
The online registration makes our finding aids available to archive visitors on a limited basis. The finding aids serve as a research tool for navigating through our holdings in an uncomplicated and informative way. For reasons of data protection and due to the extensive image collection of approximately 10,000 digitised items such as photographs, negatives (some with contact prints), slides and a great deal more, only part of the image archive will soon be made accessible online. As the digitisation of the archival records progresses, the finding aids as well as the photo holdings will be constantly updated and expanded.
The archive would like to offer a virtual and physical platform that acts as a research environment for collaboration among scholars to be fostered. All visitors, journalists, and researchers have several workstations at their disposal in the archive, where they can view the archival documents.
Address
Dieter and Ingeborg Rams Archive
in the Museum Angewandte Kunst
Schaumainkai 17
60594 Frankfurt a.M.
Public Transport
Underground lines U1, U2, U3, U8,
Schweizer Platz
Bus line 46, Eiserner Steg
Tram lines 15, 16,
Schweizer Straße / Gartenstraße
Visitor parking behind the museum for a fee, access via Metzlerstraße
Opening Hours
Appointments by arrangement
Contact
+49 69 212 487 41
inquiry.archive@rams-foundation.org
Rams Archiv in 2023
Photos: Cassandra Peters © rams foundation
The holdings of the Dieter and Ingeborg Rams Archive are primarily intended for academic and journalistic purposes. Please register your visit in advance by e-mail or telephone. Access to the archives is only possible with confirmed registration. All holdings can only be viewed on site. Borrowed material cannot leave the archive premises. A place will be reserved for you for the time in which you are making use of the archive.
The archive offers search aids for researching and locating the sources required. In order to protect the archive material and to safeguard personal rights and copyrights, the provisions of the archive regulations must be observed.
Ordering
An application for use must be submitted when visiting the archive for the first time. This application for use is a prerequisite for making use of the archive material, since your signature obliges you to comply with the archive and fee regulations. You must state the subject and the purpose of your research in the application. Access to the archives is limited to the purpose stated in the application.
You can reserve archival materials by e-mail one opening day in advance or you can fill in the order forms provided on site. The earliest date of provision is one opening day to the next. There is no entitlement to the presentation of archive and collection material or search tools in their original form. In the interests of preservation, it is preferable that reproductions are used.
It is possible that individual archival records may be restricted or temporarily unavailable for use for legal or conservation reasons. Please inform yourself prior to a visit about accessibility.
Please note that a specimen copy must be submitted of any work that is substantially based on archival sources.
Ordering copies
Reproductions can be ordered for a fee using the „Request for Reproductions“ form. The provisions of the remuneration regulations must be observed. There is a choice between paper printouts or digital copies. Digitized copies are delivered electronically or on CD-Rom or DVD in a screen resolution of 96 dpi in PDF format. Printouts are provided in black and white.
If the request for reproduction is approved, an invoice will be sent to the applicant. Payment is possible only by bank transfer. Orders will be executed only after receipt of payment. The production deadlines are subject to change. Due to limited capacity, there may be longer waiting times in phases.
If the reproductions are intended for publication, permission must be obtained prior to production.
The transfer of reproductions from archival records to third parties or their use for a purpose other than that stated in the request for use is only permitted with written confirmation.
The use of electronic copying equipment is permitted only with permission.
