For four decades, the Friends of the German Architecture Museum have been instrumental in expanding the collection—acquiring and facilitating the donation of architectural plans, drawings, photographs, models, and publications. Marking this milestone, "Out of Storage" presents for the first time a comprehensive selection of archival materials brought into the collection through the Friends' support. The exhibition features over 130 works spanning the 20th and 21st centuries, including landmark projects by internationally acclaimed architects such as Archigram, Future Systems, Bruce Goff, Hans Poelzig, and Hans Scharoun.

The exhibition also invites critical reflection on architectural collecting itself—examining the role of archives, questions of access and preservation, and what architecture museums mean today as centers of knowledge and exchange. The title "Out of Storage" carries deliberate double meaning: it's both a call to bring the Friends' supported collections into public view, and an acknowledgment of the real challenges facing growing archives, where the majority of holdings remain unseen and rarely find their way into exhibitions. The presentation draws on perspectives from leading international curators and collection directors—including voices from MoMA and the forthcoming Korean Museum of Urbanism and Architecture. Through interviews, they explore the archive's potential not merely as a repository, but as a catalyst for new thinking and as a vital, generative force within architecture itself.

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