GAR - Archives d'Architecture
Le GAR - Archives d'Architecture comprend une riche bibliothèque de plus de 5000 ouvrages et un centre d’archives dont les collections sont constituées de dessins, plans, photographies et maquettes.
The GAR-Archives of Architecture Collections
Although it has a rich library of more than 5,000 works, the GAR-Archives d'Architecture is above all an archive centre, essentially devoted to architecture and urban and rural planning in the 19th and 20th centuries in Liège and in French-speaking Belgium. The collections are made up of drawings, plans, photographs and models.
More than 40 archive collections are kept here, including those of several major personalities in the history of architecture in Wallonia. The collections have been built thanks to bequests, donations or deposits obtained through a proactive policy of searching for archive collections of architects, town planners and designers. Among the most important documentary collections are the ÉGAU, Émile-José Fettweis and Jean Englebert funds.
More than 2,000 graphic documents, 150 old magazines, 1,400 maps and more than 600 audio-visual documents are also part of the collections, where the decorative arts occupy a privileged place.
A Valuable Tool for the Faculty of Architecture
Integrated within the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Liege since 2010, the GAR supports the scientific missions of the Faculty by offering quality collections. The GAR is a partner for the research carried out by the teachers of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Liege and is also an important tool for teaching, especially for more practical workshops. Here, students can also find the resources they need for their studies or their Master's dissertations.
Public-facing Enhancement Projects
In order to facilitate access to the collections, the GAR has taken on the task of inventorying and digitising the collections. Putting the inventories online is a medium-term objective.
However, the objective of promoting the collections has been present for many years and is supported by a programme of exhibitions, conferences, guided tours and publications aimed at a broad audience.
The "Archidoc"project, initiated in 2016, brings a new aspect to the architecture archive. It consists of an annual cycle of exhibitions, in collaboration with the Wittert Museum and the École supérieure des Arts de la Ville de Liège, and is systematically accompanied by the production of a film and the publication of a book that considers architecture from a biographical perspective.
