Digitization of AEG Photo Albums
Funded by the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion
The project “Training, Factory, Product: AEG Photo Albums from the Werkschule in Berlin-Reinickendorf and the Brunnenstraße Machine Factory in Berlin-Wedding” will run from February 6, 2025, through December 31, 2025. Funding is provided as part of the State of Berlin’s grant program for the digitization of cultural heritage.
The project aims to digitally preserve and make available a collection of photographs from the AEG Group — previously unknown to the public and inaccessible — that is significant to the history of Berlin’s industrial culture and working life. The approximately 4,000 photographs provide insight into the social lives of the apprentices, who later worked in production as lathe operators, precision mechanics, machine fitters, model carpenters, and mold makers. In addition, there are photos of the production facility, its equipment, and its layout. Most albums contain photos of the products, ranging from small measuring instruments to large machines. These image sources document the world of work and the realities of the workplace during times of upheaval and change; they are being digitized as part of this project and made available online through the relevant presentation platforms.
The Berlin Research and Competence Center for Digitalization is based at the Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB) and is funded by the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion.
Funding period: February 6, 2025, through December 31, 2025
Redesign of the Permanent Exhibition on Rail Transportation
Supported by the DKLB Foundation (Lotto Foundation Berlin)
The goal of the project is to give the exhibition in the historic locomotive sheds at Anhalter Bahnhof a new, contemporary look. The permanent exhibition “Rail Transport” is one of the museum’s best-known and oldest exhibitions. The redesign takes up its hallmark—the unique atmosphere of the historic buildings, with their authentic scent of soot and oil—and builds on it. The impressive trains and railroad structures are not presented as technical behemoths, but are made accessible and engaging to the public through their stories and cultural-historical context. With the help of digital technology, the buildings and exhibits are transformed into a new kind of immersive experience.
The new exhibition bridges the gap to relevant contemporary issues such as mobility and sustainability and appeals to the museum’s diverse and international audience. A contemporary exhibition design offers an exciting, varied, and accessible exhibition experience while ensuring a high-quality visitor experience and easy navigation.
Project duration: November 2019 through June 2024
Records of the Typeface Design Department of H. Berthold AG
Funded by the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion
The project “Cut, Paste, Edit – Records of the Typeface Design Department at H. Berthold AG on Design and Production” will run from January 18, 2024, through December 31, 2024. Funding is provided as part of the State of Berlin’s grant program for the digitization of cultural heritage.
The goal is to preserve evidence of Berlin’s typographic culture and raise its international profile, to advance the digitization of Berlin’s typographic cultural heritage, and to improve the foundation for further research. A total of 78 files from the first half of the 20th century—including letters from type designers, internal documents, proofs, and drawings from the typefoundry department of H. Berthold AG relating to the design and production of lead type in various typefaces—will be digitized and made available online via the relevant presentation platforms.
The Berlin Research and Competence Center for Digitalization is based at the Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB) and is funded by the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion.
