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Norman Foster Foundation | Preserving an Architectural Legacy with Technological Innovation
Our work goes beyond preserving documents, we safeguard an architectural legacy that must be accessible to future generations. For this, we required a technological solution equal to the task.
Diego Tobalina, Head of Innovation and Design at the Norman Foster Foundation.
The Challenge
A monumental archive
The Norman Foster Foundation, dedicated to preserving the legacy of one of the world’s most influential architects, faced a critical challenge: the absence of a clear and robust infrastructure for managing, storing, and safeguarding its valuable and growing archive, both digital and analogue. With materials dating from the 1950s to present-day projects, the collection includes large CAD models, videos, photographs, drawings, analogue plans, and more.
The Foundation had previously experimented with various storage solutions but encountered limitations in scalability, storage capacity, and performance. The tested systems were unable to cope with the demanding workloads involved in simultaneous collaboration among over 25 people, the digitization of models and documents, and the handling of large, resource-intensive file formats, such as CAD, TIFF, and other architecture-specific formats. These constraints led to frequent slowdowns and system crashes. The Foundation required a solution that was sustainable, secure, and capable of efficiently integrating its digital and analog worlds.
The Solution
Preserving the legacy of Norman Foster
The decision to implement Synology, carried out through the specialist integrator, Inmasan, marked a turning point. Inmasan’s expertise was key to ensuring the long-term preservation of Norman Foster’s historical legacy. “The choice of Synology was based on its ability to address even the most complex risk scenarios, such as data encryption, flooding, or fire,” explains Javier Conesa, CEO of Inmasan Tecnología.
To overcome challenges related to performance, scalability, and security, Inmasan implemented a solution that combined multiple Synology solutions to serve as the primary storage system, local on-site backup, and remote backup.
At the core of the Foundation's data preservation efforts and day-to-day operations is over 100TB of fast and dependable storage. A secondary on-site system leverages Synology Active Backup to protect the Foundation's endpoints and servers. Critical data is synced between the primary and secondary systems to ensure rapid recovery. Should a more drastic disaster recovery operation be required, data is also replicated to an off-site system, where it is then replicated again to Synology's C2 cloud for safekeeping.
Key benefits
1. Scalability and enhanced performance:
The deployed Synology systems leverage hybrid flash storage to support the Foundation's preservation efforts in a cost-effective and expandable manner.
2. Advanced data protection:
From on-device snapshots to a comprehensive 3-2-1 setup, the Foundation's data is protected on multiple systems against single-point hardware failures, cyberthreats, disasters, and more.
3. Simplified management:
Synology DSM greatly simplifies not only setup, but also monitoring and data recovery operations, reducing long-term operational complexity and costs.
The Customer
Founded in London in 1999, the Norman Foster Foundation promotes interdisciplinary thinking and research to help new generations anticipate the future. At the heart of its mission is Norman Foster’s belief that architecture, infrastructure, and urbanism directly influence the quality of our lives as new cities are created and existing ones evolve. Since its inception, the Foundation’s educational programmes have encouraged new ideas and research to support future civic leaders in preparing for the challenges ahead, guided by evidence rather than trends. These principles and initiatives led to the creation of the Norman Foster Institute, which launched its first Master’s in Sustainable Cities in January 2024.
The Foundation is also home to the Norman Foster Archive and part of its Library, offering a window into the history of our built environment through the work of Norman Foster and other leading architects. The Archive is an open online resource and contributes to exhibitions worldwide.
Established in 2015, the Foundation’s Archive currently holds more than 120,000 items, including plans, drawings, sketchbooks, models, photographic material, and personal objects. This ever-growing collection—thanks to ongoing conservation, organisation, and digitisation efforts, represents decades of architectural design and innovation. Beyond its value as a resource for researchers and architecture enthusiasts, the archive is available to the public through protected downloads featuring safeguards such as watermarks, ensuring both broad accessibility and the preservation of its content's integrity for future generations. In this way, the Foundation reaffirms its commitment to education, sustainability, and research in the fields of architecture and design, ensuring that this invaluable legacy continues to inspire and contribute to global knowledge.
All images provided by Norman Foster Foundation and used with permission.
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