A consistent yet underestimated output of architects’ creativity are the New Year cards sent over decades to business partners and collaborators. This custom has changed little over the years and still stands for an informal networking practice that also spreads a little joy and often humour. The cards range from artistic designs – featuring hand-drawn sketches, collages, fold-outs, or readymades – to simpler formats such as photographs overwritten with short captions. While the final formats vary considerably, a recurring subject is the reference to the office’s own projects over the past year. Typically, in the 1970s and 1980s Xerox techniques were used for their reproduction, giving the cards a distinctive black-and-white, grainy, office-made look. As witty witnesses to the contemporaneous disciplinary discourse, many of these cards juxtapose architectural motifs over seasonal objects, including building-shaped candles.

The gta Archive holds many such examples, which we are happy to share with you at the end of 2025, wishing you a happy and successful New Year 2026!