This special issue of icamprint has two focal points: In the first part, the 30 year history of icam is told for the first time.  In addition, the reminiscences of and interviews with founding members and members of the board Juhani Pallasmaa, Phyllis Lambert, Olgierd Czerner, Jöran Lindvall and Mariet Willinge provide insights into developments at icam, the challenges icam faces and their perspectives on its future.

In the second section, ‘Issues and Debates’, Dietmar Steiner reflects on the demands facing an architecture museum today. The contributions by Jean-Louis Cohen, Andreas Tönnesmann/Bruno Maurer and Manuel Blanco engage with the core activities of architecture museums, holding exhibitions and collection/storage. Developments in the sector of architecture theory over the years are traced by Claes Caldenby together with Johan Linton, and Ulrike Jehle-Schulte Strathaus takes Novartis Campus as an example in pursuing the extent to which artists broaden and sharpen the perception of the built environment.

This issue closes with reports on the icam activities of Michael Snodin and Jane Thomas, as well as a preview by Corinne Belier of and an invitation from the Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine to participate in the long awaited icam15 conference in Paris, 2010.