“MATERIAL ARCHIV” is first of all a network of institutions operating in the field of art and design which are in possession of physical collections of materials; at the same time it is a website that is maintained by these institutions. This website offers a new and contemporary mode of access to a well-grounded knowledge of materials and working substances. The central element of the website is an intuitive and user-friendly interface which enables you to bring up relevant information about different materials in a straightforward way. The online database is linked to the physical samples of the collections by means of RFID. This means that information can be accessed either in analytic or in sensuous form.