A former director of the SAR, John Carp (employed by the TUE), asked the SAG to carry out archival research into the ideas and design concepts developed by the SAR. The result of this study and about twenty interviews with friends and enemies of the SAR was to be a book, written in English, that would present to an international readership, for the first time in such a comprehensive manner, the intellectual heritage of the SAR (1964-1990).
In his 1961 book De dragers en de mensen (later published in English as Supports: an alternative to mass housing), Dutch architect John Habraken proposed a radical alternative to existing mass housing in the Netherlands. In an effort to offer the occupant of a mass-produced dwelling the opportunity to make a personal statement, he introduced the concept of a separation of support and infill. The support structure represents communal responsibility in the production of mass-produced housing, while the infill stands for individual control. The result is the realization of variation and personal authority in millions of homes. This alternative was to be put into practice by the Foundation for Architects’ Research (SAR). Everything that contributed to the realization of an alternative to existing methods of housing production became the subject of this study. The transition from architectural theory to actual practice requires an intermediate step. This step consists of a series of design-related decisions that can be analyzed as a combination of the concept – in the sense of a direction in which a solution can be found – and a method for converting this concept into concrete rules of play. The elucidation and development of concepts and methods is the SAR’s area of research.

Dorine van Hoogstraten on Habraken’s basic idea: The support structure itself, which is not housing, can be seen as building land in the air, which contains connections for electricity, sewage, and other general facilities. The support structure, for which the community (government) bears responsibility, has a much longer life span than the dwelling assembled within it and must, therefore, be independent of this dwelling. The architect designs support structures, and the urban designer organizes them into a city. The support is not a neutral structure; on the contrary, it clears the way for outstanding talent in the field of design. (Housing for the Millions: John Habraken and the SAR (1960-2000), p. 92)
 
Martijn Vos: Architects had little interest in the rational-methodical development of the design process. (Housing for the Millions: John Habraken and the SAR (1960-2000), p. 207)