architectural history resources
Architecture and Planning Library
The Architecture and Planning Library, housed in historic Battle Hall, is among the foremost centers for the study of architectural history in the nation. Students may draw on the library's extensive holdings and special collections, which contain over 88,000 volumes and 210 current periodical subscriptions. The library's holdings are particularly strong in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century European and American architecture and design.
Alexander Architectural Archive
The Alexander Architectural Archive maintains more than 300,000 architectural drawings and 1630 linear feet of papers, photographic materials, audio/visual media, models/artifacts, and ephemera, representing thousands of projects in Texas as well as New York, Chicago, California, Great Britain, and some Latin American countries. The archive houses 90 individual collections from all over the world. Important holdings include the Charles Moore Archive, the Harwell Hamilton Harris Archive, Marshall-Fox Collection, and the Smith and Brewer Collection.
Of special interest is the William Allan Storrer Archive, the most complete visual documentation of Frank Lloyd Wright's built work. Additional new materials on Wright include the generous gift of Celia Faulkner Crawford, a unique collection of documents relating to the Avery and Queene Coonley House, Riverside, Illinois.
Ransom Humanities Research Center
The Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center is among the world's premiere repositories of material relating to the humanities. The Center's collections contain some 30 million leaves of manuscripts, over one million rare books, five million photographs, and 100,000 works of art. In addition to theater arts and film, the HRC has important holdings of rare works on architecture, including Italian Renaissance treatises and other early printed books. The HRC's collections also include the Norman Bel Geddes Archive, as well as an extensive array of journals on building and design.
Charles W. Moore Center for the Study of Place
The Charles W. Moore Center for the Study of Place is based in the Moore/Andersson Compound, a set of buildings of international significance, and recently recognized as an official project of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Save America's Treasures Program. The Moore House is the last in a series of eight that he designed for himself, and it is the only one that survives intact with his library, folk art, and toy collection. The Center also houses for the 4,000-volume Moore Architectural Library and the 2,500-volume Colin Rowe Library. The Charles W. Moore Center organizes symposia and field conferences as the central programs of its annual calendar. Unlike many conferences, the Moore Center Symposia are intended to be intimate in scale (typically no more than 40 participants attend). Recent speakers include Malcolm Holzman, Michael Rotondi, Peter Smithson, and Glenn Murcutt.
Benson Latin American Collection
The Benson Latin American Collection is among the world's preeminent repositories for books and other materials related to the history of Latin America and the Spanish-speaking regions of the United States. The library houses over 800,000 books, periodicals, and pamphlets, 2,500 linear feet of manuscripts, 19,000 maps, 21,000 microforms, 11,500 broadsides, 93,500 photographs, and 38,000 items in a variety of other media (sound recordings, drawings, video tapes and cassettes, slides, transparencies, posters, memorabilia, and electronic media).
Fine Arts Library
The Fine Arts Library collection includes approximately 300,000 books and musical scores and 900 current serial subscriptions. Among the library's rich holdings are many works related to architecture and design.
Center for American History
The Center for American History on the University of Texas campus is one of the nation's major repositories for books, manuscripts, photographs, and other material related to the history of the United States. The Center strengths are the history of Texas, the South, the Southwest, and the Rocky Mountain West. Holdings related to the history of architecture include photographs, books, manuscripts, maps, and drawings.
Center for American Architecture and Design
The Center for American Architecture and Design, operated within the School of Architecture, provides a lively forum for discussions and research. In addition to hosting seminars and conferences, the Center holds the popular bi-weekly Lunch Forum discussion sessions and publishes the journal Center, devoted to timely issues in architecture and design.
Visual Resources Collection
The Visual Resources Collection's primary function is to provide a sustainable and searchable collection of visual images to support current classroom teaching with an emphasis on the SOA's curriculum as well as reflecting the specializations of the VRC's patrons. The image collection is comprised of 235,000 35mm slides, 56,000 Web accessible digital images, video tapes, CD-ROMs and DVDs. In addition, the VRC administers the SOA's Photo Union—a black and white darkroom facility—in order to encourage students' investigation into the photographic medium as it relates to the SOA curriculum.