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Architecture Archives Architectural Records |
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Architecture Archives Architectural Records |
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Benno Janssen, country house, |
In Pittsburgh and its vicinity, settlement, industrialization, urbanization and redevelopment have each left a profound imprint on the built environment. The architecture of this region has its own distinctive character, and bears eloquent testimony to the forces that shaped it. But buildings themselves can tell only part of their stories. The particular histories of their conception, design, and construction are contained in the drawings and other documents by which ideas and information have been communicated between clients, architects, and contractors. In this region, as elsewhere, such architectural records are increasingly useful -- as documentation of an irretrievable past (for buildings demolished or left unbuilt); as data which facilitate the contemporary preservation and reuse of buildings; and as resources that make possible an informed understanding of our surroundings. The Architecture Archives believes that architectural records are mutually complementary. Whenever possible, they should be preserved in collections that document the full scope of the architectural process. The Archives collects records ranging from mundane but informative correspondence, contracts and specifications to handsome perspective renderings to as-built photographs. Of particular interest are preliminary or schematic sketches and drawings that document the design process, and working drawings that document the built project. The Archives also collects sketchbooks, marketing brochures and other ephemera.
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