The City College Library                                                     Research Guide
 

To Find Information on:
 

Buildings                                Architecture in General Online Research

Section 1  -  Architects:
 

 
Grove Dictionary of Art.  Includes extensive coverage on architectural subjects. Available online to CUNY students here.   Also available in print (34 volumes) in the Architecture Library.  Arch Ref N31 .D5 1996.  Illustrations are outstandingly better in the online version.

International Dictionary of Architects and Architecture.  Detroit: St. James Press, 1993.  This two-volume work features 523 architects and 467              buildings primarily in Western architecture.  Architecture volume is arranged geographically.  Bibliographical information included.   Ref  NA40.I48 1993.

Placzek, Adolf C., ed. Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects.  New York:  Freepress, 1982.  Four volumes.  For architects born before 1930.  Use the index in vol. 4 for both architect and building name.  Bibliographical information included.  Primarily Western architecture.  Ref  NA40.M25 1982.
 
 

Contemporary Architects

Contemporary Architects.  3d ed. London: St. James Press, 1994.  Ref. NA680.c625 1994.

Krantz, Les.  American Architects. New York: Facts on File, 1989.  Includes lesser known architects. On Reserve.

Lacy, Bill.  100 Contemporary Architects;  Drawings & Sketches.  New York: Abrams, 1991. On Reserve.

The Architecture Library Provides Access to Four Major Indexes & Two Databases with Full-Text Articles: *

        Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals.  NOTE:  The Avery Index is now available online. Access it both on and off site.  Coverage for citations to articles is from the 1930s to the present, with selective coverage back to the 1880s. Click on the Avery lndex Online link from the Architecture Library home page. THIS IS THE BEST AVAILABLE INDEX FOR ARCHITECTURE-RELATED ARTICLES.

        Art Full Text/Art Index.  Good coverage of architectural as well as general art subjects.  This index began in 1929. NOTE: The library offers access online to Art Full Text. Click on the Art Full Text  link here or from the Architecture Library's Home Page. Note: Coverage for indexed articles dates back to 1984; full-text articles from 1995 only. Coverage prior to 1984 is available in print form in the Architecture Library.

        Architectural Periodical Index (API).   NOTE: Now available online through the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Updated quarterly.  Searches produce not only citations to articles in over 300 international journals but also to books in the RIBA library in London.

        Architectural Index.  Print only. Although this index covers only nine architectural journals, they are the major AMERICAN journals, and the library subscribes to them all.  Updated annually.  This index began in 1950.  (Located on a shelf adjacent to the index table).

    JSTOR. This online database offers researchers the ability to retrieve high-resolution, scanned full-text images of older journal issues and pages as they were originally designed, printed, and illustrated.  This database includes about 9 architecture journals with varying time coverage, none beyond 2001. Available from the Architecture Library Home Page. Click on “Quick Links.” JSTOR is available from off campus.

* The library has many of the journals indexed.  We will assist you in locating those we do not have.

Section 2  -  Buildings:
 

Start  with the periodical indexes and full-text databases described above.  Look under building name or  type (e.g., hospitals, skyscrapers), or architectural style (e.g., post-modernism, deconstructivism) for the time period you're interested in.  For an online search also use architect's name and geographic location as keywords to look for a particular building he/she designed.

Other helpful reference tools are handbooks and encyclopedias:
 
 

New York City Buildings

AIA Guide to New York City. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 2000.  4th ed.  Look up building name, street name or architect's name in the index.  Good for brief information; for a preliminary search.  On Reserve.   NYC buildings are also included in Wright, following.
 
 

Contemporary Buildings in the U.S. or Canada

Wright, Sylvia Hart. Sourcebook of Contemporary North American Architecture from Postwar to Post-Modern.   New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1989.  Arranged alphabetically by architect or firm name.  If you don't  know the architect's name, start with one of the four indexes: building type, building name, geographical location, or engineering and design professional name.  Three or more citations to journal articles are listed for each building type. On Reserve.
 

Buildings World-Wide, Representing Major Historical Periods

Teague, Edward H. World Architecture Index; a Guide to Illustrations.  Westport, Ct:  Greenwood, 1991.  Indexed by site, architect, building type and name of the work.  Especially helpful if your initial information is sketchy.  Can start you on your research.  On Reserve.

          Encyclopedia of Architecture Design, Engineering and Construction.  New York: Wiley, 1988-1990.  Information on all aspects related to
          architecture, engineering, and construction. Many references for further research. Five volumes. Start with the vol. 5 index. Ref NA31 E59 1989.

Fletcher, Banister.  A History of Architecture.  20Th ed.  London: Butterworth, 1996.  A classic.  On Reserve.

Johnson, Donald Leslie. Makers of 20th Century Modern Architecture; a Bio- Critical Sourcebook. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1997. Ref. NA680.J628 1997.

Kostof, Spiro.  A History of Architecture.  2nd. ed. Oxford: Oxford Un. Press, 1995.  On Reserve.

Packard, Robert T. Encyclopedia of American architecture.. 2nd ed. New York : McGraw-Hill, c1995.  Ref.   NA705 .P3 1995.

Sharp, Dennis.  Twentieth Century Architecture:  A Visual History.  New York:  Facts on File, 1991.  Ref NA680 S517 1990.

Steele, James.  Architecture today.  London, UK : Phaidon, 1997.

Taschen's World Architecture series.  An encyclopedia of world architecture in 40 volumes from antiquity to the present day.  This series began publication in 1996. Volumes are published when ready. To date, approximately twelve have been published.   To find volumes, search CUNY+ as follows:

t= taschens world architecture.  Available volumes will be listed with call number.

ALSO:  Use,CUNY+, to locate books on subjects of interest.  Use keyword searching along with subject searching (which requires Library of Congress subject headings).

      Please Ask For Assistance. We're here to help you!

Judy Connorton, Architecture Librarian
jconnorton@ccny.cuny.eduHOME
 
 
 

Revised September 2005