Accessibility/Universal Design
ADA Accessibility Guidelines
This site provides full text of the Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities, as updated 2002. The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects the civil rights of persons with disabilities. It prohibits discrimination, on the basis of disability, in employment, state and local government services, transportation, public accommodations, commercial facilities, and telecommunications. The ADA requires the establishment of design criteria (these guidelines) for the construction and alteration of facilities covered by the law. Links to many architectural subjects including an extensive list of "master architects."
http://www.access-board.gov/adaag/html/adaag.htm
The Center for Universal Design
The Center conducts research and provides information and services about various areas of housing, including fair housing practices, home modifications, and accessible and universal design features in homes.This site offers numerous Web links on topics related to universal design and accessibility such as independent living, accessible home designs and floor plans, the ADA, and landscape design.
http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/
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Architects
Go to: Architects
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Building Code (NYC)
NYC Building Code
The current building code was enacted in 1968 and is accessible in its entirety here. The site notes that, "The present edition available here updates the Building Code to October 1, 2004. Local Laws may have been adopted by the City Council which have amended this code and therefore are not included in this version." However, building code updates are ongoing and available on the site. The city has been working with others to create revisions in the code, and the process is continuing.
www.nyc.gov/html/dob/html/reference/code_internet.shtml
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Buildings
Building Types Online
This Architectural Record site offers over 800 Building Types Studies that have been written up in past issues starting in 2000. The studies offer analyses of a particular building type, with photos, drawings, specifications, descriptions and design solutions. Additional projects are added monthly. The site also offers project portfolios from 2003 to date that focus on popular projects world wide. The portfolios offer detailed information on the people & trades involved in each project. There are photos but no plans for these portfolio projects.
http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/Default.asp
Emporis Buildings
This site calls itself "the world's largest publicly available database on architectural and building data." Good for basic information on buildings worldwide (in approximately 10,000 cities); many images.
http://www.emporis.com/en/
The Great Buildings Collection
This site documents buildings with some photographs, brief bibliographies, and Web links for a number of building types. For more detailed information including drawings for each project, howver, one must obtain the CD.
http://www.greatbuildings.com/
Library of Congress Built in America
The Historic American Buildings Surbey (HABS) documents achievements in architecture, engineering, and design in the United States and its territories through a comprehensive range of building types and engineering technologies including examples as diverse as the Pueblo of Acoma, houses, windmills, one-room schools, the Golden Gate Bridge, and buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/collections/habs_haer/
New York Skyscrapers; One Hundred Years of High-Rises
The history of New York City's skyscrapers from the late 19th century to the present day. In addition to individual building entries and background info, it links to other resources, NYC Webcams, clickable maps of locations of NYC skyscrapers, and a forum for NYC skyscraper- related discussions.
http://www.greatgridlock.net/NYC/nyc.html
VIVA: Visual Index to the Virtual Archives of The Skyscraper Museum
This database uses a 3-D computer model of Manhattan in the year 2000 as a click-on map. One can view the city, present and past, and access this NYC museum's collections of postcards, urban views and construction photographs through an online, searchable database. MacroMedia's Flash Player is needed to run VIVA. The museum's Web site www.skyscraper.org also offers a "Downtown New York Web Walk" featuring four interactive virtual walking tours through Lower Manhattan and more than a century of high-rise construction. Photos and a building's history are available.
http://www.skyscraper.org/WEB_PROJECTS/VIVA/viva_intro.htm#
How to Research a New York City Building
Information from Columbia University's Avery Library Web site. Some suggestions are specific to the Avery Library, but much of the information is applicable to a general search for building information.
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/avery/nycbuild.html
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Career Information/Jobs
AIA Online
The American Institute of Architects' Web site. Check out their career resources including online resumes and job openings. This site is updated daily. There are many categories of jobs posted including that of intern aimed at unlicensed architecture school graduates having less than three-years experience. One can post a resume as well as look at jobs postings.
http://www.aiaonline.com/
Occupational Outlook Handbook: Architects
Published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. General Information from the most recent handbook. This is good basic information as to the state of the field today. The site includes estimates of job growth in architecture and related fields such as urban design, construction management, and landscape architecture. Descriptions and information on those fields are accessible from this site.
http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos038.htm
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Citing Electronic and Print Resources
UC Berkeley "Citation Styles, Style Guides, and Avoiding Plagiarism"
This site notes that it, "...provides printable guides to help with formatting citations and bibliographies following the three major styles used for most academic papers and research in the humanities, social sciences, and some scientific disciplines. Clear explanations make this a highly useful site.
www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Style.html
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Community District Profiles (for NYC's Five Boroughs)
The New York City Department of City Planning
Each of the 59 district profiles contains summary data on population size; birth, death and infant mortality rates; land area and land uses; and levels of income support. Land uses and census tract boundaries are shown on maps and a variety of population characteristics from the 2000 Census are presented for the district as a whole and for each tract within the district. Each district profile also contains lists of Selected Facilities and Program Sites, including public and private schools, parks, public safety, health, mental health and other social service facilities.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/lucds/cdstart.shtml
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Competitions
The ArchitectureRoom.com
This site lists worldwide competitions. The nature of the particular competition is
clearly described. There are direct links to the competions' Web sites. Some older
competitions are listed in the archive section. There are a number of ads on the site.
http://www.thearchitectureroom.com/
ArchitectureWeek; the New Magazine of Design & Building
This online newsletter includes current competition announcements for both students and professionals among many other features. Basic details are given. There a links to longer competition descriptions and then to the competition Web sites. Much more information is available at this Web site as described below under Journals.
http://www.architectureweek.com/cgi-bin/calendar.cgi?d20050503
Death by Architecture
This site features current competitions for professionals and students. Competition types are clearly distinguished: student, international, regional, award/grants, and miscellaneous. Lengthy competition descriptions are linked to on sites that also link directly to the competition site. A substantial list of past student competitions is also available with descriptions. Links to the original competition sites, however, are too often dead.
http://www.deathbyarch.com/
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Construction
Sweet's Catalog Files
Searchable product information. More limited than the print version. The McGraw-Hill site does offer, however, 1,800 Building Product Catalogs in PDF format. This site also links you directly to manufacturers' Web sites. An interesting feature of the site is its links to AIA Continuing Education online-based, self-paced, interactive courses.
http://sweets.construction.com/
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Dictionaries
Visual Dictionary of Architectural Terms
This dictionary, put together by Ann Whitehead, a Utah Heritage Foundation docent, offers a selective list of architectural definitions with illustrations.
http://www.uen.org/Centennial/08BuildingsA.html
A Web of Online Dictionaries
An extensive listing of dictionaries, with links to thesauri and grammars. For additional architec- tural dictionaries, scroll to Glossaries, and click on "Fifty more," then on Architecture.
http://www.yourdictionary.com/
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Firms
Profile on the Web
Listing of firms that are members of the AIA with links to many firm home pages. A very helpful feature for students who are looking to design a particular building type (perhaps for a thesis project) is the "Focus" feature that allows you to limit your search to firms designing a specific building type. Armed with that information, one could contact the firm directly from the Profile site for additional information on the building.
http://www.reedfirstsource.com/profile/index.asp
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Gateways/Portals
These sites list recommended Web sites on a variety of architectural subjects:
Architecture and Building Resource Guide
Subject guide to architecture-related web sites, compiled by Jeanne Brown, Architecture Librarian at UNLV. This selective yet thorough guide includes links to topics on architecture, as well as building and construction, design, housing, planning, preservation, facility management, energy and the environment, and landscape architecture. Links to even more comprehensive link collections are included. A helpful feature are the links and descriptions of architecture-related listservs and discussion groups. This site is updated regularly.
http://www.library.unlv.edu/arch/rsrce/webrsrce/contents.html
Architecture Web Links on the World Wide Web
This site is managed by Boston College Professor Jeffery Howe. Over 500 links offer recommendations of sites on theory, interior design, image sites, urban planning, online journals, maps, house styles, and more.
http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/archweb_frames.html
Yahoo: Architecture
A good site to find quick information on approximately 450 well-known architects as far back as the 16th century Palladio. Most names listed are from the late 1800s to the present. Links also to schools of architecture and graduate programs in architecture. Yahoo offers a variety of other architectural subject links, some more substantive than others.
http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Design_Arts/Architecture/
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Green Design
Green Source - Online Magazine of Sustainable Design
This site is sponsored by McGraw Hill. It's an "on-line directory of information on sustainable design, practice and products. It includes information for the architect, engineer, contractor and consumer from GreenSource, Architectural Record, and Engineering News-Record magazines.
www.construction.com/greensource/
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
The LEED Green Building Rating System is the "nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings." It was developed by the US Green Building Council, a leading non-profit organization dedicated to sustainable building design and construction.
www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19
New York City Department of Design and Construction Office of Sustainable Design
The department created the Office of Sustainable Design in 1997. This site notes a new Local Law, no. 86, "which will require many of the City’s new municipal buildings, additions, and renovations to achieve rigorous standards of sustainability. This legislation will apply to many of the Department of Design and Construction’s (DDC) upcoming and future projects." It goes into effect January, 2007.
www.nyc.gov/html/ddc/html/ddcgreen/
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Images
A r c h i t e c t u r e . . . I m a g e . . . & . . . P h o t o . . . W e b s i t e s . . .
This site is run by the Wallace Research Group which posts copyright information on the home page concerning use of the images. It's a good starting point for images as it links one to many fine image Web sites.
http://www.wallaceresearch.net/images.html
Emporis Buildings
This site calls itself "the world's largest publicly available database on architectural and building data." Good for basic information on buildings worldwide (in approximately 10,000 cities); many images.
http://www.emporis.com/en/
Great Buildings Online
Selected images on many iconic buildings through the ages. Many photos are available as well as information on building materials. The site also offers some commentary on the buildings as well as bibliographic sources about the work. For more in-depth information and drawings/plans, however, one must access the Great Buildings Collection CD-Rom.
http://www.greatbuildings.com/gbc.html
SPIRO Architecture Slide Library - UC Berkeley
This is the visual online catalog of Berkeley's slides in environmental and urban design, the histories of architecture, landscape architecture and urbanism, building sciences, design methods, materials and methods of construction, visual studies, and related subjects. The images are thumbnails. Searchable by architect and building name, building types, etc.
http://www.mip.berkeley.edu/query_forms/browse_spiro_form.html
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Journals
ArchitectureWeek; the New Magazine of Design & Building
A well-done weekly magazine that can be delivered free to your email box. There are lots of links including "Weekly and Daily Buildings," competitions, events & exhibits, construction, digital media, and building culture. Easy way to keep up with the current scene. One can do a google search limited to this site to find archival information.
http://www.architectureweek.com/
ArchNewsNow
Substantial daily coverage of national and international news, projects, products, and events in the world of architecture and design. It's another terrific way to keep up with architecture news world-wide. All articles on architecture, for example, that appear in the New York Times show up here. Subscribe free; receive email newsletter daily.
http://www.archnewsnow.com/
The City Review
Online magazine about NYC with a strong emphasis on architecture and art as well as real estate, museums, books and consumer technology. Published and edited by former New York Times journalist Carter Horsley. Mr. Horsley is also the editorial director of CityRealty.Com, which has a W eb siite on New York City residential real estate at www.cityrealty.com/. This site contains essays on, and ratings of, hundreds of major apartment buildings and neighborhood descriptions. One will find also information on recent transactions, comparable sales, sales trends, information on mortgages, relocation, buying and selling, maps and "Top Ten" lists.
http://www.thecityreview.com/
Oculus
Twice-monthly email newsletter from the AIA/NY.Click "Oculus" on the lower left of the site to see the current issue and to subscribe free. This newsletter is from the re-energized New York Chapter of the AIA which has a new headquarters on Laguardia Place in lower Manthattan. The chapter's Center for Architecture always has exciting exhibits and interesting lectures. The site's online calendar lists events there as well as architecture-related events at other city venues.
http://aiany.org/
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Landscape Architecture
ASLA Web Site
The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is the national professional association representing landscape architects. Its site offers information on student chapters, competitions, accredited landscape architecture programs, etc. Under "Career Resources," one will find information on jobs, licensure requirements by state, and continuing education programs. "Landscape Architecture in the News" and "Land Online" are regular features to keep one updated on professional news.
http://www.asla.org/
Garden Visit.com
An interesting site with information about all aspects of landscape architecture: Careers, History and Theory, Computing, Landscape Planning, Design Resources, DEsign Theory for Garden and Landscape Design. The content is edited by Tom Turner, author of English Garden Design History and Styles Since 1650 which formed the starting point for the Web site. Emphasis on English and other European gardens.
http://www.gardenvisit.com/landscape/
Gotham Green Guide
This is a guide to parks and natural open space in New York City and the immediate vicinity. It's an online network linking users to hundreds of green resources on biking, recycling, gardening and botanical, green mobility (transportation alternatives), and animal-aware resources.
http://www.gothamgreenguide.com/index.html
Trees New York Online
TNY is dedicated to improving the quality of life for all city communities through participatory tree-related programs. It offers information on city trees, tree-planting programs, and workshops.The mission of TNY is to plant, preserve, protect and care for New York's trees through education and action. Members are active in all five boroughs of New York City and the surrounding region. Subscribers can sign on free to receive the groups online newsletter and other relevant information.
http://www.treesny.com/index.html
Wave Hill
This site offers general information on this beautiful 28-acre public garden in the northwest Bronx. Wave Hill is a nonprofit cultural institution dedicated to exploring the interaction between human beings and the natural environment. Find information on ongoing events, a searchable plant database, and a site map to the Wave Hill gardens, as well as an online newsletter.
http://www.wavehill.org/home/
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Library Catalogs
Columbia University
Search the collection of the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, perhaps the premier architectural library world wide. Click on CLIO and then "Connect via WWW" to access the database. The site offers subject guides and recommended Internet resources among other information.
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/avery/
New York Public Library
The main Humanities and Social Sciences Research Library located on Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street offers a strong collection of books and journals in art and architecture. Search the CATNYP catalog which accesses all the library's research collections items -- approximately six million items. (LEO is the branch libraries' catalog).
http://catnyp.nypl.org/
Architecture School Libraries in the U.S. and Abroad
The Association of Architecture School Librarians (AASL) offers this list of academic architecture libraries throughout the US, Canada, Hong Kong, and Mexico. This site offers a quick way to access the online catalogs of those libraries.
http://www.library.njit.edu/archlib/aasl/directory/index.cfm
LibWeb
Library servers via WWW. Access online library catalogs around the world
http://lists.webjunction.org/libweb/
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Maps
Aerial Maps of New York City
The NYC Open Accessible Space Information System Cooperative (OASIS) is an organization of cooperative government agencies that offers interactive mapping and data analysis online. At the site, click on the "Maps" link & then select your "Map theme," e.g. aerial maps, select your area by zipcode or neighborhood, & click on "Go to the Map." The maps were done in 1996.
http://www.oasisnyc.net/
Google Maps
This site, currently in Beta testing, says that Google decided to make dynamic, interactive maps that are draggable no clicking and waiting for graphics to reload each time you want to view the adjacent parts of a map. Users can type in the name of a region or neighborhood and see any part of it as easily as with a regular street map. One can also swith to "aerial map" view. Coverage of the US is not yet complete, but it's a user-friendly, highly useful site for architecture students.
http://maps.google.com/
Google Earth
Google calls this site, "A 3D interface to the planet." Google says that "Google Earth puts a planet's worth of imagery and other geographic information right on your desktop. View exotic locales like Maui and Paris as well as points of interest such as local restaurants, hospitals, schools, and more." Note: To use this site you need a computer that has at least the minimum, but preferably the recommended, configuration listed on the site. A 3D graphics viewer is also required.
http://earth.google.com/
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Organizations
American Institue of Architects (AIA)
Maintained by the national office of the AIA, this site offers up-to-date job opportunities in the field, from intern to senior architect positions. One can also post a looking-for-work resume on the site. News headlines, job board forums, and federal job opportunities are specific features.. E-architect as it's called boasts that it attracts two million page requests and 65,000 users every month .
http://www.e-architect.com/
Architectural Associations, Organizations, & Research Institutes
Find links to architecture-related organizations from A to Z, primarily in the US, but also in Great Britain. The site is maintained by the Un. of Nevada/Las Vegas architecture librarian, Jeanne Brown.
http://www.library.unlv.edu/arch/rsrce/archassn.html
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Preservation
Built in America
This site presents images from The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) collections. According to the site, "This online presentation of the HABS/HAER collections includes digitized images of measured drawings, black-and-white photographs, color transparencies, photo captions, data pages including written histories, and supplemental materials." The online images, while wonderful, represent a very small portion of the images available in the two collections.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/habs_haer/
Historic Districts Council
For information on New York's designated historic districts and neighborhoods meriting preservation. HDC is the citywide advocate for New York's designated historic districts and for neighborhoods meriting preservation.
http://www.hdc.org/
National Trust for Historic Preservation
This organization is dedicated to preserving America's historic places. It provides general information as well as how-to tips such as "Researching an Older House."
http://www.nationaltrust.org/
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
This is a city agency that is responsible for identifying and designating the city's landmarks and the buildings in the city's historic districts. The Commission also regulates changes to designated buildings. This Web site allows one to click on the commission's calendar to see actions on recent applications for landmark status, etc.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/html/home/home.shtml
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Schools of Architecture
Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture
This ACSA site offers lists of all accredited schools of architectureÊÊin the US and Canada. Available faculty positions are listed.
https://www.acsa-arch.org/membership/regionalmap.aspx
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Urban Design
A Cornell University site on Urban Planning from 1794-1918
This historical site offers full-text, primary source materials. Access to the materials is through online subject bibliographies. Topics covered include town planning, city beautification, urban planning in Europe, land-use regulations, model city competitions, and more related to aspects of city planning.
http://www.library.cornell.edu/Reps/DOCS/homepage.htm
Cyburbia; The Urban Planning Portal
A multi-award-winning site, Cyburbia is a site for urban planners and others interested in cities and the built environment. Information about mailing lists and newsgroups is offered. It includes an active bulletin board and image gallery.
http://www.cyburbia.org/
UC Berkeley/Environmental Design Library Research Guide on Urban Design
A helpful guide to all aspects of researching urban-design topics. Both online sites and the major reference books in this field are included. Additionally, references on images, maps, and aerial photographs are included.
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ENVI/urbhist.html
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Zoning Resolution (NYC)
The Zoning Resolution of the City of New York
The Web version of the Zoning Resolution of the City of New York includes all text amendments approved by the City Council up to March 23, 2005. (Note that this date changes as amendments are approved). The text of the Zoning Resolution establishes zoning districts and sets forth the regulations governing land use and development. The site includes both the zoning text and maps for all five boroughs. The site also includes a brief history of zoning in the city. Adobe Acrobat Reader is required.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/zone/zonetext.shtml
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