Research Guides: Architecture: Recommended Resources

E-Books

The libraries e-book collections are all accessible through Discovery or curated by subject in the links below. Use the ebook search tool to find online access to specific titles.

De Gruyter E-Books
Birkhauser and DETAIL e-books available as open access through De Gruyter or through the library catalog.
El Croquis Digital Library
Provides access to electronic versions of the periodical from #104 - present. Print versions available in the Folio section of the library.

HathiTrust
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The HathiTrust Digital Library contains over seven million volumes and over one billion pages of scanned books and other materials. About 20 percent of all content is in the public domain (and accessible to you). You can also browse several public collections. Content is available in several image formats, text, and PDF. 1200s-present.

Le Corbusier Online
Complete Collection of Le Corbusier's Works, available as e-books online.
MIT Press Open Architecture and Urban Studies
A robust digital collection of classic and previously out-of-print architecture and urban studies books, on the digital book platform, MIT Press Direct.

University Press Scholarship Online
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Oxford provides full-text ebooks from U.S. and international university presses in HTML and PDF (each chapter is a separate PDF). We purchase individual ebooks on this platform and do not have access to every title.

Wiley Online Library
Provides access to Wiley e-books related to architecture and urbanism.

Almost all e-books can be found using the Libraries search box and limiting the Format option to "eBook".

Library Resources

Below is a list of library databases that can aid in architecture design research. An exhaustive list of library databases can be found here.

Art & Architecture Complete from EBSCOhost
Art & Architecture Complete indexes citations, abstracts, and some full text from journals, magazines, trade publications, and books covering all aspects of art and architecture. It also includes a large image collection. 1901-present.
Art Full Text and Art Retrospective from EBSCOhost
Art Full Text indexes citations, abstracts, and full text from journals and other publications in art, architecture, design, and cinema. It also indexes reproductions of works of art that appear in indexed periodicals. Some full text available as HTML and PDF. Allows limiting to peer reviewed sources. Citations 1929-1984, abstracts from 1994, full text from 1997.

Art Full Text is a bibliographic database that indexes and abstracts articles from periodicals published throughout the world. Full-text coverage for selected periodicals is also included. Periodical coverage includes English-language periodicals, yearbooks, and museum bulletins, as well as periodicals published in French, Italian, German, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, and Swedish. In addition to articles, Art Full Text indexes reproductions of works of art that appear in indexed periodicals.
Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals from EBSCOhost
Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals indexes citations, abstracts, and full-text articles in architecture and design from American and international scholarly and trade journals, popular magazines, and publications of professional organizations. In addition, this database also provides citation records for architects' obituaries. Full text, when available, is in PDF and HTML. 1800s-present.
DETAIL Inspiration
DETAIL provides reports on construction solutions, including photos and architectural plans.
International Archive of Women in Architecture Biographical Database
IAWA documents the women's involvement in architecture and landscape architecture, industrial and interior designer, and urban planning from around the world. Use the links on the left to search or browse for women who practiced architecture and related design professions. The IAWA collects information to fill serious gaps in the availability of primary research materials for architectural, women's, and social history research.
MADCAD
MADCAD indexes full-text building codes, evaluation standards, design standards, and technical bulletins from ASCE, ASHRAE, ASME, ASTM, FEMA, NFPA, and SMACNA, plus state codes from Virginia in HTML and PDF. 1981-present
Neighborhood Change Database 1970-2010
The NCDB provides access to US Census data from 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010 at the census tract level. The NCDB contains 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000 Long Form data and the 2010 Summary File 1 and 2010 American Community Survey (ACS) data with details such as: population, household, and housing characteristics, income, poverty status, education level, employment, housing costs, immigration, and other variables.
SmartBuilding Index from Reed Construction Data
SmartBuilding Index provides architects, spec writers, engineers and contractors with in-depth information on commercial building products - including technical data, sourcing, cost data, project use examples, and downloadable specs, CAD and BIM objects.
ULI Development Case Studies
ULI Development Case Studies provides full-text case studies describing the development process of building projects (in HTML). Studies include general descriptions, contact information for the development team, the building site's background and history, special features of the project, what did and did not work on the project, key facts and figures, and photos of the site or floor plans. 1981-present.

Material Resources

Building Green
BuildingGreen includes online versions of GreenSpec, "Environmental Building News", a database of green products (product descriptions and articles about the products), and a database of more than 160 high-performance building case studies (all in HTML). This information is searchable and cross-referenced by CSI MasterFormat division, LEED credit, or green building topic. 1992-present.
Material ConneXion
Material ConneXion provides full-text data on materials used in architecture, interior and industrial design, fashion and apparel, and landscaping. Materials include polymers, ceramics, glass, metals, cements, and natural materials. Processing and sustainability information, physical and usage properties, and manufacturers are listed.

Material Order SEARCH
Shared online materials catalog that allows users to search the material collections of the Harvard University Gradate School of Design (GSD), Parsons School of Design, and the Rhode Island School of Design (RSID).

Mapping Resources

In addition to the digital resources linked below, physical maps are house in Newman Library and the Art & Architecture Library. They can be searched for using Discovery search. For assistance, get in touch with a librarian!

Country Profiles and Mapping Information System
Country Profiles and Mapping Information System provides country-level reports and statistical data in FAO "fields of expertise" (namely sustainable development, economic situation, agriculture/ forestry/ fishery sectors, technical cooperation) and "priority areas" (biodiversity, biosecurity, biotechnology, climate change, ecosystem management, emergency operations, ethics, food for cities, gender, global studies, information management, integrated production systems, organic farming, spatial information, sustainable livelihoods, trade agreements).
FIMo Fire Insurance Maps Online
Large-scale maps of towns and cities in Virginia and Washington, D.C., useful to urban specialists, social historians, architects, geographers, genealogists, local historians, planners, and environmentalists. Data contained includes the outline of each building; size, shape, and construction materials; functions of structures; locations of windows and doors; street names, street and sidewalk widths, property boundaries, and house and block numbers.
PolicyMap
PolicyMap provides data through interactive maps about communities and markets across the U.S., for research, market studies, business planning, site selection, grant applications, and impact analysis.

Videos and tutorials about using PolicyMap are available on the Support Page. For information on PolicyMap datasets, visit Data Indicators.
USGS National Geologic Map Database
USGS National Geologic Map Database provides maps and related data about: geology, hazards, earth resources, geophysics, geochemistry, geochronology, paleontology, and marine geology.

OpenStreetMap
OpenStreetMap is a crowdsourced map of the world and free to use under an open license.

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Subjects: Architecture, art, and design

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Interlibrary Loan Services

All current Virginia Tech students, faculty, and staff, regardless of your location, may request through ILLiad for materials:

not owned by Virginia Tech (books, articles from journals and conference proceedings, book chapters, standards, and technical papers)
owned by Virginia Tech but are unavailable for use (print books)
owned by Virginia Tech and available in print (scans of articles from journals and conference proceedings, book chapters, standards, and technical papers)

We ship requests via UPS to users outside the immediate Blacksburg area (Montgomery, Giles and Pulaski counties).

Articles, book chapters, and many technical papers are delivered in PDF format to your ILLiad account. Occasionally, due to copyright restrictions, a paper copy of an article or standard is held for your at the Newman User Services Desk or sent o the mailing address listed on your account.

RSMeans Online

The Art & Architecture Library provides access to RSMeans Online. Email cathryn@vt.edu for login information.

Print copies of the most recent editions are available on Reserve.

Building Construction Cost Data Get the confidence and know how you need to deliver more accurate cost estimates and improve profitability. The 76th edition of this bestselling cost guide has been updated and expanded to provide you with the information you need to estimate projects with confidence and accuracy, improve project planning and budgeting, and reduce risk.
Call Number: TH435 .B84
ISBN: 9781946872012

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