Architecture Library
The Architecture Library, one of the branches of the Hesburgh Libraries of Notre Dame, is housed on three floors of the south east corner within the Matthew and Joyce Walsh Family Hall of Architecture. It is home to more than 36,000 volumes on Architecture, Architectural History, Landscape Architecture, Urban Design, Urban Theory, Historic Preservation, Furniture Design, Planning, and other related fields. In addition to the collection in Walsh Family Hall, architecture students are supported in Rome through Notre Dame Global by a 4,000 volume collection of architecture source materials and e-books.
Central to the Architecture Library's offerings are its esteemed rare book collections, meticulously preserved within our state-of-the-art storage facility and showcased in the distinguished Ryan Rare Book Room (RRBR). This comprehensive collection features first editions of seminal architectural treatises, adding depth and prestige to our resources. It holds the largest known collection of titles from the Seaside Research Portal, Building South Bend: Past, Present & Future, and an extensive image collection derived from plates from the rare book collection. The Library is also the repository for the archives of classical architect and theorist Leon Krier and other Driehaus Laureates including the Robert Adam Collection and Allan Greenberg Collection.
The Library's Makerspace has experienced exponential growth and is now located in the basement of the library. It has become one of the busiest spaces in the library with multiple large and small format printers running almost non-stop to fulfill the printing needs of the students and faculty.
Advanced Insight
The faculty and staff of the Architecture Library collaborate closely with teaching faculty to integrate library research and resources into the curriculum, enriching the learning experience. Together, they strive to cultivate lifelong learners and architects who are deeply engaged in precedent study and the rich history of their profession. The success of this practice is evident in the extensive use of the collections. The Architecture Library contains just 1 percent of the total holding in the Hesburgh Libraries of the University of Notre Dame but accounts for more than 4 percent of the circulation.
The Architecture Library, designed with students in mind, offers ample space for both individual and group study, featuring smart meeting rooms equipped with digital conference room technology, pinup space, and public computers and scanners. Its collections are tailored to student needs, with opportunities to request books year-round, which are integrated into the circulating collection.
Ryan Rare Book Room and Collection
The highlight of the Architecture Library is its rare book collections, housed in the state-of-the-art storage facility and showcased in the Ryan Rare Book Room (RRBR). These extensive collections, which began with donations, include first editions of some of the most important treatises on architecture. The first collection was the Ryan Family Collection of the Park List. The Ryan family supported the acquisition of more than 65 titles from the Helen Park list of architecture books known to have been in the country prior to the American Revolution. The reading room was named in honor of Jim Ryan after his passing in 2009 to recognize his commitment and contributions to educating the architects of tomorrow.
The Architecture Library now possesses the largest known collection of titles from the Helen Park List, along with selections from Henry Russell Hitchcock’s “American Architectural Books: A list of Books, Portfolios, and Pamphlets on Architecture and Related Subjects Published in America Before 1895.” This collection, supported by notable alumni Gwen and John Burgee and Mary O’Shaughnessey, includes nearly 400 titles published between 1775 and 1895. These generous donations directed the focus of the RRBR on the history of the study and practice of architecture in the United States and the study of classical and traditional architecture.
Other collections housed in the RRBR include Architectural Treatises, French Architecture, Greek Architecture, Roman Vedute, and Rome Outside of Rome. Notable holdings include the first published architecture book, Alberti’s De Re Aedificatoria (1485), the first illustrated architecture book, the Fra Giocondo Vitruvius (1511), and the first full architectural treatise in English, Five bookes of architecture: translated out of Italian into Dutch and out of Dutch into English, by Sebastiano Serlio (1611). Acquisitions include early editions of treatises by Palladio, Vitruvius, Serlio, Scamozzi, and many notable Roman vedute including works by Piranesi, Vasi, and Falda.
The University of Notre Dame’s Hesburgh Libraries, the School of Architecture, and generous donors continue to grow the collections in the RRBR. New titles are added to the collections regularly. The Architecture Library’s Ryan Rare Book Room is a resource open to students and scholars interested in the history of the study and practice of architecture in the United States, and the history of architectural study and design.
Archives
The architectural archive collections housed within the Architecture Library support the research and curricular needs of the faculty, students, and guests of the School of Architecture. The collections provide access to historical documentation of significant New Traditional and New Urbanist architects and firms, architects and their related firms who have won the Richard H. Driehaus Prize at the University of Notre Dame, a retrospective collection of student work, rare and exceptional materials, and documentation related to the study of classical and traditional architecture and urbanism. These collections are appraised for their enduring historical, evidentiary, and legal value following best practices for collection development and they represent a unique assemblage of contemporary materials that are impactful and inspirational research resources.
Highlights of the Architecture Archive include the Leon Krier Collection, the Seaside, Florida Records and Seaside Research Portal, and archives of the Driehaus Laureates including the Robert Adam Collection and Allan Greenberg Collection. Collections include sketches, preliminary designs, technical drawings, prints, slides, notebooks, correspondence, and architectural models. Items within these collections can be used to learn more about a specific architect or their style, to research individual buildings, to study the built, and unbuilt, environment, and to understand urban planning. Access to the Architecture Archive’s collections is open to everyone through appointment with the Architecture Archivist.
Makerspace
The Library’s 3D Makerspace has grown exponentially over the last several years, now housed in the basement of the library. It has become one of the busiest spaces in the library with multiple large and small format printers running almost non-stop to fulfill the printing needs of the students and faculty.
Additional digital tools used to study and present the built and planned world virtually are available. These include Oculus Rifts, 3D scanners, cameras, and tools for aerial photography and mapping.