Architecture and Urban Design

Works of architecture and urban design are well represented in the Library’s holdings. Special Collections contains classic texts—from Vitruvius to Palladio to Piranesi. Among the named collections are the Wright Collection, associated with the late KU professor Curtis Besinger, including books by and about Wright, many photographs, clippings, and rare ephemera. The Willett-Pashley Collection is the working library of a firm of late 19th century Chicago architects. Its strength is in works on the use of iron construction and illustrated texts.

The Kansas Collection focuses on local and regional architecture, with papers of architects, including renderings, blueprints and drawings. The records of the Kansas City Terminal Railway Company document the building of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri. There are photographs of structures in the region and street scenes over time; Sanborn Maps of business districts in many Kansas towns; the records of the Kansas Society of Architects; and town and building histories, city directories, and ephemera.

The University Archives holds documentation for many KU buildings and campus planning, including architectural drawings and models, photographs, and clippings, ephemera, and correspondence.

Sir Christopher Wren

Parentalia

Epitaph

Architecture & Urban Design