Archives
Questions & Answers
John Edens is director of University Libraries Technical Services and interim University Archivist.
What kind of things related to architecture and planning does UB hold in its Special Collections?
There is a very important collection of documents that relate to the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, one of the most famous architects in the world. These refer to the Martin House Complex in Buffalo and the Martin House at Graycliff. Both were designed by Wright for the industrialist Darwin D. Martin and ours is a collection that has remarkable depth. It contains correspondence between Wright and Martin, architectural drawings, Wright's specifications for the contractor, furniture layouts that he drew and photographs documenting the construction. The family of Darwin D. Martin gave parts of the collections to the Special Collections in the 1970s and UB purchased the correspondence in the 1980s. Another significant collection at UB also relates to Frank Lloyd Wright. Jaroslav Joseph Polivka was an engineer and an architect who worked with Wright on several projects, including the Guggenheim Museum, and his papers are held in Special Collections.
Are there other notable items?
Two years ago we were able to expand the collection, thanks to a gift of drawings and documents by the world famous architect Louis I. Kahn, which was donated by Emeritus Professor William Huff. There also are the records of the former Buffalo architectural firm Milstein, Wittek & Davis Associates and the papers of planning consultant Charles R. Dawson. Most recently, we received drawings, designs and papers by Walter Bird. A pioneer of lightweight structures, Bird was internationally influential. A teacher in UB’s School of Architecture and Planning, he also was the founder of Birdair in Buffalo. After he died in 2006, his family gave the collection to UB and there will be an exhibition on his work that will feature material from this collection in the School of Architecture and Planning Dyett Gallery in Hayes Hall in April.
Who else besides architects and planners would find this material of interest?
Architecture and planning focuses on design and connects engineering, public policy and business, so it is likely to be helpful for many people across campus. For example, Special Collections is the repository of the records and plans for the Audubon New Community. Located in West Amherst, this is one of three new communities, or towns, developed in the state by the Urban Development Corporation.
Does UB have information about the education of designers?
Yes. There is a collection of material from the Hochschule fur Gestaltung in Ulm, the leading design school in Europe in the 1950s and ’60s. This includes papers and drawings, as well as copies of the design journal Spirale, which brought together work by architects, engineers, industrial designers and outstanding graphic designers, including Otl Aicher. Also given to UB by Emeritus Professor William Huff, this collection and the design programs it documents have significant links to UB. Both Professor Huff and Reyner Banham, an internationally renowned historian and critic who was the first head of the design curriculum at UB, participated in the development of programs in Ulm.
Where is UB's collection of archival material on architecture, planning and design?
It is housed in the Special Collections on the fourth floor of Capen Hall on the North Campus. The staff there has a long history of working with faculty and students in the use of the collections and also responds to inquiries from a worldwide audience. There is an ongoing working relationship between the staff and the Martin House Restoration Corporation, as corporation staff are relying on the Wright-Martin material for the restoration of the Martin House Complex. In addition, there is digital access to some material. For example, the Universal Design Product Collection, a collection of more than 100 images of products in the IDEA Center at the School of Architecture and Planning, already is available via UBdigit. The entire 1,200 photographs in the Darwin D. Martin collection of family, Martin House and Graycliff photographs will be available online later this year, and Special Collections also will be able to make digital images available, internally, of the Kahn drawings and images, and of the Martin House architectural drawing and furniture layouts.
Is there other material you would like to see in this collection at UB?
If you think of the outstanding architecture in Buffalo, it would be splendid to have detailed information available on the Guaranty Building, Kleinhans Music Hall, the grain elevators that continue to captivate architects from across the world and the work of other outstanding designers that helped to make Buffalo and this region such important sites for architecture and planning. Because of its significant architectural and design collections focusing on E.B. Green and Frederick Law Olmsted, closer working relationships with the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society also would benefit UB, the professional communities, researchers and the entire region. In a place that is renowned for its fine architecture, inspired city planning and innovative design, this material certainly offers a remarkable resource for our students, faculty, visiting researchers, professionals and that increasing number of visitors who come to Buffalo and Western New York because of their interest in architecture and passion for design. And at a time when information is so readily available on the Internet, this is a special collection of actual material at UB that is especially relevant to, and appropriately located in, a very special place.