LibGuides: Urban Design: Reference

Reference: Better than Wikipedia

Use the resources on this page to discover basic information about architects and buildings. The resources are produced by scholars and experts in the field. They can be trusted to supply factual information about the topic that does not need to be cross checked. Don't forget to cite these resources too!

If you are looking for resources about Texas architects and buildings, please see our state specific guide.

Databases

Great Buildings Online
Updated regularly. Documents architecture from around the world and across history, including famous designers and structures of all kinds. Coverage of over one thousand buildings and hundreds of leading architects. Also has 3D models, photographic images and architectural drawings, commentaries, bibliographies, web links, and more.
SAH Archipedia
SAH Archipedia is an authoritative encyclopedia of the built world published by the Society of Architectural Historians and the University of Virginia Press, and contains histories, photographs, and maps for more than 8,500 structures and places. Currently, the content of SAH Archipedia is drawn from the award-winning book series, Buildings of the United States, and includes histories and thematic essays from twelve of the published BUS volumes: Massachusetts (Metropolitan Boston), Rhode Island, Pennsylvania (Eastern and Western), the District of Columbia, Virginia (Tidewater and Piedmont), West Virginia, Michigan, Iowa, Colorado, Nevada, and Alaska.
Other published BUS books will be added in the coming years (including Delaware; Louisiana; Hawai; Texas: Central, South, East, North, West and Gulf Coast; Vermont; Virginia: The Valley and Southwest; North Dakota; Wisconsin; Missouri; Mississippi; New Hampshire; and Arkansas among them).

Built Works Registry
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"BWR's goal is to aggregate existing work records originating from multiple institutional sources that identify and catalog structures in the built environment in different ways, and normalize those data into a single descriptive record. Every built work included in BWR is assigned a unique identifier number or BWR ID. The BWR ID serves the same purpose as the ISBN/ISSN system does in the world of publishing and provides a standardized system by which a built work can be identified. A BWR record includes a unique ID number, a preferred name and (when possible) variant names, location and geo-location coordinates."