Welcome
This guide was created to help students of architecture find the information they need for their studies.
In this guide you will:
- Find key resources for architecture, including building plans
- Plan a search to find information for a sample assignment question
- Find referencing resources.
Key resources for Architecture
Literature
- Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals The Avery index to architectural periodicals is a comprehensive listing of journal articles on architecture and design, including the history and practice of architecture, landscape architecture, city planning, historic preservation, and interior design and decoration
- ProQuest Proquest is a multidisciplinary database that is great for topics on architecture, design and art history. Contained within Proquest is the Avery Index, which lets you search for articles containing drawings. To learn how to use the Avery Index, see our Finding Building Plans guide.
- Art and Architecture Complete This resource covers publications on the arts including: Architecture, Architectural History, Art, Art History, Fashion, Decorative Arts, Photography, Interior and Landscape Design and more.
- Taylor and Francis Online Journals Taylor and Francis contains a rich collection of high quality academic writing on architectural theory, as well as technical writing on building and construction.
- JSTOR JSTOR contains full text journal articles going back to the late 1800's. This scope of content makes it unique, and especially useful for research on older buildings.
Images
- Birkhauser Building Types Online Birkhauser contains a page of info, specs, images and plans for thousands of buildings worldwide. It's easy to use and lets you refine your search by building type.
- El Croquis Spanish architecture journal featuring building plans and photographs
- ArtStor Contains photographs of buildings, furnishings and some building plans, as well as art and design objects going back to prehistory.
- Pidgeon Digital Interviews with architects going back to the 1950’s, providing insight into the creative process of some the greatest architects of the last century – Zaha Hadid, Mies van Der Rohe, Frank Gehry, and more.
Manuals and Standards
- Acumen Acumen is a professional practice resource for architects. It contains notes on how to operate an architectural practice, run building projects, and how to design and build sustainably
- National Construction Codes Formerly known as the Building Code of Australia, this website contains Volumes 1 and 2 of the Construction code (covering domestic and industrial buildings), plumbing, drainage codes and more. They are free to access, but you need to register with NCC to view.
- Standards Australia Standards Australia provides access to the complete collection of current Australian Standards, as well as draft Standards, ACA technical standards and handbooks. You need to register to be able to download PDFs.
Architectural Websites
- ArchDaily An architecture website with lots of images of buildings, interiors & building features & products.
- Dezeen Online architecture and design magazine based in London.
- Topos The international review of landscape architecture and urban design
- Places Places is an influential American landscape design journal that is also available free on the web.
Resource types
Books
Useful for providing an overview of a topic or issue. Contains background information and context and is very useful as a starting point for research - especially if you are new to a topic!
Journal Articles
Contains the latest research on very specific topics and often contains in-depth analysis. Journal articles are published more quickly than books so can be used to find more up to date information.
Images
Images encompass a wide range of different types, including artwork, photographs, building plans & graphs. Different styles of images include stock images, artefacts, exhibits, infographics and more.
Related guides
You might be able to find what you need in one of the related guides below
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