Collections : [Avery Drawings & Archives]

Percival Goodman (1904-1989) was an Americam architect, teacher, urban planner, artist and writer. In a career that spanned more than sixty years, Goodman achieved renown as one of the most prolific synagogue architects in the United States and was instrumental in the development of a critical discourse around the building of modern religious architecture. The collection consists of project records, drawings, models, photographs, slides, professional correspondence and contracts, articles and unpublished manuscripts, teaching and lecture notes and personal and professional memorabilia, such as architectural licenses and certificates, as well as articles and clippings about his work.

Manuscripts of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright contain his working drafts and final versions of his writings (published and unpublished), lectures, and talks dating from 1894 until his death in 1959. The collection consists of approximately 2,785 drafts amounting to over 31,000 sheets. The manuscripts range from handwritten drafts to heavily corrected typescripts and galley proofs. Included in this comprehensive collection of writings are a large number of unpublished pieces which expand upon Wright's published ideas on architecture, art and aesthetics, and which provide further insights into the architect's views on politics, religion, morality and various other topics.

Douglas Putnam Haskellan (1899-1979) was an American writer, architecture critic and magazine editor. This collection contains correspondence, memos, articles, speeches, lectures, transcripts, clippings, notes, printed matter, photographs, audiotapes, and memorabilia mainly relating to Douglas Haskell's editorship at Architectural Forum and his professional activities. The collection includes items dating from 1866 to 1979, with the majority of materials dating from the period of 1949 to 1964.

Peter Marcuse (b. 1928), son of critical theorist Herbert Marcuse, is an attorney, planner, and professor of planning. He has produced extensive scholarship on planning matters, covering different issues such as professional ethics, housing, city planning, comparative policy, the 'right to the city' movement', urban history, and globalization. This collection consists mainly of teaching and course materials related to Marcuse's tenure as Professor of Urban Planning at Columbia University (since 1975) as well as research, writings, and reference materials for professional work inside and outside academia, including projects commissioned by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal.

Oscar Newman (1935-2004) was an architect, planner, and theorist. Newman was best known for his theories on crime prevention and residential design, which he introduced in his book Defensible Space. This collection contains the majority of Newman's projects and writings spanning from the early 1960s to the late 1990s. It consists of textual materials in the form of correspondence, notes, written and typed drafts, and publications; accompanied by prints, negatives, slides, drawings, and audio/visual material.

Gordon Bunshaft (1909-1990) was an American architect who, as a partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, had a significant impact on large-scale corporate architecture. His projects include such significant urban office towers as the Lever House in midtown Manhattan, as well as modern office campuses set in natural landscapes, including such examples as the American Can Company in Greenwich, Connecticut or the Connecticut General Life Insurance Company headquarters in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Additionally, his interest in art caused him to actively integrate work by well-known modern artists into the public plazas and interiors of SOM's projects. The professional aspects of this collection can be found in clippings, project photography, oral history records, and publications, however, the majority of the collection is personal and reflects the life of Gordon and his wife Nina Bunshaft. Through correspondence, snapshots, objects, and personal papers the collection focuses on the Bunshafts' friends, their travels, and their impressive art collection of both modern and ancient sculptures and paintings.