This collection is available for use by appointment in the Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. For further information and to make an appointment, please email avery-drawings@library.columbia.edu.
Unique time-based media items have been reformatted and are available onsite via links in the container list. All original copies of audio / moving image media are closed. Email avery-drawings@columbia.edu for more information.
This collection comprises visual and textual research, notes, written and typed drafts, prints, negatives, slides, sketches, drawings, and video and audio material on tape. The first two series are dedicated to Darden's two major publications which make up the majority of the material for the collection,
The collection is made up of six series: I: Condemned Building, II: Laughing Girls, III: Other Projects and Artworks, IV: Personal and Professional Papers, V: Slides, VI: Allison Darden Papers.
This collection is available for use by appointment in the Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. For further information and to make an appointment, please email avery-drawings@library.columbia.edu.
Unique time-based media items have been reformatted and are available onsite via links in the container list. All original copies of audio / moving image media are closed. Email avery-drawings@columbia.edu for more information.
Columbia University is providing access to the materials in the Library's collections solely for noncommercial educational and research purposes. The unauthorized use, including, but not limited to, publication of the materials without the prior written permission of Columbia University is strictly prohibited. All inquiries regarding permission to publish should be submitted in writing to the Director, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. In addition to permission from Columbia University, permission of the copyright owner (if not Columbia University) and/or any holder of other rights (such as publicity and/or privacy rights) may also be required for reproduction, publication, distributions, and other uses. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of any item and securing any necessary permissions rests with the persons desiring to publish the item. Columbia University makes no warranties as to the accuracy of the materials or their fitness for a particular purpose.
Douglas Darden papers and drawings, 1979-1996, Department of Drawings and Archives, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University.
Source of acquisition--Allison Darden Collins. Method of acquisition--Donated;; Date of acquisition--1999; 2016. Accession number--1999.014; 2016.003; 2018.001; 2022.005.
Columbia University Libraries, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library
This collection was processed by Sara McGillivray (Graduate Intern) in 2016, under the supervision of (Archivist and Collection Manager) Shelley Hayreh. Additions were processed by Shelley Hayreh in 2018 and 2023.
2016-08-18 File created.
2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.
Douglas Darden was born in 1951 in Denver, Colorado. He studied ballet, and graduated with a Bachelors of English and Psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1974. His background in literature and dance are evident in his use of narrative and in the expressiveness of his works.
Darden went on to study Industrial Design at Parsons School of Design, before receiving a Masters of Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1983. While at Harvard under the tutelage of Stanley Tigerman, Darden began work on "A Saloon for Jesse James," which was the first in a series of projects he would later publish in his book
In 1990 he began teaching at the University of Colorado at Denver; it was at this time he was also diagnosed with leukemia. Darden continued to work through his illness, teaching and designing. He collaborated with Robert Miller as the subject of his documentary "Douglas Darden: Looking After the Underbelly" (released 1992), and was named one of the top 50 contemporary architects by Japan's Institute of Architecture in 1993. Also in 1993, Darden released his most well-known work,
Darden met Allison Jo Rosen, a former professional ballet dancer, in ballet class in 1993 and the two were married in 1995. Darden went into remission in June 1994, but his leukemia returned in September of 1995, and he passed away in April 1996, at the age of 44.
Darden exhibited his works and lectured internationally, across the U.S., Rome, Japan, Austria, and Taiwan. He was a prolific writer, and published many articles on architectural theory in a myriad of publications. He utilized narrative not only in his written work, but also in his architectural projects. Influenced by the likes of Duchamp, Lequeu, and Piranesi, his works were bursting with allegory and allusion, and his meta-fictions revealed his mischievous sense of humor. While Darden often focused on human themes and emotions, human figures were noticeably absent from his drawings. His second book,
This series contains documents pertaining to the ten projects featured in Darden's book as well as documents pertaining to the book's publication. The projects included in Darden's book are unbuilt works. Although Darden draws them in traditional plan, section, and elevation, these projects were designed as allegorical structures only. Darden posits a set of reversa for each project meant to reveal and explore a dichotomy within architecture. His background in literature is evident in his work, as each project is described with a narrative structure akin to the acts in a play, which describe the use of and circulation through each project. Each project also has a "Dis/continuous Genealogy," a graphic history wherein Darden pulls several images from his research and combines them in a "Composite Ideogram" for the project. Some of the projects are described with a psycho-dramatic text, in some cases accompanied by a letter blurring the lines between fact and fiction. Darden also peppers the pages of his book with quotations from . Drafts for each of these elements are included in this collection.
Darden's process integrated visual and textual research. His process work combines annotated literary and background text with the collection and manipulation of graphic materials. Most subseries contain project material that includes research materials, generative process work, and prints & negatives. The oversize study and finished drawings for these projects are housed in the first Subseries: Drawings.
Contains drawings for the ten projects featured in the homonymous publication, with the exception of "Sex Shop" and "Oxygen House." The bulk of the material in this subseries is made up of sketches/studies on trace and finished drawings on paper, mainly executed in graphite and colored pencil. It also includes a set of prints of the drawings from five projects offered for sale in 1991 and a set of transparencies used in the "Dis/continuous Genealogies" featured in Condemned Building. Notably, the material for "Saloon for Jesse James" includes drawings on the gatehouse and "Kitty's Four Poster Bed" which are not included in Condemned Building, and one of the drawings for Museum of Impostors continues Darden's use of collage, featuring the use of lace to depict a lattice structure.
Drawer 207 Folder 1
11 items : Douglas Darden: Past the Present : Hostel, Temple Forgetful, Oxygen House, Museum of Impostors, Night School.
Drawer 206 Folder 4
51 items : Discontinuous Genealogies and Dreamed Client Profile forCondemned Building.
Drawer 207 Folder 2
14 items : sections ; elevation ; site plan ; interior perspectives ; Composite Ideogram sketch ; print of Baltimore Harbor.
Drawer 208 Folder 4
14 items : "Museum for Impostors" : monument to Sarah Wilson, with draft; section; interior perspective; Inner Harbor elevation, day; longitudinal section; plan view; "A Saloon for Jesse James" : Kitty's Four Poster Bed; East Elevation; Bar Stools; Gatehouse; Plan view and South elevation for Saloon; Bar assembly for Saloon; Section for Saloon.
Roll 4
1 item : graphite & pastel drawing with lace
Drawer 207 Folder 10
5 items : elevations; "This That Shrine" ; "Cross Section" ; "Preliminary Site Plan."
Roll 5
1 item : drawing on trace
Drawer 208 Folder 6
23 items : includes long section, "Insomniac Clinic" ; "South Elevation" ; "North Elevation" ; "Preliminary Study/South Elevation" ; "Study for Boat."
Drawer 208 Folder 2
7 items : Plan view, North/South section, East elevation, South elevation/section, West/East section, South section/elevation, Drawn boat.
Drawer 206 Folder 5
5 items : "Northeast Elevation" ; "West Elevation" ; "Southwest Elevation" ; "Theatre Section" ; "Long. Section."
Drawer 207 Folder 3
43 items : set of 6 drawings showing process work ; set of 12 drawings showing process work ; preliminary designs ; plans, sections, elevations ; "Day Section" ; "Theatre Perspective" ; "Study for Library" ; massing studies.
Roll 6
1 item : graphite drawing
Drawer 207 Folder 8
3 items : McMillan Water Filtration Plan Site Plan ; Night School site plan ; Displaced Suburb plan.
Drawer 207 Folder 4
58 items : sketches, plans, sections, elevations; Composite Ideogram sketch ; "Ahab's tails" ; "Ishmael's Uncertainty" ; "Moby Rock & Mask."
Drawer 208 Folder 1
6 items : Sea Level Plan, Grade Level Plan, West Elevation, South/North Section, South Elevation, Longitudinal Section.
Drawer 207 Folder 5
27 items : sketches, plans, sections, elevations ; "Preliminary Study, Hostel, west elev. View from first Cataract" ; "Study, View from first Cataraca."
Drawer 208 Folder 3
12 items : "Hostel": site plan, elevations, plan view, South/North Section, perspective ; "Confessional" : longitudinal section, Confessor's Amplifier, side elevation, cross section, plan view, front elevation.
Drawer 206 Folder 1
1 item : mounted drawing
Drawer 207 Folder 6
12 items : plans, sections, elevations; drawings for "Kitty's Four Poster Bed" ; barstool designs.
Drawer 207 Folder 7
29 items : plan, section, and elevation studies; Xerox of San Pancrazio Plan with drawing on top ; drawings of "Confessor's Amplifier."
Contains materials for one of Darden's earlier works, which was submitted to the "From Here to Eternity" exhibition. This project set up an allegorical museum dedicated to historical American impostors. Situated in the Baltimore Harbor Water Gap, the project research included in this subseries concentrates on nearby historical sites and figures, such as Fort McHenry, Francis Scott Key, the Lazaretto, Interstate Highway 95, and the Lehigh Cement Factory. Also included is the semi-fictionalized account of Sarah Wilson, along with notes and drafts, and a few drawings.
Box 1 Folder 1
Site photographs : 31 items ; also includes Xeroxes, pamphlets, postcards,
Box 1 Folder 2
Notes, drafts, paste-ups, correspondence
Box 1 Folder 2
Drawings : 5 items ; Includes sketches : undated, 30 Apr 1983
Box 1 Folder 3
Negatives : 16 items ; contact sheet : 3 items ; slides : 1 item ; Prints : 51 items ; Includes images of models, images forCondemned Building,research material, prints of drawings
Contains Darden's research and drafts for said project. Temple Forgetful was influenced by his time spent at the American Academy in Rome, as seen by its sitting next to the Basilica of Maxentius, and appropriation of the Romulus and Remus myth. The project consists of two uninhabitable theatres, set as opposites across the legendary boundary line separating Rome between the twins. Darden's research includes information on the new archaeological discoveries at his site, as well as the topics of memory and forgetting. Also includes postcards with some correspondence.
Box 1 Folder 4
Xeroxes, newspaper clippings, postcards incl. one with correspondence 24 Oct 1988
Box 1 Folder 5
Drafts and paste-ups
Box 1 Folder 6
Negatives : 14 items ; contact sheet : 8 items ; slides : 1 item ; Prints : 36 items ; Includes images of models, images forCondemned Building,site photo, prints of drawings, one transparency
Box 15 Folder 12
Drawings : 5 items
Contains research and generative materials for this project situated just off of Liberty State Park in New Jersey. Darden began this project while teaching at New Jersey Institute of Technology; he took many trips exploring the surrounding industrial areas, which influenced his successive projects. His research for this project delved into sleep studies, dreams and nightmares, Freud, Arthur Rimbaud's "The Drunken Boat," and Ernest Hemingway's "Now I Lay Me." Generative materials feature images of electroencephalograms (recorded electrical activity of the brain), works by Picasso, and Dante's Inferno, amongst his notes and drafts. Includes one drawing.
Box 1 Folder 7
Site Photographs : 3 items ; also includes Xeroxes and newspaper clippings
Box 1 Folder 8
Notes, drafts, transparency, image of model
Box 1 Folder 8
Drawings : 1 item
Box 1 Folder 9
Negatives : 25 items ; contact sheet : 3 items ; Prints : 39 items ; Includes images of models, images forCondemned Building,prints of drawings
Contains the materials for a project at the McMillan Water Filtration Plant, in Washington D.C. Darden designed a school anchored by an open air theatre which must operate at night. His research materials consist mainly of site research, including photographs and plans of the site and research into ancient trilobites found at the site. The project was influenced by Greek Theatre, which can be seen in his notes and drafts in this subseries. Materials also include correspondence with Army Corps of Engineers and with Stanley Tigerman & John Whiteman, as well as visual gridded studies for this project's "Dis/continuous Genealogy," and two drawings.
Box 2 Folder 1
Slides : 2 items ; contact sheets : 3 items ; photographs : 17 items (2 mounted on paper together, 3 mounted on contact sheets)
Box 2 Folder 1
Xeroxes, postcard, plans of site
Box 2 Folder 1
Army Corps of Engineer's Washington Aqueduct
Box 2 Folder 2
Notes, visual studies, drafts, paste-ups, annotated chapter " The School of Night," correspondence, Xeroxed drawings with color pencil
Box 2 Folder 2
Drawings: 2 items
Box 2 Folder 3
Negatives : 53 items ; contact sheet : 1 item ; prints : 56 items ; includes images of models, images forCondemned Building,prints of drawings
Contains Darden's materials for his design of a library built on location of Herman Melville's former home on East 11th St. and Fourth Ave in New York City. Research materials focus on Melville, whale hunting, and the Iroquois, and include building history and maps for the project site. [Darden's copy of is not included in this collection.] The subseries includes notes, visual studies, drafts, paste-ups, articles, and transparencies for "Dis/continuous Genealogies," as well as correspondence regarding the research and publication of Melvilla, from 1989-92.
Box 2 Folder 4
Includes letters regarding the research and publication of Melvilla, undated, 1989-92
Box 2 Folder 5
Xeroxes, postcards, newspaper clipping; includes visual and textual research
Box 2 Folder 6
Notes, visual studies, drafts, paste-ups, articles, Melville Society Extracts
Box 2 Folder 6
Transparencies : 2 items
Box 2 Folder 7
Negatives : 117 items ; contact sheets : 18 items ; prints : 53 items ; includes images of models, visual studies of "Dis/continuous Genealogies," prints of drawings
Contains research and generative materials pertaining to the Aswan Dam and its displacement of Nubians; Darden pulls from this dichotomy of construction/destruction to design a project that symbolizes this contradiction as a temporary home for Nubian workers. Darden's research focuses on infrastructure and transportation, especially that related to water; materials include postcards and newspaper clippings. The subseries also includes notes, drafts, a transparency of the project's "Dis/continuous Genealogy," as well as three drawings.
Box 3 Folder 1
Research materials, including Xeroxes, postcards, newspaper clippings, The Story of Abu Simbel
Box 3 Folder 1
Notes, drafts, paste-ups, Xeroxes of drawings and model images
Box 3 Folder 1
Transparency : I item ; drawings : 3 items
Box 3 Folder 2
Negatives : 90 items ; contact sheets : 13 items ; slides : 9 items ; prints : 57 items ; includes images of models, visual studies of "Dis/continuous Genealogies," prints of drawings, site images
Contains material for Darden's project originally started in Stanley Tigerman's studio at Harvard GSD in 1983. The project draws on the duality of the anti-hero and ideas of confrontation. It includes research on mining, specifically the Kennecott Copper Mine, on Jesse James, and on Great Salt Lake and Saltair as well as miscellaneous documents such as pamphlets from Amtrak and maps of Utah. Project materials also include several postcards with correspondence, two drawings and a collage.
Box 3 Folder 3
"Mining's Living Legacy," Amtrak Express, Utah map, Salt Lake Area Map, "The Codex Hammer," lithograph of 1899 topographical map of Utah
Box 3 Folder 4
Postcards with correspondence, Xeroxes, postcards, newspaper clippings, notes, drafts, paste-ups; photographs : 2 items
Box 3 Folder 4
Drawing : 2 items ; collage : 1 item
Box 3 Folder 5
Negatives : 45 items ; contact sheets : 5 items ; prints : 37 items ; prints with collage : 3 items ; includes images of models, prints of drawings
Contains research material, but no drawings or prints for the project. The research material draws from Georgia O'Keeffe, Marquis de Sade, Duchamp, Fourier, Lequeu, and pornography. While there are no drawings, Darden did create a "Dis/continuous Genealogy," materials for which are included in this subseries. [Series VI: Slides includes 9 images of a model for this project not included in the book ]
Box 3 Folder 6
Research material , including articles, newspaper clippings, Xeroxes, notes, paste-ups
Box 3 Folder 6
Transparency : 1 item ; negatives : 6 items ; prints : 5 items
Contains material for a proposed confessional booth at the site of the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre in the Church San Pancrazio, in Italy. Materials include site research, as well as notes, correspondence, drafts, and 5 drawings. The project draws on Alberti, the ideas of balance and intersection, radio transmission and amplification.
Box 4 Folder 1
Xeroxes, postcard, poster, pamphlet for Cooplat "Servizi per gli Spazi Espositivi" ; photographs : 4 items
Box 4 Folder 2
Notes, drafts, paste-ups, correspondence, xeroxes of drawings and model images
Box 4 Folder 2
Drawings : 5, undated and 31 May 1988
Box 4 Folder 3
Negatives : 46 items ; contact sheets : 6 items ; prints : 19 items
Contains the material for Darden's project based on the fictitious story of an ex-railroad employee, Burnden Abraham, who after being injured in a train derailment must live in an oxygen tent. The subseries contains research material on train instruments and railroad infrastructure, anatomy of the lungs, hydraulics, and zeppelins. It also contains images for the "Dis/continuous Genealogy," notes, drafts, paste-ups, correspondence, and one drawing.
Box 4 Folder 4
Xeroxes, postcard, newspaper clipping
Box 4 Folder 5
Notes, drafts, paste-ups, correspondence; drawing : 1 item
Box 4 Folder 6
Negatives : 85 items ; contact sheets : 9 items ; slides : 16 items ; prints : 60 items
Includes materials for the publication of such as notes, work on the frontispieces, a list of Hamlet quotations to be featured in the book, font/text experimentation, drafts (bound and unbound), and correspondence with Princeton Architectural Press.
Box 4 Folder 8
Composition Book with notes
Box 4 Folder 7
Book Synopsis, font/text experimentation, typed partial drafts, research material for frontispiece, press releases for Princeton Architectural Press
Box 4 Folder 7
Negatives : 17 items ; contact sheet : 1 item ; prints : 6 items ; drawings : 1 items (frontispiece, and unidentified project (found with Melvilla papers), undated)
Box 15 Folder 13
Draft test prints
Box 5
Bound drafts : 2 items, undated & 11 May 1990
Box 5 Folder 1
Unbound draft : 1 item, undated
Box 5 Folder 2
David, Ben Ledbetter, Princeton Architectural Press: Kevin Lippert, Ann Urban, Bill Monaghan ; press releases
This series contains research materials and process work for the project Darden was working on at the time of his death. incorporated architectural drawing, collage, and narrative in the form of an architectural graphic novel centered on three characters: Helen, Cass, and Polly. The series includes correspondence regarding travel and requests for financial assistance, as well as information on and submissions to various grant programs. It also includes a spiral bound portfolio of several artists meant to be included in the project, entitled "The Graphic Novel: an Investigation of the Interdisciplinary Design Process."
Ten folders contain research materials on outbreaks of laughter and mania, on the anatomy of the human body (specifically that of speech capabilities and female reproductive cycles), on Africa (Darden's early site for the project), on Boston (a stop in the story's itinerary) and on Darden's two main sites for the project: Troy New York, and Troy in Greece. These folders include maps, postcards, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, and magazine clippings.
Darden's process for the project included experimenting with text and font, and rendering with various graphic images he had collected from his research and travels. This series includes many of these graphic experiments and sources, notably those from his travel souvenirs.
For this project, Darden worked with audio recordings of girls laughing, and four folders entitled "Laugh Graphics" contain FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) print outs that visually represent frequencies from these recordings, and were used as graphic elements.
Two folders encompass Darden's notes for the project (including notes on two airsick bags), and Darden's outlines of the girls' characters. The folder "Negatives & Prints" notably includes x-rays of the esophagus and repairs to broken bones made with internal fixation. The series also contains drawings, drafts, and storyboarding for the graphic novel.
Box 6 Folder 4
Postcards, Consulate of Tanzania, Fernie Baca, Liz Hamp-Lyons, Faculty Grants, Sophia Gollek, Janus Stechel, Bernard Zeligman, Steve Frey, Ellynne Skove, Dana Crawford, Alberto Perez-Gomez, McGill School of Architecture, Chora.
Box 6 Folder 5
Application and submissions information for grants and other opportunities
Box 6 Folder 6
AIA Colorado: Arthur A. and Florence G. Fisher Traveling Scholarship, 1992 ; Art Papers: AnteMillenium Dollhouse Competition, 1993 ; California College of Arts and Crafts: Scholar in Residence, post 1993 ; Creative Activities Committee of the University of Colorado at Denver: Project proposal, 1993 ; Getty Grant Program, undated ; Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts: Grant Request, pre 1994.
Box 6
Portfolio of Design Participants
Box 7 Folder 1
Box 7 Folder 2
Box 7 Folder 3
Box 7 Folder 4
Box 7 Folder 5
Box 7 Folder 6
includes postcards, maps, "Americana", water tower studies
Box 7 Folder 7
Box 7 Folder 8
Greek Mythology, Troy, Euripides The Trojan Women, Monemvasia; includes postcards and pamphlets
Box 7 Folder 9
maps and postcards
Box 7
4 books on Monemvasia
Box 7 Folder 10
Box 8 Folder 1
Text/Font experiments, cars, Symbols, Groups of three, Tarot Cards, "Rendering Tech" ; includes postcards
Box 8
fresco style painting
Box 8 Folder 2
brochures, tickets, airline safety cards, stamps, labels, drachmas [6 bills, total 9500]
Box 8 Folder 3
Box 8 Folder 4
"Helen's Laugh-Flipbook (Karen),"recording print outs: FFT(Fast Fourier Transform- representation of frequencies) includes negatives : 7 items ; contact sheet : 1 item ; prints : 4 items
Box 8 Folder 5
Helen
Box 8 Folder 6
Cass
Box 8 Folder 7
Polly
Box 9 Folder 1
Helen, Cass, Polly
Drawer 206 Folder 10
1 item : cardboard with Laughing Girls drawing and paper clipped drawing.
Box 9 Folder 2
Box 9 Folder 3
includes notes on bookmark, airsick bags
Box 9 Folder 4
Drafts for Helen, Cass, & Polly
Box 9 Folder 5
Includes two postcards and one file folder
Box 9 Folder 6
Negatives : 60 items ; contact sheets : 9 items ; slides : 4 items ; prints : 40 items ; x-rays : 8 items
Box 9 Folder 7
Digital Audio Tape
Box 15 Folder 11
Box 15 Folder 9
Drawings ; 5 items ; also includes paste-ups and drafts of Laughing Girls
Box 15 Folder 10
Print of Greek Houses; transparency of map of Monemvassia; Xeroxes of drawings and maps for Laughing Girls
Box 15 Folder 8
2 items
Box 15 Folder 7
7 items
Box 15 Folder 6
6 items
Box 15 Folder 5
8 items
Box 15 Folder 4
6 items
Box 15 Folder 3
7 drawings
Drawer 206 Folder 12 Box 15 Folder 1
27 items
(Jonathan Rosen Donation, 2018.001)
This series is arranged in loose chronological order. The series primarily consists of Darden's artworks in mixed media from the 1980s. These artworks/drawings are executed in charcoal, paint, pastel, graphite, pen, and collage. They feature expressive abstract forms, industrial scenes, and allegorical projects, and range from the size of a postcard to 4ft by 6ft.
The series also includes materials for identified projects that were not featured in Condemned Building or Laughing Girls. The folder, "Misanthropy Hall," contains notes and research materials, as well as a print of the drawing, "H.M.M. House for a Mad Misanthrope," currently held at the Bass Museum in Miami. [Note: this project was originally to be featured in but was ultimately left out.] The folder "I-Club" contains research materials and process work concerning Japanese culture, armor, samurai, opium, military technology, mechanical machines, and the Rape of Nanking. The process work includes the manipulation of line drawings using transparencies, the same process Darden used to create his "Dis/continuous Genealogies" for the projects in Condemned Buildings. The series also includes sketches and studies on trace for "Displaced Suburb," a project that used the same site as "Night School," the McMillan Water Filtration Plant in Washington D.C. One folder includes two drawings on trace (one of each aforementioned project) which overlay the third drawing of a site plan.
Drawer 208 Folder 5
30 items : sketches, drawings, "Four Thresholds of Lent," "The John ca. Maultsby Farm Columbus County, N.ca." copy, surveyed 1973 Dec 28, 2 "Fort Residence"? project drawings.
Roll A84.01b
9 item : drawings
Roll A84.01a
11 item : drawings; includes 2 drawings for L'Hotel Guimard Addition; 2 drawings Lewis Wharf Office/Residential Building; and 7 drawings for unidentified project(s)
Drawer 206 Folder 6
1 item : mounted drawing
Drawer 206 Folder 12
2 items : mounted drawings
Box 14 Folder 1
2 items : drawings
Box 14 Folder 2
1 item : drawing with images pasted on back
Box 14 Folder 3
5 items : collages
Box 14 Folder 4
1 item : drawing
Box 14 Folder 5
1 item : drawing
Box 14 Folder 6
1 item : collage
Box 14 Folder 7
1 item : collage
Box 14 Folder 8
1 item : drawing
Box 14 Folder 9
1 item : drawing
Box 14 Folder 10
1 item : drawing
Box 14 Folder 11
1 item : collage
Drawer 206 Folder 8
20 items : plan and section sketches
Drawer 207 Folder 9
40 items : sketches, plans, sections, elevation ; "Suburb for the Lost and Found."
Box 14 Folder 12
1 item : collage
Box 14 Folder 13
5 items : 2 undated, "Pillar of Progress: The Journeyman," "Pillar of Progress," "Gold- Tipped Pillar of Progress"
Box 14 Folder 14
1 item : collage
Box 15 Folder 16
1 item : pencil and pastel on paper
[Acquisition 2022.005]
Box 14 Folder 20
1 item : drawing
Box 15 Folder 18
1 item : colored pencil and pastel drawings
[Acquisition 2022.005]
Box 15 Folder 18
1 item : colored pencil and pastel drawings
[Acquisition 2022.005]
Box 15 Folder 17
1 item : colored pencil and pastel drawings
[Acquisition 2022.005]
Box 15 Folder 17
1 item : colored pencil and pastel drawings
[Acquisition 2022.005]
Box 14 Folder 15
1 item : collage
Box 14 Folder 16
1 item : collage
Box 14 Folder 17
1 item : collage
Box 14 Folder 18
1 item : collage
Box 14 Folder 19
3 items : drawings
Box 14 Folder 21
11 items : "Subdivisions, Opus" 2 through 12; drawings
Box 14 Folder 22
7 items : "Vacancies" I, VI, VIII, IX, XI, XII, XIII; drawings
Box 14 Folder 23
1 item : drawing
Box 14 Folder 24
1 item : drawing
Box 14 Folder 25
1 item : drawing
Box 14 Folder 26
2 items : pastels
Drawer 206 Folder 2
26 items : includes charcoal drawings ; graphite drawings ; pen & ink drawings ; "Air Factory" Collage ; "Vacancies" ; "Night School."
Box 15 Folder 16
1 drawing : watercolor, pencil, color pencil, and ink on paper
[Acquisition 2022.005]
Box 15 Folder 16
1 item : oil stick and charcol on board
[Acquisition 2022.005]
Box 18 Folder 4
19 items : ink and charcoal on paper
[Acquisition 2022.005]
Box 18 Folder 5
1 item : ink on pen on paper
[Acquisition 2022.005]
Box 18 Folder 5
1 item
[Acquisition 2022.005]
Box 18 Folder 5
1 item
[Acquisition 2022.005]
Roll 2
1 item : mixed media
Roll 1
1 item : charcoal drawing
Drawer 206 Folder 7
1 item : mounted drawing for an installation at the Nature Morte Gallery, in collaboration with Bob Curtis.
Roll 3
1 item : mixed media
Box 15 Folder 16
1 item : pencil and wash on mounted paper
[Acquisition 2022.005]
Box 15 Folder 15
Drawing and xeroxes of drawings of Allison Darden's house in Denver, CO.
Box 14 Folder 27
untitled collages : 3 items; also includes misca. collage pieces
Box 14
5 items : mounted drawings
Box 6 Folder 1
Notes, research materials, prints : 1 item
Box 6 Folder 2
Research material and process work: visual and textual references, Xeroxes, magazine articles, newspaper clipping, manipulation of line drawings using transparencies
Box 6 Folder 3
Includes paste up for "Station of the Eclipsing Child?" negatives : 6 items ; drawings : 13 items
This series contains Darden's professional papers, including information on Darden, his correspondence, teachings, exhibitions, publications, and reference material.
Darden's correspondence is arranged chronologically; most regard submissions for publications and the organization of exhibitions and lectures. It also contains many postcards, both to and from Darden, many of which he drew on or added pieces in collage.
In the early 1990's Robert Miller worked in conjunction with Darden on a documentary about Darden, entitled "Douglas Darden: Looking After the Underbelly." This series includes promotional material and two copies of the documentary, as well as correspondence between Miller and Darden concerning the documentary, and Darden's progress on . Also included is "Dardenalia," consisting of articles on or by Darden that Miller had saved or that Darden had sent to Miller, a photograph of Darden, and a collage Darden made for Miller.
Darden's exhibitions encompass eleven folders arranged chronologically from 1984 to 1995, which include correspondence, promotional material, prints of artwork displayed and views of shows.
One folder contains publications about Darden and is arranged chronologically from 1985 to 1998. Seven folders contain publications by Darden from 1986 to 1991, including correspondence and drafts associated with each work. These folders also include drafts of works that were never published widely or were unpublished. In addition, they include two of Darden's lectures, three cassettes with audio of Darden's lectures, and a self-printed book of Darden's haiku, called "Bright Moments: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter." Darden's reference material also includes several books of Haiku to which Darden submitted poems.
Box 10 Folder 1
Includes Personal History, CVs, & Obituaries
Box 18 Folder 2 to 3
Photographs : 3 items
[Acquisition 2022.005]
Box 18 Folder 1
3 items : color photo prints (2), Polaroid (1)
[Acquisition 2022.005]
Box 10 Folder 2
Newspaper clippings; submissions; arranging lectures, publications, exhibitions; photographs : 4 items ; slides : 3 items. RE: "Temple Forgetful," "Melvilla," "Oxygen House," "Clinic for Sleep Disorders," "Museum of Impostors,"Condemned Building; Jina Lipkin, Rizzoli International Publications, Herbert Muschamp; Dennis Dollens, Ronald Christ, Sites; Alberto Perez-Gomez; Melissa Feldman, Stroll ; Olivia Georgia, Maryland Art Place; Sverre Svendsen, Oslo Arkitektforening; Michael Hardiman; Carter H. Manny, Graham Foundation; Kengo Kuma; Harvard Architecture Review 12; Stanley Hallet, Richard Loose, The Catholic University of America; Jane Blackstone, University of Colorado at Boulder; Mark Robbins, Ohio State University, Standards; American Academy in Rome, Whitney Snow; Carl Fredrik Svenstedt , Perspecta: The Yale Architectural Journal; Lillian Stephenson, BACS Newsletter; Jean La Marche, University at Buffalo; Alan Plattus; Christopher A. Carvell, James Stuart Polshek, AIA Colorado; Yale Journal of Architecture and Feminism; Hope Kurtz, Nomad; Ruth Eaton, Centre Georges Pompidou; Piper A. McKee, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Michele Bazan Giordano, Anna Palange, l'Arca Edizioni; Verr B. Soltes, SCI-Arc; Elizabeth Cherry, Galerie Philomene Magers; Lisa Findley; Barbara Kelly, Japan America Society of Colorado; Thom Mayne; David Lever, Starbucks; Mohammed Saleh Uddin, Composite Drawing; UWM; Bann Williams, Bass Museum of Art; Thomas Sofranko, Louisiana State University; Susan Sanders, University of Arkansas; Andreas W. Blinkert, Architecktur Forum Zurich, Architektur-Galerie Luzern; Bill Carpenter, Southern College of Technology.
For a more detailed listing, please see downloadable PDF
Box 18 Folder 6
Diary kept by Darden during a 1989 trip to Cario and Aswan; includes sketches, daily entries, and ephemera. Portrait of Darden in pencil by egyptian art student on verso of notebook cover.
[Acquisition 2022.005]
Box 18 Folder 7
Ink, color pencil, and pencils sketches throughout notebook of various building exteriors and plans; many sketches of buildings at Harvard University; also sketches of New York skyline; possibly notes from a lecture/s.
[Acquisition 2022.005]
[Acquisition 2022.005]
Box 17
Rob Miller filmed interview with Douglas Darden, who discusses his philosophical views on architecture.
Box 10 Folder 3
"Douglas Darden: Looking After the Underbelly," Rob Miller ; DVD : 1 item ; promotional material
Box 4 Folder 9
2 8mm Video Cassette
Box 10 Folder 4
Correspondence: includes postcards, Eric J. Morris (1991 Dec 21) re: "Follies" student project, information on Looking at the Underbelly video, process on Laughing Girls; photographs : 13 items ; floppy disc : 1 item
Box 10 Folder 5
Articles, Lectures, Dardenalia: Architecture and Urbanism "Douglas Darden: Between Corpus and Corpse" Jul 1988 ; Architecture and Urbanism "Douglas Darden: Building Against the Grain" Feb 1991 ; Appearances "Spaces Left Behind" 14 Nov 1988 ; Avant Garde 3 "Nearly Impossible Theatres" undated ; Melville Society Extracts "Melvilla : An Architect's Reading of Moby-Dick," drafts and final in Nov 1992 ; OZ KSU Journal of Architecture Vol. 14 "Confidences of a Spec-Writer," drafts and final 1992 ; Jenkins, Jacqueline M. "Museum Piece," Journal of Architectural Education, Nov 1991 ; "Building Machines," Pamphlet Architecture, No. 12, 1987 ; Lecture: University of North Carolina, Charlotte "Building against the Grain," 1 Nov 1991 ; collage : 1 item ; print 1 item
Box 10 Folder 6
Syllabi, course documents ; arranged chronologically: Sep 1984-Jul 1987: Columbia University & Barnard College ; Jan 1987-May 1988: New Jersey Institute of Technology ; Jan 1990-Mar 1996: University of Colorado at Denver
Box 11 Folder 1
"2x4: An Exhibition of Eight Architectural Projects," planned exhibition; correspondence 1986 May 28 to Jul 10, Neil Denari, Ben Ledbetter, Valerie Smith, Karen Bausman, and Leslie Gill
Box 11 Folder 2
Promotional Material : Feb 1984: "Emergency" (Group), MAP Gallery, Baltimore ; June 1984: "The Chicago Studios" (Group), Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago ; Mar 1985: "Rough Drafts" (Group), The Architectural League at the Urban Center, correspondence: 1985 Mar 7 to Jun 17, Emilio Ambasz, Betsey Feeley, Frances Halsband.
Box 11 Folder 3
Mar 1986: "Scaffolds," Union Theological Seminary, New York ; promotional material ; negatives : 24 items ; contact sheets : 9 items; prints : 26 items ; bound book of prints : 1 item ; includes notes and information
Box 11 Folder 4
May/Jun 1986: "From Here to Eternity" (Group), Artists Space, New York ; promotional material ; Michael Sorkin article in The Village Voice, 1986 Jul 8.
Box 11 Folder 5
Promotional Material: Jul 1986: "Bridges" (Group), Cambridge Arts Center, Boston ; Oct/Nov 1986: "American Excursions," New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury ; Nov/Dec 1986: "Building of Architectural Vision" (Group), Princeton University School of Architecture, article "Building a Vision," The New York Times, 1986 Dec 22 ; Jun/Jul 1988: "Spaces Left Behind," John Nichols Gallery, New York ; Mar 1989: "Work by Recent Alumni 1980-1988" (Group), Harvard University Graduate School of Design ; Apr/May 1989: "Night School" (Group), Steelcase Design Gallery, New York ; May/Jun 1989: "Exhibition MCMLXXXIX" (Group), American Academy in Rome, Rome ; Jun 1990: "Spazio contra Spazio" (Two-Person), Emmanuel Gallery, Denver, correspondence: 1989 Nov 13, Carol Keller ; Jan/Apr 1991: "Architects + Artifacts" (Group), Society for Art in Crafts, Pittsburgh
Box 15
Promotional Poster
Box 11 Folder 6
Promotional Material ; prints : 17 items ; Jun 1991: "Past the Present," Koizumi Gallery, Tokyo ; Jul 1991: "Past the Present," Hexa Gallery, Osaka ; Oct 1991: "The Nakamura Collection" (Group), Japan Institute of Architects, Tokyo
Box 11 Folder 7
Mar 1992: "Condemned Building" (Two-Person), Gwenda Jay Gallery, Chicago ; remarks from Stanley Tigerman; Feb/Apr 1993: "Douglas Darden: Symmetries of Conscience," National Institute for Architectural Education, New York ; press release, promotional material
Box 11 Folder 8
Promotional Material; correspondence: 1992 Jan 18 to 1994 Jul 18, Osamu Nakasuji & Sachiko Onishi, Hexa ; May 1993: "Allegories," Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art, Okayama ; May 1993: "Allegories," Tojuso Cultural Center, Osaka ; May 1993: "The Osaka Prints," Aoki Gallery, Tokyo
Box 15
Promotional Poster
Box 11 Folder 9
Sep 1994: "Architectural Narratives," University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, promotional material ; Oct 1994: "Douglas Darden: Looking After the Underbelly" (Video), Kyoto Future Space Art Museum, Kyoto. Correspondence: 1994 Jun 22 to 1994 Oct 19, Sabie Cultural Institute & Kengo Kuma
Box 11 Folder 10
Promotional Material, newspaper clippings, scrapbook, correspondence: (Mandarin) to Zhihua Huang?, [this letter written in Mandarin (probably dictated to an interpreter), requests compensation for several artworks damaged and/or missing after their exhibition in Taiwan. The letter is written in a formal, businesslike style, but also suggests that Darden was good friends with the addressee. Although Darden is writing to request compensation, he also mentions that two works were gifts and that he hopes the addressee will enjoy them; Darden also notes that they will speak later on other subjects.] Mar/Apr 1995: "Architectural Allegories," Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan ; Apr/May 1995: "Architectural Allegories," Galerie Luminous, Taichung City; Jun 1995: "Architectural Allegories," New Phase Art Space, Tainan; Jul 1995: "Architectural Allegories," Taichung County Cultural Center, Taichung; small notebook
Box 11 Folder 11
"Fearful Symmetries," Boston Architectural Center, Boston ; prints 7 items
Drawer 206 Folder 3
"American Excursions: Doug Darden" Center for Architecture, New York, 1986 Oct 20; "Douglas Darden: Spaces Left Behind: Architecture and the Body Politic" John Nichols Gallery, 1988 Jun 16-Jul 23; "Douglas Darden: Past the Present" IZM Gallery, Tokyo & Tojuso Center, Osaka, 1991 Jun 3 – 27; "The Prints of Douglas Darden" Osamu Nakasuji Printmakers, Osaka, Japan 1993; "Douglas Darden" Taiwan, 1995; "Douglas Darden: Allegories" Okayama, Japan, 1993 May 15-21.
Box 11 Folder 12
"MSAC Work-in-Progress Grant Program." Arts Maryland, Vol. II No. 1, 1985 Feb ; re: 1983-84 Works-in-Progress Grant for "Museum of Impostors," Maryland State Council on the Arts ; "Young bloods at the Architectural League." Progressive Architecture.1985 Apr ; "ASR Auction: A Solid Return." Progressive Architecture. 1985 Aug ; Monaco, Angelo. "Douglas Darden and the Expression of Spirit." The Columbia Art Review. 1986 Spring ; Laurence, Victoria A. "Monograph: Douglas Darden." 1988 Spring ; Pomper, Miles. "Architect's 'purgatory' will never be built." The Jersey Journal. 1988 Jun 9 ; Pomper, Miles. "Architect's 'purgatory' will never be built." Gold Coast. 1988 Jun 30-Jul 7 ; Smith, J. "The Architecture of Literature, A study and Comparison of Guiseppe Terragni's Danteum and Douglas Darden's Melvilla." History of Architectural Theory, 1991 Mar 24. [2 copies] ; Fishel, Adrian Z. "Final Topic Essay [Douglas Darden's Melvilla]" Instructor Peter Wong. 1991 Nov 20 ; "Monumentality and the City," Design Lecture Series, Denver Art Museum, 1992 Spring ; Speigel, Bill. "Architect to give first Bryant lecture," The Collegian? 1992 Sep 23 ; Speigel, Bill. "Architect relates art to discipline," The Collegian? 1992 Sep 25 ; "Douglas Darden: Past the Present," Japan Institute of Architects, JIA News, Vol. 029, 1993 ; Tynan, Bernadette. "UCD Prof Voted One of Top 50 Architects in the World," ca. 1993 ; Ledbetter, Ben. "Condemned Building" Book Review, Harvard Graduate School of Design News, 1993 Fall ; "Jurors' Comments," Boston Society of Architects design Committee's Unbuilt Architecture Awards 1995 ; "Unfolding" Lecture Series, Southern College of Technology, 1995-1996 ; La Marche, Jean. "The Life and Work of Douglas Darden: A Brief Encomium." Utopian Studies. Vol. 9, No. 1 (1998), pp. 162-172.
Box 12 Folder 1
"The Danteum by Thomas Schumacher" Book Review, Sites 15, 1986 Sep; correspondence from "N." ; "The Architecture of Frank Gehry" Book Review, Sites 19, 1987 June ; "Architecture in the Age of Spatial Dissolution," OZ 9, 1987 Jun; drafts, abstracts ; "3 Letters to an Architect Dissolving," Places: M.I.T. Journal of Architecture, 1987 Jul; correspondence: 1986 Aug 23 to Nov 24, responses from various publications, including Places ; "Descent into Mannahatta," Stroll Magazine, 1987 Nov.
Box 12 Folder 2
"Spaces Left Behind," Appearances: Journal of Art & Artists, No. 14., 1988 Mar; correspondence: 1987 Feb 2 to Oct 25, assorted addressees, includes inquiries into showing work in addressee's galleries, and respective denials, notes and list of work ; "Notes on a Repressed Agenda," Abacus, 1988 Spring; drafts; correspondence: 1986 Jul 20 to 1987 Nov 14, Joan Bassine, Jason Popkin, Maria Wiltheau, Abacus Forum, New York Institute of Technology Center for Architecture ; "Tropes and Trapts," University of Tennessee Journal of Architecture, May 1988; drafts; correspondence: 1987 Mar 15 to 1988 Jun 6, Richard Drinkwater & Son Sang Kong.
Box 12 Folder 3
"Architecture of Exhaustion," Pratt Journal of Architecture, Vol. 2, 1989 Mar; correspondence: 1986 Nov 22 to 1988 Mar 9, Steve Perrella, undated "David" ; "Melvilla," Sites 24, 1991 Nov.
Box 12 Folder 4
"Melvilla; An Architect's Reading of Moby-Dick," A + U (Japan), 1993 May; correspondence: 1991 Jul 10 to 1993 Mar 1, Toshio Nakamura, Architecture and Urbanism ; "Oxygen House: A Near Triptych on the Act of Breathing," The Southern Quarterly, 1994 Winter; correspondence: 1993 May 17 to 1994 Jun 4, Stephen Young, SoQ ; "Coffee," National Public Radio: All Things Considered; drafts, research material, "Coffee Matters," Starbucks Newsletter, Vol. 2, Issue 1, 1994 Jan/Feb; correspondence: 1994 Jun 13 to Jul 26, Joe Juhasz, University of Colorado at Boulder; 1994 Jul 7, "Greg" ; 1994 Jul 15: "Bobski" Robert Curtis, includes Curtis' "3 Treatments for: The Letter Left to Me (or Roy, etca.)"
Box 12 Folder 5
"Remus Re-Membered" lecture, Notre Dame University, Rome, Italy, 1989 Mar 14 ; "Building against the Grain" lecture, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, 1991 Nov 1; drafts
Box 12
Cassette
Box 12
Cassette
Box 12
Cassette
Box 12 Folder 6
"The Extended Vernacular of the Body: Notes on a Third Paradigm for Spatial Representation," draft, undated ; "Misgivings From a Suburb: 7 Appendices for an Unwritten Novel," draft, undated ; "One-Hundred Nights of Building" abstract: 1986 Sep 1, book synopsis, precis, correspondence: 1986 Sep 19, Gibbs M. Smith, Peregrine Smith Books ; "Past the Present: Two Works by Douglas Darden," Daidalos & Lotus International, undated ; "Vacancies/American Excursions" drafts: 1985 Sep 30 to 1986 Feb 1.
Box 12 Folder 7
"Bright Moments: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter," book of haiku, unpublished, 1982, 1993; includes drafts.
Box 13
Bonsai: A Quarterly of Haiku, 1977 Apr 19 [contains poem by Darden] ; College Poetry Review. (Los Angeles: National Poetry Press, Spring 1975). ; Dragonfly: A Quarterly of Haiku, 1976 Oct, Vol. 5, No. 4 [contains poem by Darden] ; Dragonfly: A Quarterly of Haiku, 1977 Apr, Vol. 5, No. 2 [contains poem by Darden] ; Dragonfly: A Quarterly of Haiku, 1977 Jul, Vol. 5, No. 3 [contains poem by Darden] ; Stone Country: Men's Poetry Issue, 1977 Feb [contains poem by Darden] ; Molinaro, Ursule . Needlepoint. (New York: Red Dust Inca., 1987). ; Molinaro, Ursule [text] & John Evans [collage/drawings]. Remnants of an Unknown Woman. (New York: Red Dust Inca., 1987). ; Shaw, Bernard. Major Barbara. (London : Penguin, 1941 [1972 printing]). [With annotations by Darden]
Box 13 Folder 1
Notes ; Xeroxes ; "The Role of Pilates Technique in the Rehabilitation of the Injured Dancer" ; Paterra, Vincent. "A Letter to Myself" ; Eisenman, Peter. "The Futility of Objects: Decomposition and the Processes of Difference." 1982 Dec 27 ; Eisenman, Peter. "Architecture and the Problem of Rhetorical Figures," Parsons School of Design, New York. 1987 Apr 2.
Box 13 Folder 2
Xeroxes of Darden's works
Box 13 Folder 3
Prints of Darden's works; prints : 97 items ; slides : 2 items
Box 15 Folder 14
Kozloff, Max. "Contention Between Two Critics About a Disagreeable Beauty" ArtForum International, 1984 Feb, pp. 45-53; The Mail Townsend Thoresen Herald of Free Enterprise Ferry Disaster, 1987 Mar 8; Sunday Today Townsend Thoresen Herald of Free Enterprise Ferry Disaster, 1987 Mar 8.
Box 13 Folder 4
Includes postcards, address labels, item with image of Condemned Building frontispiece
Box 15 Folder 19
7 items
[Acquisition 2022.005]
Drawer 206 Folder 9
1 item : graphite drawing
Comprised of three subseries:
Subseries 1: Reference Material contains slides Darden collected as reference for projects or for use in lectures. It includes historical images and images from his explorations, depicting architecture, art, infrastructure, transportation, and technology. This series also includes images of projects by his students, arranged chronologically where dated.
Subseries 2: Condemned Building consists of images of Darden's drawings and models for these projects. Some projects also include research images. The folder for Sex Shop contains images of a model not featured in the publication.
For a more detailed listing of the slides in this series, please see downloadable PDF
Box 16 Folder 1
166 items
Box 16 Folder 2
207 items
Box 16 Folder 3
276 items
Box 16 Folder 4
469 items; contains images of projects created by students
Box 17 Folder 1
89 items; includes research images
Box 17 Folder 2
68 items
Box 17 Folder 3
31 items
Box 17 Folder 4
35 items
Box 17 Folder 5
69 items; includes images of research and of painting studies
Box 17 Folder 6
133 items; includes images of research and of Dis/continuous Genealogy
Box 17 Folder 7
24 items
Box 17 Folder 8
9 items; only contains model images
Box 17 Folder 9
49 items; includes images of research and of Dis/continuous Genealogy
Box 17 Folder 10
113 items; includes images of research and of Dis/continuous Genealogy
Box 17 Folder 11
55 items
Box 17 Folder 12
132 items
Box 17 Folder 13
18 items
Box 17 Folder 14
17 items
Box 17 Folder 15
31 items
Box 17 Folder 16
10 items
This series contains Allison Rosen Darden's papers and is arranged chronologically from 1996 to 2000. Topics include Douglas Darden's death, the possibility of reprinting his book and the acquisition of his works. The series also contains an article on Allison's early career as a ballet dancer, and a letter to Douglas Darden's parents Joe and Nancy Darden.
Box 13 Folder 5
Arranged chronologically