Environmental Design Archives Research + Services
The Environmental Design Archives are located on the second floor of Bauer Wurster Hall, Room 280; open Monday-Thursday by appointment only.
- Before Contacting the Archives
- Scheduling an Appointment
- Before Your Visit
- Visitation Policies
- Directions
| Architect or Landscape Architect | Original Client or Project Title |
| All EDA collections are organized by the creators of the records such as architect, landscape architect, firm, designer, or photographer. To do research or find a project, the name of the records creator is one of the essential pieces of information we need in order for us to be able to tell you whether we have relevant material for your research.
Don’t know? If you have the original permit for your house, they list architect and client. To find building permits for your house try contacting your local Planning Department. If you live in the City of Berkeley for example, parcel conditions and permit history prior to 1991 are stored on microfiche at the Permit Service Center. |
Within each collection materials for a particular project are organized not by address or location BUT BY CLIENT OR PROJECT NAME. Client name can be an individual (Daniel Gregory), corporate entity (Eichler Homes), or organization (U.S. Farm Security Administration). Project titles also vary from the name of a theater, office building or hospital.
Address is not an organizing factor due to several reasons: (1) often the address is simply not listed on plans (in some cases if the house was built in a new subdivision in which addresses had not yet been assigned), (2) addresses changes over time, (3) matters of the privacy of the current homeowner. |
To schedule an appointment you can contact designarchives@berkeley.edu or call 510.642.5124.
Please note that some of our collections are stored off-site, advance notice is required. We are a small shop and prefer one to two weeks’ notice for scheduling research visits.
Before coming to do research, it helps if you can supply a list of items you would like to view during your visit. Please be reasonable with the amount of material you request, as archival materials are fragile original documents that require careful handling.
Holdings of the Environmental Design Archives are available to faculty, staff, students, and the public for research, within conditions imposed by donor agreements and institutional policy. Researchers are also required to comply with access rules designed to protect archival material for use by future generations.
Researchers are required to complete a registration form and to furnish personal photographic identification, such as a valid driver’s license, college or university identification, or an employer’s identification card. The registration form includes a statement of agreement to abide by the Environmental Design Archives regulations, which researchers are required to read and sign before gaining access to collections.
Stack areas are closed to the public. Materials cannot be removed from the Archives. Researchers are not allowed to take coats, briefcases, backpacks, handbags, books, etc., to the research tables. We provide an area for the storage of such items. No pens, food, or drinks, are permitted.
Personal computers, cameras, and tape recorders may be used for taking notes provided that their use does not disturb other researchers. The use of such equipment is subject to approval by the staff. Scanners are not permitted.
Access to collections does not constitute procurement of permission to publish, reproduce, exhibit, broadcast, or electronically disseminate Environmental Design Archives materials. Researchers must obtain permission for these activities by separate agreement with the Archives. Researchers are responsible for observing all U.S. and international copyright regulations.
There is no research fee for students, faculty, or staff of the University of California, Berkeley. An hourly research fee for using the collections is required for outside researchers. Reproduction, publication, and exhibition of images from the Archives are also subject to fees. See the EDA fee schedule.
**Please note that if you are more than thirty minutes late for your appointment the EDA will consider your appointment canceled. If you are running late or cannot make it please call us at 510-642-5124.
Parking
- Underhill Parking Facility is the closest University Lot that is available to the public. Meter machines located on each floor take exact change or credit card.
- Metered parking along College Ave. Longer term (8hr maximum) meter parking is available along College Ave between Durant Avenue and Haste Street. Parking spots fill quickly.
- A comprehensive map of at UC Berkeley’s public parking lots can be found here: (http://pt.berkeley.edu/parking/visitor) along with lots and pricing.
Public Transit
- AC Transit bus service provides transportation for commuters to and from San Francisco and throughout Alameda and Western Contra Costa County. There are several AC bus lines that stop at the campus at the intersection of Bancroft Way and Telegraph Avenue such as lines: #1; #1R; #7; #49; #51B; #52; and F. For additional lines and information, call 511 and say “AC Transit”.
- Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) trains operate from Fremont, Richmond, Bay Point/Concord and San Francisco/Daly City and include service to San Francisco International Airport as well as Oakland International Airport. A map indicating the route and stops of each train is located at each BART station. The Downtown Berkeley BART station is just 1½ blocks west of the Berkeley campus.
The Environmental Design Archives is a self-supporting research facility within the College of Environmental Design. It is only through the funds we raise by charging fees for research time, publication, and digitizing that the Archives can maintain staff and provide access to the records of generations of architects, landscape architects, designers, and architectural photographers. Providing access and preservation are our main priorities. If you have questions about the fee schedule please contact designarchives@berkeley.edu.
Services
- Digitization
- Commercial Material Use
The Environmental Design Archives provides digitization services for a fee. Researchers should consult the staff for current prices and estimates of turnaround time. The Archives offers these services on a prepaid basis only and reserves the right to refuse reproduction of its materials due to their physical condition, donor limitations, or legal requirements.
The Environmental Design Archives delivers digital images to patrons in three primary formats. (Remember the Archives does not offer printing services, only delivers digital image files).
- Reference images are intended for informational purposes and should be viewed on a computer screen. We deliver reference images to fit 11in by 17in or smaller, 150 dpi, PDF files.
- Best for historians, students, and homeowners.
- Suitable for printing on home printers, but the reduction in size from large documents will reduce detail and contrast. Many archival documents are faint to begin with and will not reproduce well on home printers and/or copy paper.
- Only delivered with the understanding that commercial use or distribution is not allowed.
- Publication images are intended for reproduction (printing) in a book, journal, or online article. We deliver publication images to fit 8 ½in by 11in, 300 dpi, TIFF files, or to the size specified by your publication contract.
- Best for authors and historians
- Only delivered upon receipt of the EDA’s use agreement.
- Reproduction images are intended to be printed at “life size” matching the archival document. We deliver reproduction images as scaled to the original document, at 300 dpi.
- Best for architects or designers, exhibition printing, and users needing scale reproductions of documents.
- Need to be printed by a commercial printer on a large format printer; they are not suitable for printing on home or office printers.
- The Environmental Design Archives makes no guarantees as to the accuracy of the size and scale of reproduced archival documents. While every attempt is made to size our photographic reproductions accurately, the age and condition of archival documents as well as the inability for the archives to control the editing of image files once they leave our hands prevents us from making any guarantees to their accuracy
To request images for digitization please fill out our Digitization Request Form. For orders of over ten images please contact designarchives@berkeley.edu.
To request images for publications, please fill out the Use Agreement.
To request digital images or physical objects for exhibition, please write a formal letter to Betsy Frederick-Rothwell, Curator, at betsyfr@berkeley.edu.
Access to collections does not constitute the procurement of permission to publish, reproduce, exhibit, broadcast, or electronically disseminate Environmental Design Archives materials. Researchers must obtain permission for these activities by separate use agreement with the Archives. Researchers are responsible for observing all U.S. and international copyright regulations.
Below is a list of related resources that may be useful as you continue your research. They include archives, special collections, and historical societies in the United States and beyond.