The Visual Resources Collection (VRC) at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation is pleased to announce the launch of the second phase of their collaboration with world-renowned Avery Library to produce the Avery/GSAPP Architectural Plans & Sections Collection in the Artstor Digital Library. Phase two adds an additional 10,000 images of architectural drawings, diagrams and photographs to the Artstor database, and marks the completion of a two-year endeavor.

Phase two was made possible by the efforts of the three VRC curators (Sharon Leung, Ayesha Ghosh and Cameron Hardinge-Rooney) along with a committed staff of over twenty-five Columbia GSAPP students. The office included students working together across many of the GSAPP programs, including Masters of Architecture, Historic Preservation, Urban Design, and Urban Planning programs. Diversity in language skills, interest in history and dedication to the project allowed the VRC to expand the collection to include over 2,000 projects from 60 countries. The new set of 10,000 images includes the addition of nearly 100 projects by architect Le Corbusier, 100 projects in South America, and over 125 in Japan.

The Avery/GSAPP Architectural Plans & Sections Collection, now totaling nearly 20,000 images, is based on GSAPP’s History of Modern Architecture curriculum and covers the history of modern buildings, focusing primarily on the 20th-century, with a few earlier and later projects spanning from 1871 to 2013. The result of this collaboration is a rich body of visual material and related scholarship, available online for the first time.