Teaching with Drawings: Primary Source Instruction with Architecture Archives

Abstract

Architectural archival collections contain a wide variety of documents and materials that are effective teaching tools for primary source instruction. Sketches, design and construction drawings, material samples, models, and photographs are just some of the collection materials one may find in an architecture archives. However, architecture archivists are not formally trained to teach with these collections. The authors examine the gap in professional and scholarly literature on teaching with these specific materials and consider this in comparison to the rich literature on teaching with primary sources more broadly. They discuss the pedagogical models they have applied in their instruction work and how these support the information-seeking habits and research needs of architecture faculty and design students. By contributing to the growing body of literature on teaching with special collections in this specific subject area, the authors hope to elevate the skills and expertise that architecture archivists bring to the field.