The history of architecture covers all aspects of the built environment, from progress in construction methods and use of materials, to the emergence of popular styles and fashions and the historic contribution of individual architects to the advancement of architecture.
Many of the documents that are now classed as historical items were written as contemporary texts. Essays, reports and articles, particularly in the RIBA's own archive, often refer to the latest theories and innovations, and over time these come to serve a different purpose from that for which they were originally written. The fact that they were written as contemporary texts makes them particularly valuable as aids to historical research.
Modern architecture is a product of past experience and knowledge and the history of architecture is therefore of great relevance to practising architects. Essays, reports, diaries, journals and correspondence often provide documentary evidence of the observations and opinions of architects and architectural historians. There are numerous records in the Archive, written by both by famous and lesser known authors, that can provide important information for historical research. They include Sir Robert Smike (1780-1867) and Sydney Smirke (1798-1877), Joseph Gwilt (1784-1863), C.R. Cockerell (1788-1863), T.L. Donaldson (1795-1885), J.W. Papworth (1820-1870), William Burges (1827-1881), E.W. Godwin (1833-1886), Carl Franck (1904-1985) and Sir John Summerson (1904-1992), as well as very many others.
The magnificent diaries of C.R. Cockerell, written from 1820 to 1832, provide description and observation on the buildings that he visited during his travels in Britain and abroad. He became a leading authority on classical architecture and his love of Greek architecture was fundamental to his own architectural designs. Others benefited from his knowledge of architectural history not only through his buildings but also through his Royal Academy lectures (1840-1856), and his copious lecture notes now form part of this archive. Other lecture notes include those of Arthur Beresford Pite (1861-1934), covering prehistoric to modern architecture, Erno Goldfinger (1902-1987), covering many aspects of architectural history as well as the history of his own career, and Jaqueline Tyrwhitt (1905-1983) on the history of town planning.
First page of a lecture on the Modern Movement by Maxwell Fry, given at the RIBA in 1979
Architectural movements or periods in architectural history, characterised by the adoption of common ideals or the use of particular styles, techniques and materials, may be studied using the Archive. The Modern Movement is particularly well represented, covered by the papers of many pioneering architects of the 1930s who led the way in the use of new materials and methods. Examples include those of Berthold Lubetkin (1901-1990), who records his very personal views on the progress of architecture from the 1930s, and those of Maxwell Fry (1899-1987) and Erno Goldfinger (1902-1987). There are also several collections of material that refer to the Modern Architectural Research Group (MARS) and Congres Internationale des Architectes Moderne (CIAM), groups that led the way in the Modern Movement and have an enduring influence on modern architecture.
Another major school of thought that had a fundamental influence on design, art and architecture was the Arts and Crafts movement. There are letters and papers by a number of Arts and Crafts architects, which include an out-letter book by Halsey Ricardo (1854-1928); a register of work by C.F.A. Voysey (1857-1941); correspondence by W.R. Lethaby (1857-1931); correspondence and notes by H.S. Goodhart-Rendel (1887-1959); and various papers of Richard Norman Shaw (1831-1912), Edward S. Prior (1852-1932) and Arthur Beresford Pite (1861-1934).
The Archive holds the notes, texts of lectures and articles and research papers of many architectural historians. These include Sir John Summerson (1904-1992), a most influential and highly respected critic, Stephen Welsh (1892-1976), who wrote particularly on Roman Catholic ecclesiastical buildings, and John Hooper Harvey (1911-1997) on English mediaeval architects.
Many architects become well-known for their knowledge of history and theory. One example is H.S. Goodhart-Rendel (1887-1959), and the Archive includes not only his office files but also many of his unpublished texts and notes for the Slade Lectures.
Social, economic and political situations can have a great effect on architecture. During wartime, many architects undertake work that combines their professional expertise with activities contributing to the war effort. The Collection includes several archives describing the activities of architects during wartime. Those relating to the Second World War include details of the pioneering Tecton air raid shelter for the London Borough of Finsbury; a project for an evacuation camp by Erno Goldfinger; exhibitions on food, housing, neighbourhood, cinemas and health for the Army Bureau of Current Affairs, also by Goldfinger (including display panels); notes by Eugene Kent on housing for evacuees. Post-war reconstruction and planning is also dealt with extensively in a number of archives.