Head of Architectural Collections
The Perry-Castañeda Library (PCL) Map Collection, consisting of the physical collection and an online collection of scanned maps, provides comprehensive cartographic resources to serve constituents both within and beyond the university’s walls.
The firm library of San Antonio architectural firm, Ayres and Ayres contains architectural publications, including building monographs, typological and technical treatises, professional journals, competition manuals, and materials catalogs. San Antonio architects Atlee B. Ayres (1873-1969) and Robert Ayres (1898-1977) collected these books for their firm's library. Atlee B. Ayres opened his San Antonio firm in 1894. His son Robert joined the practice and the name of the firm was changed to Ayres and Ayres in 1925.
The Karl Kamrath Library is a collection of architectural books assembled by prominent Houston architect Karl Kamrath (1911-1988). After graduating from the University of Texas, Kamrath worked in Chicago for Pereira and Pereira, the Interior Studios of Marshall Field and Company, and the Architectural Decorating Company before opening an architectural firm with Fred MacKie in 1937. MacKie and Kamrath helped introduce modernist architectural design to the Houston area.
The Martin S. Kermacy Collection is a collection of architectural books assembled by Martin S. Kermacy (1915-2007), a distinguished professor in the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture from 1947 to 1983. The collection was accessioned in 1998 along with the architectural drawings (prints), photographs, slides, maps, and art currently housed in the Alexander Architectural Archives.
Acquired in 2000, the Paul Philippe Cret Library is a collection of architectural books and photographs of considerable historic value to the University of Texas at Austin. The Cret library includes over 440 volumes published between 1560 and the 1930s as well as 43 albums, portfolios and boxed sets of archival photographs, complementing the Paul Phillippe Cret collection in the Alexander Architectural Archives.
In 2001 the University of Texas acquired the private library of architectural educator and historian Colin Rowe, who revolutionized the teaching of architecture in the United States by introducing an appreciation of American heritage, the dynamic quality of early American settlements, and the American revitalization of the classical style. The New York Times described Rowe as one of the two most influential (architectural) historians of the twentieth century.
Charles Willard Moore (1925-1993) was an architect, educator, author, and traveler. His academic posts include serving as Dean, Chairman, and faculty member at six different universities, including the University of California at Berkeley, Yale University, and The University of Texas at Austin. Moore completed 180 commissions, and served as principal architect in firms in California, Connecticut, and Texas.
