SAH Archipedia is an authoritative online encyclopedia of the U.S. built environment organized by the Society of Architectural Historians and the University of Virginia Press. It contains histories, photographs, and maps for over 22,000 structures and places. These are mostly buildings, but as you explore SAH Archipedia you will also find landscapes, infrastructure, monuments, artwork, and more. This cross-section of the country demonstrates the richness and diversity of architecture and building practice across many centuries, from mud brick to steel, from ancient cliff dwellings to contemporary office towers—a history that unfolds in individual building entries and thematic essays written by leading architectural historians who survey and explain styles and typologies, materials and techniques, and social and political contexts, from local to state to national levels. The content of SAH Archipedia was originally drawn from the award-winning book series, Buildings of the United States (BUS), and includes histories and thematic essays from all of the published BUS print volumes. SAH Archipedia has continued to grow with the addition of peer-reviewed born-digital content and as new BUS volumes are completed. In 2017 we reached our goal of representing all fifty states in SAH Archipedia. U.S. content is only the beginning, however, as we plan to expand to include global content in the coming years.
SAH Archipedia is truly a collaborative project, resulting from the hard work and expertise of writers, researchers, peer reviewers, editors, programmers, and staffers. Development of SAH Archipedia has been made possible by major support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Graham Foundation, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Additional foundation and institutional support came from the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows, the Americana Foundation, the Atherton Family Foundation, the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the John R. Halligan Charitable Fund, Summerlee Foundation, and the State Historical Society of North Dakota. Individual support came from Brent Harris, Diane and John Kane, Maya Manny in memory of Carter Manny, Gretchen Redden, and Howard Brainen at Two Cat Digital. Initial and ongoing support is provided by the Society of Architectural Historians, its members, and University of Virginia Press. Members of the Society of Architectural Historians have supported this project in myriad additional ways, beginning, most obviously, with the intellectual contributions of past and present authors, whose scholarship has made SAH Archipedia a reality. The editors also extend their thanks to those who helped enrich the media content of SAH Archipedia by contributing historical and contemporary images of buildings in the collection. Finally, the editors acknowledge the teams of knowledgeable and dedicated volunteers who spent countless hours reviewing metadata and subject tags for building entries in SAH Archipedia.
About SAH
Founded at Harvard University in 1940, the Society of Architectural Historians is a nonprofit membership organization that serves a network of local, national, and international institutions and individuals who, by profession or interest, focus on the history of the built environment and its role in shaping contemporary life.
Our Mission The Society of Architectural Historians promotes the study, interpretation, and conservation of architecture, design, landscapes, and urbanism worldwide for the benefit of all.
Our Values SAH values inclusivity, ethical standards, fairness, diversity in all its aspects, and respect for all. We are dedicated to open and informed advocacy for the built environment and the people and cultures that shape and preserve it. Read our Core Values Statement and 2017 Strategic Plan.
Our Membership SAH currently has approximately 2,300 individual members and 600 institutional members in 54 countries. Members include architectural historians, art historians, landscape historians, architects, preservationists, urban planners, teachers, graduate students, museum professionals, and individuals from other professions who share a passion for the built environment. Join SAH today.
Our Activities SAH promotes meaningful public engagement with the history of the built environment through advocacy efforts, print and online publications, and local, national, and international programs. For much of our history, our services have revolved around four core activities: publishing our quarterly journal, JSAH, organizing annual conferences and study programs, and publishing our award-winning Buildings of the United States book series. More recently, we have focused on developing innovative digital resources designed to disseminate research about the history of the built environment to the public worldwide. These resources include SAH Archipedia, our online encyclopedia of U.S. architecture and landscapes, and SAHARA, our digital image archive.
About Rotunda
Rotunda, the electronic imprint of the University of Virginia Press, was founded in 2000 for the publication of original digital scholarship along with newly digitized critical and documentary editions in the humanities and social sciences. The collection combines the originality, intellectual rigor, and scholarly value of traditional peer-reviewed university press publishing with thoughtful technological innovation designed for scholars and students.
Rotunda publications are available to both libraries and independent scholars as single titles or as collections. You can view our list here: https://www.upress.virginia.edu/rotunda
Rotunda publications are produced by staff members of UVA Press. We have in-house expertise in Web development; MarkLogic Server programming and administration; development using XQuery, XSLT, JavaScript, JQuery and related tools; and markup or conversion of documents to XML using the TEI Guidelines.