Links to a number of electronic resources found on the Web organized by topic.  Every site listed here was accessed and reviewed 12/03 

ADA Compliance/Accessibility  

ADA Accessibility Guidelines
Full text of ADA guidelines for buildings, broken down (i.e., ramps, curbs, etc.) as specified by US Federal Government

ADA Homepage
Text rich on ADA design guidelines, ADA-related issues, and technical assistance

Adaptive Environments
Boston-based organization dedicated to "Universal Design," a worldwide movement based on the concept that all products, environments and communications should be designed to consider the needs of the widest possible array of users

Americans with Disabilities Act Document Center
Clearinghouse on ADA documents generated by various Fed bodies, including Justice and EEOC, prepared by Cornell University Law School

Center for Universal Design
Guidelines for built environment adaptations for all, sponsored by NC State School for Design

Universal Access to Outdoor Environments
Private Nevada design firm with mission to make ski, hiking trails and other outdoor areas universally available

AUTOCAD 
(see also computing)

AutoCAD Home Page
Many tutorials and FAQ's on AutoCAD software

AutoCAD Skills Assessment
You must register (free), but has a series of tests allowing you to gauge your skill

CADD Education Center
You can download a lot of the CADD primer and read tutorials

Bridge Engineering Home Page
Links and doxs on bridge engineering

Bridge Management
Older (1995) bibliography on systems used to monitor bridges--includes good history on the US adoption of bridge maintenance legislation and system

Associated Builders and Contractors
Some program information, directories, and guides for builders and contractors, but mainly a lobbying organization based in DC

B4UBuild.com
Basic starting point for residential building, includes Web resources, books, and basic information on cost, financing, and basic design and plans

BuilderSpace.com
One stop shopping for building design and construction industry, with relevant information on current topics--basic Web directory and will likelily take you someplace worthwhile

First Source
Must log-in to this site (for free) which has building codes for every major US city, a newsletter, daily construction news headlines, and includes directories of makers of any given architectural element (lists 40 different skylight manufacturers)

Construction Web Links
Maintained by Thelen, Reid, and Priest law firm, outstanding portal particularly in regard to law, state and federal regs, and insurance issues and its impact/affect/ineraction on building

Construction Industry Computing Association
UK based organization dedicated to the effective use of information technology in the construction industry

Online Resources for the Construction Industry
Good list of references for working contractors--of particular interest are reports on running a successful contracting business

American Architecture
Although sponsored by a realtor (she will help you find a home!), a pretty good illustrated survey of Architectural styles from the 17th to the 21st century found in Massachusetts

Architectural Drawings of Temples of Bagan 
Everything one wants to know about Buddhist temples in Myanmar, includes elevations and other illustrations

Architectural Styles
Clunky (made by an academic) but clean and illustrated site depicting and defining various US architectural styles, like "Cape Cod."

Archnet
online community for architects, planners, urban designers, landscape architects, and scholars, with a special focus on the Islamic world--image rich, but must register

California Missions
Not for profit site dedicated to preservation of CA missions, includes images and histories

Castles on the Web
a little too cheery and slick, site with images and histories dedicated to all things castle world wide

Center for Health Design
Some (precious little, but a start) information on the link between the architectural environment and good health/recovery

Church Architecture, Church Furnishings
Many wonderful pictures, and scholarly articles on and about Church architecture, sponsored by the Ecclesiological Society based in the UK (thus, a European feel)

Covered Bridges of Michigan
Enough said

Covered Bridges of the Philadelphia Region?

High Rise Buildings Database
Welcome to IIT! The SOURCE for information on tall buildings worldwide, includes information on materials, total height, and architects/builders

Historic House Architecture
No images, but fair, basic descriptions of common US housing types

Images of Medieval Art and Architecture
Nice images--mostly churches

Islamic Architecture
Text and visual resources on Islamic architecture from  MIT's Rotch Library

Islamic Architecture
Brief and very basic text with images of significant buildings (mosques and palaces) in many countries 

Minnesota's Historic Bridges 
Sponsored by the Minnesota Historical Society, a list (with many images) of MN historic water crossing structures

Mission Churches of the Sonoran Desert
History and images of nine Arizona missions

National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities
Everything (and more) you wanted to know about educational buildings, includes some pertinent resources on school designs and some less pertinent information on mold fear in Pottsdown PA

New York Skyscrapers
Neat photos, web cams, forums and indices on the NYC big boys

Palladios Italian Villas
Biographical, bibliographical information coupled with a complete listing of all of Palladios Villas

PARKitecture
Site dedicated to the National Park Services attempt to construct a fulfilling but unobtrusive built environment within a natural one.  Many photos and explanatory text on why the NPS looks the way it does in the Western half of the US.  

Planning and Building Libraries
Virtually every city in the world has a library--this is where you begin your search/research on building effective ones

Roadside Architecture
Coffee shops, motels, Route 66, and freak museums in neon splendor

Skyscraper Museum
NYC-only photos, timeline, text, and history of skyscrapers

Skyscraper Page
You can locate elevations of skyscrapers in the "Diagram" section for NYC, Chicago, and Hong Kong as well as other information

Sydney Churches
Architecturally significant churches of Sydney City

Temple Net
Self-proclaimed, the ultimate source of information on Indian Temples

Theatre Historical Society of America
Archive, some of it in electronic format, on over 13,000 historic theatres

Theatre Projects Consultants
Commercial, contemporary, international design firm specializing in theatres

Whole Building Design Guide
Portal for design specifications, government regulations, legal issues, techniques, and technologies for a variety of building types

Architecture Room
Architecture competitions throughout the world

Competitions
Web site for the print journal, Competitions, for artists, architects and planners (GRC does get this serial)

Death by Architecture
Many student only competitions

Virtual Library Competition Database
Particularly strong in international competitions

CUMINCAD
CuminCAD is a cumulative index of publications about computer aided architectural design and includes bibliographic information from over 6,000 journals and conferences

Construction Industry Computing Association
UK based association with papers, presentations, examples and case studies on how firms/companies can make IT work for your business

Cyberspace

Atlas of Cyberspaces
Graphic representations, or cybermaps, of a number of electronic/internet concepts, such as Info Landscapes.  A sprinkling of GIS uses as well

Crossings
Artistic project that attempts to place the information space of the Web into 3-D models.  Very interesting graphics.  Sponsored by the University of Toronto

On Line Planning Journal
Peer reviewed academic journal exploring issues related to and arising from placing the planning system online.

Planet 9 Studios
3-D models of major metropolitan areas, including Chicago.  Very little presented on Web site, and primarily a service provided for a fee to businesses.

Virtual City
Designed to explore and develop the representation of urban form on the Web.  Has several links to many sites that represent electronically cities like New York in various contexts and ruminates on tools like Virtual Reality Modelling Language (VRML) that are used to create these representations

Databases

archINFORM: Architectural  Buildings/Projects Database
The most basic of information on architects and buildings culled from the RIBA and Getty databases.  Free

Best Practices of City Governments
Searchable database of papers created by or presented to city councils/governments on a wide range of topics (i.e., crime, teenage pregnancy) including how to legislate Green spaces or insure affordable housing.  Sponsored by the United States Conference of Mayors

Environmental Impact Statement Collection
the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act requires Federal Agencies to prepare detailed environmental impact analyses of proposed actions on virtually every project, from pipelines to airports.  Northwestern University collects them and they are searchable here and one can purchase copies for a small fee

Historic American Building Survey/Historic American Engineering Record (HABS/HAER)
During the Great Depression, the Federal Government hire folks to document America's Architecture and Engineering past.  Collection consists of photographs, elevations, and descriptions of a variety of American building types, including barns, lighthouses, and outhouses

Center for Land Use Interpretation
Wow.  Searchable by state or category (categories include transportation sites, wasted sites, mining sites), database graphically depicts and textually describes, say, all Nuclear and Radioactive sites in the state of Illinois.  With links to more information on any given site, like the Calumet Waste site

National Register of Historic Places
Includes a searchable database of all of the Registered Historic Places

Smart Growth Policy Database
Sponsored by the US Environmental Protection Agency, this database highlights numerous programs that states and localities nationwide have implemented to further smart growth

Structurae
Focuses on structural engineering, very basic information (often with links) on structures, architects, and engineers