Dating from its founding in 1894 through the present, these materials document the Institute’s legacy as a bridge between architectural education and practice and the significant influence of VAI’s programs on the development of early 20th century American architectural education.

In 2007, with generous support from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Van Alen Institute began digitizing materials from its Architecture collection.

As a first step, the Institute is arranging and digitizing competition entries and programs relating to the Paris Prize (1904-1994), in addition to entries from several more recent VAI design competitions. These records have now been made available on the Design Archive’s beta online platform, launched in October 2011.

We’re thrilled to showcase more than 3,000 searchable, high-resolution images that speak to architecture’s visionary spirit, as well as Van Alen’s formative impact on architectural education in America. Our online platform previews just a small portion of the archive’s treasures that have been digitized to date. We look forward to sharing our ongoing work with you, and to exploring this vital legacy of projects in public architecture.

Visit the Design Archive at vanalen.org/archive.