The Charles W. Moore Archives: Faculty papers

Faculty papers is part of the larger Charles W. Moore Archives. It provides extensive insight into the design and teaching philosophies of one of the most prominent architects of the twentieth century. The materials that make up the Faculty papers span Moore's academic life, dating from 1950 to 1993, with the bulk of the records dating from 1965 to 1990. Types of documents found in the series include administrative records, correspondence, course materials, student's work, reference and research materials, and letters of recommendation. These documents address aspects of Moore's academic career at Princeton University; University of Utah; University of California, Berkeley and Los Angeles; Yale University; and University of Texas at Austin.

Moore's role as a professor is best illustrated by the course materials found within the faculty series. Handwritten lecture notes, class handouts and syllabi reveal the great span of architectural topics Moore taught throughout his career. His papers show his teaching style as outward-focused and collaborative. Moore presented his students with an eclectic array of styles and traditions and brought in guest lecturers to expose his students to broader trends in architecture. He often arranged class field trips to sites of architectural interest. His academic influence can also be seen in the students' work within the collection, as Moore served as a thesis advisor for a number of master's degree candidates. Topics covered by the masters theses range from studies of popular architectural themes in El Salvador to designs for a revitalization project in York, England.

The memos and letters created and received by Moore illuminate the more organizational aspects of Moore's academic life, particularly in his administrative roles as department chair at University of California, Berkeley and as dean of the School of Architecture at Yale University. He was active in developing departmental agendas, arranging conferences, and hiring new faculty members. In addition, much of Moore's correspondence from his tenure at Berkeley documents his attempts to establish a graduate program in Building Technology, an effort to which he was dedicated but which was ultimately unsuccessful. In 1967, while at Yale, Moore was instrumental in arranging with the Centro Interamericano de Vivienda y Planificacion Program (CINVA) a visitation program for a group of Colombian architectural professors from the University of the Andes, which allowed for the exchange of cultural and architectural ideas.

The Letters of Recommendation section, made up of letters written by Charles Moore throughout his academic career, contains valuable information about Moore. His connections with students are clearly documented in this large body of material, as are his close working relationships with junior faculty members, graduate assistants, and others. In addition, the letters trace Moore's growing importance in the world of architecture throughout his academic career, as the power of his endorsement becomes increasingly evident.