Sigrid L. Rupp Architectural Collection

Access and use

Location of collection:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Special Collections, University Libraries (0434)
Newman Library
Virginia Tech
P.O. Box 90001
560 Drillfield Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24062-9001
Contact for questions and access:
Phone: (540) 231-6308
Fax: (540) 231-3694
Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

The information on the computer disks have not been transferred to an accessible medium as of 2/2011.

Terms of access:

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Residential client's names are restricted from being publicly identified these projects may only be identified by their location.

Residential client's names are restricted from being publicly identified these projects may only be identified by their location.

Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Sigrid L. Rupp Architectural Collection, Ms1997-006, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Summary

Extent:
219 Cubic Feet 337 boxes; 2 map drawers
Creator:
Rupp, Sigrid Lorenzen, 1943-2004
Abstract:
Sigrid L. Rupp (1943-2004) was principal architect of her own firm, SLR/Architects in Palo Alto, California from 1976 to 1998. Born in Germany in 1943, she relocated to California with her family in 1953. She earned a B. Arch. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1966. SLR/Architects specialized in technical facilities and industrial work providing architectural services for many of the pre-eminent Silicon Valley firms in the 1980s and 1990s. The collection consists of architectural drawings, photographs, administrative and job files, contracts, and other material relating to over 700 of Rupp's projects, as well as material relating to Rupp's personal travel and artistic endeavors. The materials in the collection range in date from 1950-2004 with the bulk of the material dating 1976-2004.
Language:
The materials in the collection are in English.
Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Sigrid L. Rupp Architectural Collection, Ms1997-006, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

Rupp's collection encompasses over twenty years of her firm, SLR/Architects, and includes administration and project files, sketches, drawings, blueprints, slides and photographs representing approximately 700 designs. The collection also contains Rupp's personal papers -- biographical information, student work, travel diaries and photographs, and artwork. The materials range in date from 1950-2004 (bulk 1976-2004) and are divided into five series: Personal Papers, Professional Papers, Office Records, Project Records, and Art and Artifacts. See the contents list below for more detail about the individual series.

The Personal Papers series contains Rupp's biographical information, student work, diaries/journals, photographs, and personal correspondence. The series also contains Rupp's extensive documentation of her travels in Europe, Asia, North and South America, formats include, travel diaries, watercolor (paintings), photographs (prints, negatives and slides), photo albums, and miscellaneous ephemera.

The Professional Papers series consists of material relating to Rupp's participation in professional life including licenses, awards received, correspondence, and involvement in professional organizations (Rupp was president of California Women in Environmental Design from 1992 to 1993).

The Office Records series consists of materials relating to the day to day operations of a private architectural practice including day planners (1982-2002), telephone logs (1976-1996), labor distribution (1983-1996), proposals and promotions (1976-1996), presentation materials, and publicity photographs.

The Computer Disks subseries contain various format disks, 8-inch; 5 ¼-inch; 3 ½-inch. They feature financial information, office records, and project files. 1978-1995, 2002.

The photographs listed in this series are mainly presentation photographs that were grouped with other office records by Rupp. For additional project photographs see the Project Index.

The Portfolios series is comprised of reduced reproductions of drawings that Rupp organized by year or in a few cases by project title (Storey House and Raychem Corporation ABC). Not all project numbers have a set of reduced drawings see the Project Index for listings.

The "morgue" files contains mostly duplicates of materials held in the project files. They are filed chronologically.

Biographical / historical:

Sigrid Lorenzen Rupp was born January 3, 1943, in Bremerhaven, Germany. Her family relocated to California when Rupp was ten years old (1953). Rupp had been fascinated with the built environment since her early childhood growing up in post-war reconstruction Germany. However, when she entered University of California-Berkeley, in 1960, she had won many small scholarships to study physics. Her physics career lasted two semesters after which she was able to convince everyone that she should study her first love, architecture (Boulgarides).

While at Berkeley Rupp was mentored by three renowned architects and professors, Joseph Esherick, AIA, Harold Stump, and Donald Reay. Upon graduation in 1966 with a Bachelor of Architecture, Rupp worked for Van Bourg/Nakamura Associates of San Francisco, D'Amico Associates of Mill Valley, Hawley & Peterson of Mountain Valley and Spencer Associates of Palo Alto. During this time she received her architecture license in the State of California (1971).

In 1976, Rupp stating that architecture was in the "doldrums" and recognizing that there was no future for her in the 'major firm' where she was currently employed decided to open her own firm exclaiming, "I could do nothing on my own as well as for someone else"(Boulgarides). She served as president and principle architect for SLR/Architects from 1976 until 1998 when she closed the office.

SLR/Architects specialized in technical facilities, industrial work, and residential structures. The company provided architectural services for many of the pre-eminent Silicon Valley firms: Apple Computer, Sun Microsystems, Tandem, Amdahl, Claris, Raychem, and IBM. Other prominent clients included: AT&T, Pac Bell, United Airlines, Pan Am, Stanford University and Hospital and San Jose State University. Some of her significant projects were the Press Building and Storey House at Stanford University, an RF Testing Facility for Apple Computer (winner of an AIA Honor Award), and a six-year factory retrofit and rehab for the Raychem Corporation. At its height SLR/Architects employed eight professional and paraprofessional staff (1987) and established an international branch SLR/International in Tel Aviv, Israel (1983).

Rupp was active in many professional and local civic organizations. She was a former board member and chairperson of the City of Palo Alto Architectural Review Board, former director of the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and former president of California Women in Environmental Design (CWED). She also served on the boards of the New Performance Gallery in San Francisco, Theater Artaud of San Francisco, Family Planning Alternatives of Sunnyvale, Diablo Ballet of Walnut Creek and the Lawrence Pech Dance Company of San Francisco. She was an active member of the Organization of Women Architects (OWA), the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) and the Union Internationale des Femmes Architectes (UIFA).

An ardent champion for women's rights, Rupp stated that she became involved in women's issues "…simply because I did not want there to be any [women's issues]. It seemed that the time for gender differences should be long over." She was a mentor to many women and minorities in the course of her practice encouraging and facilitating their entry into architecture.

In retirement, Rupp turned her attention to painting and traveling. Her watercolors primarily focused on California bay area landscapes and were featured in several local juried shows. She also traveled extensively documenting her experiences in beautifully illustrated and annotated travel diaries (present in the collection).

Sigrid Lorenzen Rupp passed away May 27, 2004. Her legacy in her own words, "I'd like to be remembered for dissenting when everyone else thought it easier to go with the grain even when the grain was wrong. I'd like to be remembered for being a competent architect who did competent work, a competent painter who did competent painting and someone who told good stories" (OWA).

~~~~~~~~~~~

References:

"Dr. James D. Boulgarides, Study Looking at Women in Architecture," Sigrid Lorenzen Rupp Architectural Collection (Ms1997-006) Special Collections, University Libraries, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

(Organization of Women Architects and Design Professionals 2004) http://owa-usa.org/newsletter/jul04.htm

Acquisition information:
The Sigrid L. Rupp Architectural Collection was donated to Special Collections in 1997 with additions arriving in 2004 and 2006.
Processing information:

An inventory of the collection was completed in April 1998 by Brad Shearer, student assistant, and Laura Katz Smith, Manuscripts Curator, Special Collections Department. The 2004 addition and the remainder of the collection was processed by Sherrie A. Bowser, February 2011.

Arrangement:

Many of the trips within the Travel subseries are represented in a variety of formats (e.g. a trip may have prints, negatives, slides, photo albums, or a travel diary within the collection). To facilitate discovery a Travel Index has been created listing the formats available for the most documented trips. NOTE: This is not an exhaustive list of Rupp's travel documentation for that please see the container list below.

The Project Records series has been arranged into a Project Index, which is a way to organize the various formats of architectural records from the same project. The index is arranged chronologically by project number and contains information, where available, about the location, date, project type, architect, collaborators, photographers, and formats for each project in the collection.

A sampling of clients that can be found in the Project Index, including: Apple Computer, Sun Microsystems, Tandem, Amdahl, Claris, Raychem, and IBM, AT&T, Pac Bell, United Airlines, Pan Am, Stanford University and Hospital, San Jose State University, and numerous individual residences. Some general files related to project records are listed below.

Physical location:
Please note: Major portions of this collection (Boxes 1-62, 67-106, 111-125, and 160-170) are located in off-site storage and may require 2-3 days notice for retrieval. Please contact Special Collections for more information.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard