Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434) 560 Drillfield Drive Newman Library, Virginia Tech Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 Business Number: 540-231-6308 specref@vt.edu URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu
Nala Chehade. Student Assistant
Repository
Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Identification
Ms.2015.054
Title
Linda Kiisk Architectural Collection 1968-2013
Quantity
17 Cubic Feet, 8 archival boxes, six long rectangular boxes, three map case drawers
Creator
Kiisk, Linda
Language
The materials in the collection are in English.
Abstract
Linda Kiisk is an artist, architect, and educator specializing in sustainable design and historic preservation. This collection
documents her personal and professional activities between 1968-2013, including her architectural studies, organizational
activities, travel, projects, and career with her practice, Studio EESTI.
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.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder],
Linda Kiisk Architectural Collection, Ms2015-054, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg,
Va.
Source of Acquisition
The Linda Kiisk Architectural Collection was donated to Special Collections and University Archives in 2015, with additions
in 2017.
Processing Information
The processing, arrangement, and description of the Linda Kiisk Architectural Collection commenced in April 2017 and completed
in March 2018.
Born to an Estonian father and a German mother in northern Virginia, Linda Kiisk (1950-present) is an artist, architect, and
educator specializing in sustainable design and historic preservation. Kiisk earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting &
Sculpture from the College of William and Mary in 1979 and a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania in
1982. After graduation, she served as an architectural consultant for several firms in Pennsylvania, including Robert Couch,
John Milner Associates, and Lymen Perry. In 1988, she began teaching at Mount Vernon College and led the Summer Study Abroad
Program in Finland. In 1991, Kiisk founded Studio EESTI (Environmental Evolution Studio and Teaching Institute) to specialize
in designs that teach and practice architecture. In 1994, Kiisk joined Colorado State University as a construction management
professor. She cofounded CSU's Institute of the Built Environment, a multidisciplinary sustainable design and construction
initiative serving public and private American institutions. Additionally, Kiisk joined the University of Wyoming in 2000
as an architectural engineering professor and studied the design and construction techniques of the Kuna Indians as a Fulbright
scholar in Panama in 2004.
Since then, Kiisk has served as a member to several professional associations, including the American Institute of Architects
(AIA), Women in Architecture (WIA), Union Internationale Des Femmes Architectes (UIFA), and the National Architectural Accrediting
Board. Kiisk published "20 on 20/20 Vision" as a collection on papers on diversity in design in 2003 and "When Shadows Vanish"
as a self-help manual in how educators, students, and professionals see the world. She served as an architect for the Wyoming
State Historic Preservation Office in 2016. In her own words, this collection contains the "inside story of being a first-generation
American, single parent, architect, and professor."
This collection documents the activities of Linda Kiisk (1968-2012). It contains personal materials from childhood through
retirement, including student work and biographical information. This collection also contains materials documenting Kiisk's
career as an educator, researcher, and architect by representing business records, architectural drawings, design sketches,
correspondences, clippings, photographs, and material catalogs related to several professional projects. Her major projects
include Colorado State University's Institute for the Built Environment, "20 on 20/20 Vision", and "When Shadows Vanish."
In addition, class lecture notes, conference information, promotional materials, home models, and course assignments are included.
Furthermore, the collection includes offices records such as correspondences and financial records.
Arrangement of these materials reflects the Standard Series for Architecture and Landscape Design Records (Shepherd and Lowell).
The intellectual structure reflects the following series and subseries: