Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

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.

Existence and Location of Copies

Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Berta Rahm Architectural Collection, Ms1998-011, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The Berta Rahm Architectural Collection was donated to Special Collections in 1998.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Berta Rahm Architectural Collection was completed in December 2010.

Biographical Note

Berta Rahm was an architect from Switzerland. She was educated at l'Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Zurich (Diploma in architecture, 1934). Inspired by her uncle, Arnold Meyer, who had a successful architecture practice in Hallau, Rahm opened an architecture practice in Zurich (1934). Her one-woman office encompassed all phases of architectural practice, from project design and construction plans to supervision of the construction sites. Some notable projects include: Hohweri House, a historical house in Hallau, Switzerland (1953-1954), an exhibition pavilion for SAFFA in Zurich, Switzerland (-1958), and Nageliseehof Farm, a progressive farm in Hallau, Switzerland (-1951).

In 1966, Rahm closed her office when she felt that the obstacles she faced due to her gender made it impossible for her to continue her architectural practice. She then began her second career as a publisher founding ALAVerlag, a publishing company devoted to literature by women and about the emancipation of women.

Rahm enjoyed traveling. After receiving a traveling grant she visited Holland and Denmark in 1935 and toured Scandinavia several years later. Scandinavian architecture was an important model for Rahm and she was also impressed with the emancipated lifestyles of women in the Nordic countries. These travels influenced her work and led to the publication of an award-winning novel, 1939: Reise nach Skandinavien und FinnIand (Zurich, 1942), which included many of her travel sketches.

Rahm died in 1998.

Scope and Content

The Berta Rahm Architectural Collection consists of exhibition panels of her main works exhibited in 1963 at the Congress of the Union Internationale des Femmes Architectes (UIFA) in Paris. It also includes nine drawings for the Kunzle-Stiftung Schaffhausen competition (n.d.).

Arrangement

The collection is arranged by material type.

Related Material

There is an article about the acquisition of the Berta Rahm Architectural Collection in the International Archive of Women in Architecture Newsletter, Fall 1998, No. 11 (on VTechWorks).

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Architects
• Architectural drawing -- 20th century
• History of Women in Architecture
• International Archive of Women in Architecture (IAWA)
• Women -- History
• Women architects -- Switzerland

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Berta Rahm Architectural Collection by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).