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 to research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Sarah Pillsbury Harkness Architectural Collection, Ms1997-024, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The Sarah Pillsbury Harkness Architectural Collection was donated to Special Collections in 1997.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Sarah Pillsbury Harkness Architectural Collection commenced and was completed in April 1998. An additional biographical item was integrated in 2013.

Biographical Note

Born in 1914, Sarah Pillsbury Harkness, an architect of Lexington, Massachusetts, received her Master of Architecture degree from the Smith College Graduate School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture in 1940. She was a founder, in 1945, and now Principal Emeritus of the Architects Collaborative (TAC). She was President of the Boston Society of Architects, a chapter of the AIA, in 1985. She was a Distinguished Visiting Lecturer and Guest Lecturer at the University of Arizona, Tucson, a lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a thesis advisor, lecturer, critic, and honorary member of the Boston Architectural Center.

Harkness's most noteworthy designs include the New Main Library and the Olin Arts Center at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine; the Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania; the Art School Addition at the Worcester Art Museum in Worcester, Massachusetts; and the C. Thurston Chase Learning Center of the Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, Massachusetts.

Harkness has received many awards in her career, including the Boston Society of Architects Prize (1941), the American Association of School Administrators Award for her design of the Fox Middle School in Bedford, New York (1967), the American Institute of Architects Honor Award for her design of the Chase Learning Center of the Eaglebrook School (1967), the American School and University Louis I. Kahn Citation for her design of the Olin Arts Center at Bates College (1987), and the Boston Society of Architects 1991 Award of Honor.

Harkness was elected as a fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1979. She is a registered architect of Massachusetts and Tennessee. Harkness died May 22, 2013.

Scope and Content

The Sarah Pillsbury Harkness Architectural Collection consists of biographical information; a booklet documenting the presentations given on November 21, 1991, at an awards dinner by the Boston Society of Architects, where Harkness was presented with the 1991 Award of Honor; and architectural drawings and photographs for her 1996-1997 design of a house in Essex, Massachusetts.

Separated Material

The following book has been removed and cataloged for the Special Collections Rare Book Collection:

Harkness, Sarah P. Sustainable Design for Two Maine Islands . Boston, Boston Architectural Center, 1985. This book is cataloged for the Rare Book Room, Special Collections. Rare Book Collection HT393 M2 S9 1985 Spec Large

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• History of Women in Architecture
• International Archive of Women in Architecture (IAWA)
• Women -- History

Rights Statement for Archival Description

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