Research & Reference

Wikis, academic archives, dimension databases

Docomomo US

Documentation and conservation of buildings of the modern movement — the authoritative register of significant 20th century architecture at risk and worth protecting.

modernismpreservationdocumentation

National Trust for Historic Preservation

America's leading preservation organization — the Most Endangered Places list and the Preservation Briefs series are essential resources for anyone working on historic buildings.

preservationheritageadvocacy

Research & Reference

Strong Towns

Chuck Marohn's rigorous analysis of why American cities are financially insolvent — the most honest writing about development patterns and municipal finance available to non-specialists.

urbanismfinancehousing

Research & Reference

Planetizen

The hub for urban planning news and resources — job listings, course guides, and daily aggregation of planning-relevant reporting from across the web.

planningurbanismnews

Research & Reference

Congress for New Urbanism

The advocacy and research organization behind new urbanist principles — transect-based planning, walkable communities, and the Charter of the New Urbanism remain influential reference documents.

urbanismwalkabilitytransit

Research & Reference

Project for Public Spaces

The definitive resource on placemaking and public space design — decades of case studies on what makes squares, markets, and streets genuinely work for the people who use them.

placemakingpublic-spacecommunity

Research & Reference

ArchDaily Knowledge

ArchDaily's knowledge base is a genuinely useful practitioner resource — construction details, material guides, and how-to articles grounded in real projects.

articlespracticehow-to

Research & Reference

NCARB

The authority on architectural licensure in the US — essential for anyone navigating the ARE, IDP, or multi-state registration process. The actual source, not a summary of it.

licensureareprofessional

Research & Reference

AIA (American Institute of Architects)

The AIA's document and standards library is one of the most valuable resources in American practice — contract templates, codes of ethics, and continuing education that actually holds up in court.

contractsstandardspractice

Research & Reference

WikiArquitectura

Architectural drawings, plans, sections, and elevations for thousands of significant buildings. Free, well-organized, and far more useful than a Google image search.

referencehistorydrawings

Research & Reference

Archtoolbox

Practical reference material for working architects — CSI divisions, building codes, material properties, and calculation tools in one well-organized place.

referencepracticespecifications

Research & Reference

2024 International Building Code (IBC)

ICC Digital Codes is the largest provider of model codes, custom codes and standards used worldwide to construct safe, sustainable, affordable and resilient structures.

standards

Research & Reference

Building Code, 2024 (IBC 2024)

The Building Code, 2024 (IBC 2024) is a code produced by the International Code Council (ICC). This document provides the foundation for many state and city codes. The IBC 2024 combined with local jurisdiction amendments form the state codes. Adopting jurisdictions include Phoenix, California, Los Angeles City, Los Angeles County, San Francisco, San José, Colorado, Denver, Georgia, Illinois ...

standards

Research & Reference

JSTOR

JSTOR is a must-know, and one that you’ve probably come across before. JSTOR contains digitized back issues of leading academic journals, current issues of journals, books and primary sources. JSTOR’s digital library has a number of excellent architectural publications, and has broad coverage of humanities, sciences, and social sciences.

architectureresearchdesign

Research & Reference

Dimensions.com

The go-to reference when you need to know if a sectional actually fits — dimensioned drawings for thousands of standard objects, spaces, and typologies.

dimensionsreferencedrawings