Architectural Archives: Digital Collections

This collection contains architectural renderings in watercolor created by students of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now Auburn University). Some were prepared as class assignments, while others were entered into competitions. Some images depict historic buildings of Alabama and Georgia, many of which have been included in the Historic American Buildings Survey.

These posters are the work of the students of the Urban Studio, an outreach program of Auburn University’s College of Architecture, Design and Construction. Each poster is a graphic "snapshot" of an Alabama community’s Small Town Design Initiative. Distributed to every household in the community and displayed at the post office and city hall and in churches, schools and storefronts, the posters provide a tool for building constituent support, recruiting, and promoting the community, and reminding everyone of their town’s assets, opportunities and economic strategies for advancement. The posters become support material for grant requests, partnership building and promotion. A community with a plan is more competitive, and the poster allows the community to easily and effectively communicate their town’s potential.