Charles Jencks’ extensive Archive includes correspondence with architects, scientists, and theorists as well drawings and plans for his own designs, including landscape, architecture and furniture. The Jencks Archive features material gathered for his books, articles and lectures, and there is an extensive slide library of images used to illustrate his lectures ranging from Classical and Renaissance architecture to 1970s Los Angeles Houses.
There are also the drawings and plans for the Cosmic House itself including works by Michael Graves, drawings and unrealised plans by Rem Koolhaas and others and extensive designs for furniture and fittings.
The books at the Cosmic House were always as much inhabitants of the interior as were the family and friends. With bespoke glass-fronted bookcases in the Winter and Summer rooms and a ‘village’ of books upstairs in which shelves and slide cabinets were designed to reflect the various architectures discussed in the volumes they housed, books were fully integrated into the architecture. The Architectural Library stayed largely in place during the renovation of the house and the books remain in the order in which Charles Jencks arranged them and with the original notes, Post-its, bookmarks, taxonomies, inscriptions and cuttings left intact and in place.
As a writer, teacher, theorist and practitioner at the centre of Post-Modernism, Jencks left an Archive and library that is one of the key collections in the history of the movement. It will be made accessible to architects, scholars, researchers and writers who will be able to study aspects of the Archive in the Cosmic House facilitated by a residency programme.
Scholars, students and academics are welcome to apply to research the Archive and use the resources at the house. There is a dedicated Archival Viewing space for examining documents, drawings and books and Architectural Library can be also used for research and seminars. Please contact us.
Research
We are in the process of cataloguing our Archive. In the meantime, we encourage you to get in touch, and we look forward to discussing any reading, workshop or seminar ideas that we can help you organise. We are keen to promote learning opportunities and collaboration with other institutions.
In addition, if you are conducting research on Post-Modernism, Charles Jencks, or any of his collaborators please get in touch.