Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Sanchez (Gil) papers
CEMA 15
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Research Collections
Title: Gil Sanchez papers
Identifier/Call Number: CEMA 15
Physical Description:
89.5 Linear Feet
(49 cartons,1 oversize flat box, 1 oversize box, 122 oversized telescoping boxes, and 10 bags with drawings)
Date (inclusive): 1974-2016
Language of Material:
English
.
none
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Gil Sanchez, Architect
"I never met a man who reminds me so much of an adobe
building. He's one with it. It's part of him."
Ellen Calamiris CM magazine.
Gil Sanchez is a rarity in the world of architecture. As a Mexican American, he grew up speaking only
Spanish in a society which had yet to realize the value of a multicultural tradition. Sanchez became
interested in art at an early age and dreamed of becoming a sculptor. He struggled through school due to
the language barrier, yet he received his high school diploma and subsequently joined the army. Following
a tour abroad, Sanchez returned to San Jose and began a job as an architect's apprentice. He worked for
fifteen different architects over a span of ten years, and attended night school in order to earn his
architectural license. He established his own architectural practice in June of 1973. Over the years, Gil
Sanchez has worked on more then 25 adobe projects, and numerous other projects. He is a well-known
speaker and expert at the Getty Foundation Adobe Restoration Workshops.
Some of his most notable projects include the Santa Barbara Presidio, Mission San Juan Bautista, San Juan
Capistrano, Mission Santa Clara, the Peralta Adobe, Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park Adobe, and
Juana Briones Adobe.
Gil Sanchez has received a number of awards including The Excellence in Design Award from the Fine
Arts Commission for Peralta Adobe Restoration and for Laundry Works Restauration Rehabilitation in
1977 and a Citation from Masonry Institure for Mission San Jose Reconstruction in 1985 and for
Flickinger Park Buildings in 1987. The California Council of the American Institute of Architects
(CCAIA) presented Sanchez with the Special Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation at their 1989
Vision Pacific conference and advanced him to Fellowship in the AIA that same year in recognition of his
work on the San Jose Mission, the Santa Barbara Presidio, and Mission Santa Cruz. This is a significant
honor. There are 56,000 members in the AIA but only 1,700 are fellows. He also received the Santa Clara
Merit award for his Ryland Park Pool structure in the 1989 Santa Clara Masonry Design Award Program.
He has been awarded three Merit Awards from the CCAIA, 1984, 1987 and 1991. He has also received
the outstanding service award 1989 for his work on the Peralta Adobe, Santa Cruz Mission State Historic
Park Adobe, and Mission San Juan Capistrano and The California Perservation Foundation 2000 Design
Award for Casa Amesti Seismic Strengthening and Repair.
After a long career, Sanchez is best known for his restoration of adobe missions. Adobe is an extremely
delicate material and requires the knowledge of history, structure, and materials. Details such as soil
composition are integral when attempting to match new materials with the old. Sanchez headed the
reconstruction of Mission San Jose, which required almost four years of study prior to the commencement
of any physical work.
Architecture is a functional art and Gil Sanchez is helping to preserve a part of a culture as well as a period
of history. In similar spirit, the Gil Sanchez Papers are being preserved by the California Ethnic and
Multicultural Archives in the Davidson Library of the University of California Santa Barbara. The
collection amounts to sixty linear feet and includes thousands of drawings and research material for his
many projects, photographs, correspondence files and clippings. Gil Sanchez's heritage was looked down
upon by some as he was growing up; however, his life has come full circle. Now the ancestry which those
persons might have denied has enabled him to become a part of history.
This is a partial list of projects in the Gil Sanchez Collection.
Series I: Personal and Biographical. The series includes articles from major magazines and newpaper
sources and is divided into two categories and ordered chronologically. The first category includes all
articles primarily concerned with Gil Sanchez himself, his work and his life. The second category includes
articles which primarily pertain to the projects he has worked on. The articles were culled from the
collection in many places and so were placed in box 42. Because of their content they are listed in this
guide first in order to offer the researcher insight into the various projects which follow.
Series II, III and IV: The 1970s, 1980s and 1990s Projects. These three series, much as would be
expected, list the architectural projects Sanchez has documented in his many years as an architectural
restorationist. Their arrangement follows a chronological order and a project filing structure that was
conceived by the creator. Obviously the projects which are most notable in the collection are those for
which Sanchez has received awards. These projects are the Peralta Adobe Project #7416, 1974, Mission
San Jose Project #7802, 1984 Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park Adobe Project #8604, 1986, El
Presido, Chapel de Santa Barbara Project #8005, 1984, and the Juana Briones House Project #8912,
1989, Additionally, two subseries have been added to the collection due to their extensive documentation.
Because of the completeness of these two subseries the researcher can examine the many steps it takes to
accomplish these restoration projects and the multi-faceted effort taken by Gil Sanchez when he accepts a
restoration project. These two subseries can be found in their chronological order within the collection
entitled: The John Swett School Project #8505 and the Ainseley House, Campbell Historical Museum
Project #8901, 1992.
Series V: Supplemental. Donated in 2005, this series spans several years but is not stored in
chronological order. The series is maintained in its orginal order as provided by the donor. Various projects
are grouped together by their project name and number. Series V spans 5 boxes.
Series VI: Supplemental. Donated in 2017, this series spans several years but is not stored in
chronological order. The series is maintained in its orginal order as provided by the donor. Various projects
are grouped together by their project name and number. Series VI spans 5 boxes.
Oversize. At the end of the collection guide is a listing of the blueprints that were included with the
collection. Wherever possible these blueprints were arranged according to project number and foldered in
the order that they were received by CEMA. Most projects contain multiple drawings or sections of
drawings on various stages of the project and so will have multiple folders as well. These multiple folders
are designated parenthetically with the statement "# drawings."
The Gil Sanchez papers represents his projects between 1974 through 1995. The collection is ordered
chronologically with few notable exceptions wherever the subject matter called for it. Large flat
architectural drawings and blueprints have been re-ordered by their project number and/or date and are
arranged chronologically at the end of the collection as oversized prints. Articles and publicity specifically
about Gil Sanchez or one of his projects have been moved to the first series in order to provide an
overview of Gil Sanchez's career.
Each project was originally created with its own internal order. This order has been preserved as closely as
possible, as follows:
Legal and contractual matters: Owner-Contractor contracts, correspondence between owner and
contractor and construction estimates.
Correspondence: chronological file of Incoming and Outgoing Correspondence. Notes from conferences,
dated memos, etc. Transmittals and general information.
Drawings: Copies of preliminary drawings and sketches marked up by clients, copies of surveys, area
maps. Any drawings submitted to the Sanchez office.
Field Reports, Test Reports, Specifications: Test reports during construction submittals such as concrete
mix designs, structural calculations, etc.
Restoration Projects: This portion of the files includes photographs, historical information, archeological
reports. Also included are, construction analysis details, schedules, drawingsbrochures of materials and
items used in the structure.
Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or
quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given
on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply
permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.