This collection consists of architectural models and drawings for five projects designed by the architectural firm Coop Himmelblau from 1983 to 1995. The five projects are: Open House, Malibu, California, 1983-circa 1990; Rooftop Office Remodeling, Vienna, 1983-1989; City Plan for Melun Sénart, France, 1987; Rehak House, Malibu, California, 1990-circa 1995; and Anselm Kiefer Studios, Buchen, Germany, 1990 and Barjac, France, 1992. The firm name is also presented as Coop Himmelb(l)au.

Coop Himmelblau is a Viennese architectural firm founded in 1968 by Wolf D. Prix, Helmut Swiczinsky, and Michael Holzer. Holzer left the firm in 1971, and Prix and Swiczinsky continued working as partners until Swiczinsky's retirement in the early 2000s. The name Coop Himmelblau translates to Blue Sky Cooperative and reflects the firm's focus on designing structures that reach towards the sky and endeavor to leave the ground. The firm's early work was rooted in theory and performance art, and by the 1980s had developed into experimentations with structure and design processes. Prix and Swiczinsky explored architectural tectonics and the visual expression of tension through structural materials. They pushed their design process by cycling back and forth between sketching and modeling, and by sketching with their eyes closed.

138.21 Linear Feet (33 boxes and 1 flatfile folder)

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Open for use by qualified researchers. Contact the repository for information regarding access to the architectural models.