Collection Guide
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Olsen, Donald Collection
2003-1
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
University of California, Berkeley. College of Environmental Design. Environmental Design Archives
Title: Donald Olsen Collection
Creator:
Olsen, Donald
Identifier/Call Number: 2003-1
Physical Description:
40 Linear Feet:
14 Cartons, 18 Document Boxes, 5 Flat Boxes, 91 Tubes
Date (inclusive): 1941-1998
Abstract: The Donald Olsen Collection spans the years 1941-1998 and includes files created by Olsen and his work with Vernon DeMars
and Joseph Esherick. The collection is organized into five series: Personal Papers, Professional Papers, Faculty Records,
Office Records, Project Records. These records contain correspondence, project files, drawings, photographs, slides, research
notes, articles, and lectures.
Language of Material:
English
.
Collection is open for research. Many of the Environmental Design Archives collections are stored offsite and advance notice
is required for use.
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in the collection should be discussed with the
Curator.
[Identification of Item], Donald Olsen Collection, Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley.
Arrangement and description of this collection was funded by a grant from the Architecture Department at UC Berkeley.
Donald E. Olsen was born in Minneapolis in 1919 to Clarence Edward and Thea Olsen. He married Helen Ohlson in 1944 and had
one son, Alan Edward Olsen. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the University of Minnesota in 1941. He
won a scholarship to Harvard's Graduate School of Design but had to defer due to the outbreak and United States' involvement
in World War II. During the war years Olsen found himself in Richmond, CA where he worked at the Kaiser Ship Yard designing
large manufacturing and office buildings as well as housing, railway systems, fire stations, and schools. Once the war ended
obtained his Master's in Architecture from Harvard and graduated in 1946. He continued his education doing post-graduate work
in England, studying civic design at the University of Liverpool in 1953 and the philosophy of Science at the London School
of Economics, 1962-63.
After a brief stint in the office of Eliel and Eero Saarinen in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Olsen returned to Berkeley where
he worked for a brief time for Ernest Kump, SOM, and finally Wurster, Bernardi, & Emmons. In 1954 Olsen began his own practice
and remained for decades a much-esteemed and sought after architect. The same year that he began his own practice he was approached
by William Wurster, then Dean of the School of Architecture at UC Berkeley, and asked to join the faculty.When the new College
of Environmental Design was established in 1959, Olsen was a founding member of the Department of Architecture. During his
tenure at Berkeley, Olsen taught studios, theory courses, and supervised doctoral candidates. Olsen's career lasted thirty-five
years, until 1989 when he retired from teaching.
Though Olsen's work included a number of large-scale buildings, his focus was primarily residential. These elegantly economical
homes dispersed around the Bay Area are celebrated examples of Olsen's unique style influenced by both California regionalism
and the Modern Movement of 20th century Europe.
This collection is organized into five series: Personal Papers, Professional Records, Faculty Papers, Office Records, Project
Records.
The Donald Olsen Collection spans the years 1941-1998 (Bulk dates 1952-1989) and includes files created by Olsen while working
with Vernon DeMars and Joseph Esherick on Wurster Hall. The collection is organized into six series: Personal Papers, Professional
Papers, Faculty Papers, Office Records, Project Records, and Major projects. The collection is extensive and contains a wide
range of materials documenting Olsen's long career as an architect and professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
His career focused heavily on designing residences, of which many are well documented in this collection.
The Personal Papers contains biographical material, personal correspondence, financial records, student work, and certificates/degrees.
The Professional Papers includes correspondence with other architects, awards, and a mixture of records that include correspondence
and presentation notes related to professional organizations, committee work, juries, as well as research and reference files.
The Faculty Papers contain material related to Olsen's professorship at the College of Environmental Design at UC Berkeley.
Primarily, this series contains official correspondence with other members of the UC Berkeley Architecture faculty, committee
work documentation, and course materials such as syllabi, lecture notes, and slides from classes he taught.
The Office Records document administrative operations, public relations efforts, financial transactions, and correspondence.
Clippings from newspapers and tear sheets from magazines in which Olsen's projects were featured, and some photographs are
included. The majority of the Projects Records series documents Olsen's projects spanning the years 1942-1994, and documents
his work through drawings, photographs and slides, administrative files, and one model. The majority of projects are residential
in nature. Major Projects within this series include UC Berkeley, Le Conte Hall (1964-1968) and UC Berkeley, Wurster Hall
(1960-1964), where a significant number of plans and drawings are retained. Additionally, a large amount of material includes
the School of Arts and Sciences (1970-1974) and Richmond Sanitary Service Company (1973-1974).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Architectural drawings
Architectural photographs.
Architectural records.
Architects -- California.
Architecture--Study and teaching--California--Berkeley.