The collections of the ENV Archives-Special Collections focus on the growth of Modernism in southern California architecture and landscape architecture from the 1930s through the 1980s. The collections represent the architectural works of Raphael Soriano, Craig Ellwood, Richard J. Neutra, Donald Wexler, Jerrold Lomax and Steven Shortridge. In the area of landscape architecture, the archive holds the Francis Dean Collection. The work of each practitioner contributed to the transformation of the southern California’s urban landscape and its informal lifestyle. A number of the architects employed light gauge steel frame construction that was overtly expressed in their works. In the pre-World War II period, residential design dominated the practices of these modernists. The wider acceptance of modernism in the post-World War II period resulted in commercial, institutional as well as residential commissions. Many of the projects housed in the ENV Archives were widely published in professional and popular journals; as a result, the architects Leon and Thea Koerner Residential Garden, by Francis Dean, Eckbo, Royston and Williams. Perspective rendering of garden from residence. Palm Springs, California, 1955. Graphite on tracing paper. Donated by Francis Dean, Francis Dean Collection. 12/9/20 about CPP art collections attracted clients from other regions of the United States throughout the world. Their projects proved influential on many other designers. Today, we are drawn to the works of these designers for their aesthetic appeal and as a means to better understand the southern California built environment. The work contained in the Archives has been included in numerous publications and exhibitions. Access to some of the holdings can be found in the Online Archives of California.

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