The Archive and the Library: A Provocation for Another History of Nineteenth Century Architecture

Abstract

This article seeks to provoke new discourses through the materials of architectonic archives, understood beyond the direct records on the ideation and construction of buildings and the plans and drawings by notable figures in the discipline. Through a discussion of the collections held by Mexico City’s Academy of San Carlos, in particular the publications of its library, we can interrogate their place in the history of the institution and nineteenth century Mexican architecture.