Part of:

Fonds: Lars Spuybroek fonds, 1980s-2010

People:

Lars Spuybroek (creator)
NOX (Firm) (architectural firm)
Lars Spuybroek (archive creator)

Title:

Lars Spuybroek fonds

Date:

1980s-2010

Form:
archives

Level of archival description:
Fonds

Extent and medium:

3463 photographic materials
2136 drawings (including 906 reprographic copies)
928 CDs (digital material to be processed. Available in 2017)
0,60 l.m. of textual records
6 works of art
4 artefacts
2 serials

Scope and content:
The fonds documents the professional practice of architect Lars Spuybroek during his work with the architectural firm NOX from 1995 to 2010, and also includes earlier projects from before the founding of his firm. The fonds includes documents presented at the CCA for the exhibition “Archaeology of the Digital: Media and Machines” in 2014. The archive comprises over 70 projects, predominantly of interactive building projects and public artworks undertaken in Europe, Asia and the United States during his practice with the firm NOX. The projects included in the fonds date from 1989 to 2008. The fonds mainly contains digital material and architectural drawings, including conceptual drawings, design development drawings, presentation drawings (some of which are framed and signed), some working drawings and presentation panels. It also contains photographic material, predominantly slides and a few photographs, and video recordings on VHS and DVD. The fonds also includes a limited number of textual records, including Lars Spuybroek professional correspondence, working files and documents related to his architectural projects.

Reference number:

AP173

Arrangement:
Only some material in this archive was organized prior to its transfer to the CCA: the digital files (on CDs and DVDs) and some slides were generally organized by project.
CCA archivists then arranged the material into four series : Architectural projects, Public art installations and exhibitions, Reference material, Personal files, and Publications.

Biographical notes:
Lars Spuybroek was born 16 September 1959 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He graduated from the Technical University of Delft in 1989. He founded the firm NOX in 1995, working both on architectural projects and public art installations. Spuybroek designed the interactive building Water Pavilion (also known as the Waterpaviljoen or the H2Oexpo) in 1997. The firm NOX was at the forefront in the development of digital design in architecture, and had their work exhibited in a number of international museums, including MoMA in New York and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. NOX also participated in several editions of the Venice Biennale and was part of the exhibition "Archaeology of the Digital: Media and Machines" held at the Canadian Center for Architecture in 2014.

Conditions governing access:

Digital material can only be accessed on-site. Audiovisal material must be digitized for access. Researchers may request access to audiovisual materials by contacting Reference at ref@cca.qc.ca. Access by appointment only.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Contact the CCA for copyright information and permission to reproduce (reproductions@cca.qc.ca).

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer:

Gift of Lars Spuybroek on 23 May 2013

Custodial history:

Lars Spuybroek's archive remained in his custody, housed at his sister's residence in the Netherlands, until its transfer to the CCA in 2013 and 2014.

Archivist's note:

The Lars Spuybroek fonds was arranged and described by Catherine Jacob in 2016. Some documents selected for the exhibition "Archaeology of the Digital: Media and Machines" (2014) were processed previous to the rest of the fonds by Alexandre Phaneuf and Anne-Marie Guérin in 2014. The physical material in this fonds was processed from January to March 2016 and the finding aid was created in April 2016. The fonds also includes an important amount of digital material to be processed later.

Credit line:
When citing the collection as a whole, use the citation: Lars Spuybroek fonds, Collection Centre Canadien d’Architecture/Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal. When citing specific collection material, please refer to the object’s specific credit line.

Language of material:

Dutch
English

Related units of description:

Documents related to the CCA exhibition "Archaeology of the Digital: Media and Machines" (May to October 2014) are available in the CCA Institutional Archives.