Architecture

Art & Architecture Source (EBSCOhost)

Art & Architecture Source is a comprehensive database for fine and applied arts, design and architecture. It includes sources such as Wilson Art Full-Text and Art Index Retrospective, with a total of 750 full-text journals, references and abstracts from other leading international journals (USA, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands), 220 e-books and 63,000 images. It is continuously expanded with new collections.

EBSCOhost handout

• Architecture
• Licence required
• Full-text database

Artstor - Images for Education & Scholarship

ARTstor Digital Library is a comprehensive digital image database designed specifically for use in research, teaching and study. It offers over 2.5 million high-quality images from the fields of art, architecture, and the humanities and social sciences. These come from more than 280 renowned collections worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Ethnology Collection of Harvard University and The Illustrated Bartsch collection. The database is continuously expanded with new collections.

Since 2024, ARTstor has been fully integrated into the JSTOR platform, allowing users to access both scholarly texts and image materials through a single search interface.

Numerous tools for presenting and managing images are also available. 

• Architecture
• Licence required
• Image database

Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals (EBSCOhost)

Avery Index to Architectural Periodical (via EBSCOhost) includes references to international scholarly and popular journals, including publications of professional associations, regional and national journals from the USA, as well as major publications on architecture and design from Europe, Asia, Latin America and Australia.

Bibliographic database with information on current literature in architecture and design, published by the Getty Research Institute.

EBSCOhost handout

• Architecture
• Licence required
• Reference Database

Bildindex der Kunst und Architektur

The Bildindex der Kunst und Architektur is a freely accessible online database containing over 3.2 million photographs of around 1.9 million works of art and architecture in Germany and Europe. The platform is operated by the Deutsches Dokumentationszentrum für Kunstgeschichte – Bildarchiv Foto Marburg at Philipps University Marburg.

• Architecture and art
• Freely available
• Image database
• Germany

Britannica ImageQuest

The Britannica ImageQuest image database contains around 3 million images, graphics and illustrations on all subject areas from over 50 renowned sources, including: Getty Images, National Geographic Society, The Times Picture Archive, Natural History Museum, The Granger Collection, Oxford Scientific (OSF), Royal Geographic Society, Bridgeman Art Library and the National Portrait Gallery of London.

The high-resolution images, complete with extensive metadata, can be easily and efficiently searched by subject area, keyword and source, and collected on a virtual lightbox, downloaded, printed or sent by email.

Use is permitted only for personal or non-commercial educational purposes. For any allowed use in the non-commercial educational context, the distributor (EncBrit, “The Source”) and the “Copyright Holder” must be credited. For content provided by third parties (e.g. many commercial image agencies, including Getty Images), full rights-holder and source details marked with © are required.

• Interdisciplinary
• Licence required
• Image database

DETAIL inspiration

The image and reference database DETAIL inspiration contains around 6,200 project documentations from issue 1/1961 of the journal DETAIL. With each new print issue of DETAIL, the database is expanded to include new projects. Search functions and filters by main keywords such as building type, material, year of construction or DETAIL issue topic help in researching creative building solutions. The project descriptions with reference photos, drawings and technical information are available as PDF downloads.

• Architecture
• Licence required
• Image and full-text database

OnArchitecture (EBSCOhost)

OnArchitecture's Audiovisual Archive for Institutions (via EBSCO) is a collection of original videos for the study of architecture and design.

The videos feature:

• Interviews with leading contemporary architects about their work and the role of architects and architecture in society
• Videos of key projects by the interviewees 

In addition, the videos include technical specifications, project descriptions, company profiles and up-to-date biographies of the architects and designers.

Copyright and usage terms

• Architecture
• Licence required
• Audiovisual database

ÖNORMEN Reading Room (Austrian Standards)

The university provides online reading access to ÖNORM for the subject area of technical drawing and graphic symbols.

• Architecture
• Licensed
• Full-Text Database
• Austria

SNV-Connect (Swiss Association for Standardization SNV)

In SNV Connect, the standards portal of the Swiss Association for Standardization (SNV), you will find the full texts of the following standards collections:

• SIA
• ISO
• SWISSMEM (formerly VSM)
• Electrosuisse
• INB Interdisciplinary Standards Area (SNV)

Access is provided via the Swiss SWITCH edu-ID (registration required).

• Architecture
• Licensed
• Full-Text Database
• Switzerland

ScienceDirect (Elsevier)

ScienceDirect (Elsevier) is one of the largest full-text databases, covering over 16 million publications from more than 2,500 journals published by Elsevier across 24 subject areas.

Comprehensive access to all journal titles on ScienceDirect results from the agreement negotiated by swissuniversities and the Consortium of Swiss Academic Libraries with Elsevier.

For university members, journals in the fields of economics and architecture are particularly relevant.

• Interdisciplinary
• Licensed
• Full-Text Database
• Read & Publish Agreement

Statista (Statista GmbH)

Statista (Statista GmbH) is a portal that compiles statistical data from various institutes and sources. Statista offers international data from over 150 countries and around 170 industries.

The database includes:

• Over 1 million statistics on more than 80,000 topics from more than 18,000 different sources
• Industry information covering sectors from agriculture to public administration and social services
• Company information with key figures on over 1,000 companies
• Infographics on current topics
• Dossiers that bundle all relevant statistics on a specific topic

• Interdisciplinary
• Licensed
• Full-Text Database

ArchINFORM

ArchINFORM is an international online database for architecture with a focus on modern and contemporary architecture.

• Information on over 100,000 building projects worldwide
• Short biographies and catalogues of works by architects from different eras
• Photos, drawings and sketches of buildings
• Searchable by location, architect, building type, year of construction or keywords
• Content mainly in German and English

archINFORM is not an official database of an architectural association but is operated as an independent project. It is one of the largest freely available architectural directories on the internet.

• Architecture
• Freely Available
• Reference Database, Image Database
• Germany

Neufert Architects’ Data

Neufert Architects’ Data is a standard reference work containing guidelines and specifications on planning, construction, design, space requirements, and dimensions for buildings, rooms and facilities.

Nextroom

nextroom.at is a platform featuring documentation of completed projects, including information on buildings in images and text, as well as references to specialist literature on contemporary architecture. 

VAI

Vorarlberger Architektur Institut offers a central platform for building culture in Vorarlberg. It connects professionals from architecture, planning, crafts, business, academia, art and politics, and promotes dialogue on architectural quality through exhibitions, events and publications. The institute has a specialist library that can be consulted on request.

We offer a wide range of training sessions and individual research support for architecture students.

You can find our current offer on the Advice & Training page.

To arrange an individual research consultation, please contact us by email.