Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from Natalie de Blois Architectural Collection must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Natalie de Blois Architectural Collection, Ms2007-017, Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The Natalie de Blois Architectural Collection was donated to Special Collections in November 2007.

Processing Information

A preliminary inventory of the Natalie de Blois Architectural Collection was completed in November 2007. The collection was fully processed and encoded in January 2012.

Biographical Note

Natalie de Blois was born in Paterson, New Jersey on April 2, 1921.

In 1944 de Blois graduated from Columbia University's architecture program and took her first professional job with the firm Ketchum, Gina & Sharp. In September of the same year de Blois was hired by the well known architecture firm, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). Here she spent the majority of her professional career working closely with architect Gordon Bunshaft, earning notoriety within the architectural community as one of the top female architects in America.

Natalie de Blois is recognized for her work on a number of projects including, Lever House (NYC); Pepsi-Cola building (NYC); Union Carbide Corporation (NYC); Connecticut General Life Insurance (Hartford, CT); Lincoln Center (NYC); and the Hilton Hotel (Istanbul, Turkey).

After 30 years with SOM, she left to join the Houston firm of Neuhaus & Taylor as Senior Project Designer. As a working mother during the 1950's and 1960's de Blois was personally aware of the hardships and limitations faced by women in architecture, and in the 1970's she became active advocate for women in architecture joining the American Institute of Architects Task Force on Women, visiting architecture schools and talking to female students.

During the last thirteen years of her architecture career, de Blois taught at the University of Texas at Austin, retiring in 1993. Natalie de Blois practiced architecture for fifty years. de Blois died July 22, 2013.

References: SOM Journal 4. Interview with Natalie de Blois by Detlef Mertins, June 17, 2004.

Natalie de Blois Working Drawings and students' studio work, Alexander Architectural Archive, University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin

Scope and Content

The Natalie de Blois Architectural Collection spans the years 1941 to 2013. Materials in the collection include correspondence; original notes; clippings; brochures; finished project photographs; published materials; sketches; watercolors; elevations; architectural renderings; contracts; specifications; and reports for 24 projects.

The collection is divided into two series: Series I Professional papers and Series II Project Records.

Arrangement

The Project Records arrangement follows the organization of the 'Timeline of Projects' created by Nicholas Adams in consultation with Natalie de Blois in March of 2005.

Resources:

SOM Journal 4. Interview with Natalie de Blois by Detlef Mertins, June 17, 2004.

Index Terms

Persons:

• de Blois, Natalie, 1921-2013

Occupations:

• Architects

Subjects:

• Architectural drawing -- 20th century
• International Archive of Women in Architecture (IAWA)
• Women -- History

Genre and Form Terms:

• Architectural drawings

Adjunct Descriptive Data

Other Finding Aids

Natalie de Blois Working Drawings and students' studio work, Alexander Architectural Archive, University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin