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Summary

Abstract

Architectural drawings by A. William Hajjar, Professor of Architecture at the The Pennsylvania University in the 1950s and 1960s. Contains approximately 800 architectural drawings and plans representing over 50 residential and commercial projects primarily in the State College, Pa., region. Drawings and details pertaining to the construction of Air Walls in buildings is also included in the collection.

Dates

  • Creation: 1939-1979

Extent

5 Linear Feet

Background

Biographical / Historical

Abraham William Hajjar was the youngest of a large immigrant Lebanese family and earned his bachelor's degree in architecture from the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University). From Pittsburgh he went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he earned his masters in 1942. After serving as a lieutenant in the Navy during World War II, he joined the faculty at The Pennsylvania State University. At Penn State he became Professor of Architecture and senior design critic. He instituted a program whereby all students in architecture spent the summer of their fourth year studying in Rome. He was also an early proponent of a pedestrian mall for the 100 block of Allen Street in State College, for which he and his students designed a model. In the 1950s and 1960s Hajjar challenged the conservative look of the State College community and designed over 30 contemporary-style homes and buildings. Hajjar left Penn State in the early 1960s and moved to California where he designed primarily commercial spaces. He returned to Pennsylvania in 2000 and died December 23, 2000.

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of approximately 800 architectural drawings and plans representing over 50 residential and commercial projects primarily in the State College, Pa., region. Color renderings are present for roughly 43 projects with detailed plans available for most of the projects. The collection includes photographs, correspondence and drawings pertaining to the AirWall Core House. There are details about the concept and construction of an Air Wall, including how sound affects the air temperature.

Arrangement

The drawings are primarily listed by the homeowner's or customer's name with the street address and city listed, if known.

Location

For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Penn State University Libraries catalog via the link above. Archival collections may be housed in offsite storage. For materials stored offsite, please allow 2-3 business days for retrieval.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The collections was donated to the Special Collections Library by Mark Hajjar from 2012-2015.

Subjects

Using These Materials

Repository Details

Part of the Eberly Family Special Collections Library Repository

Contact:
104 Paterno Library
Penn State University
University Park 16802 USA
(814) 865-1793

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

For those materials where the donor holds copyright, the donor has assigned copyright to the Penn State Libraries.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], A. William Hajjar Architectural Drawings, 09399, Eberly Family Special Collections Library, University Libraries, Pennsylvania State University.

Title
Guide to the A. William Hajjar architectural drawings
Status
Published
Author
Prepared by Special Collections Library faculty/staff
Date
2016
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin