"Genius loci : perspectives from working within the Drawings and Documents Archives"

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Authors
Knigga, Mitchell Aaron
Advisor
Doyle, Michael William, 1953-
Issue Date
2016-05
Keyword
Degree
Thesis (B.?)
Department
Honors College
Other Identifiers
Abstract

The thoughts of young professionals are usually kept only to themselves - whether through a feeling of respect toward, or intimidation from, their older colleagues and mentors- something which may be seen as a disservice to fields experiencing rapid growth, and to the expression of innovative ideas and methods which the young reservedly consider in the hope of distinguishing or improving the work of their own generation. Contained within this volume are such thoughts, recorded over the course of a young intern's first venture into the professional realm of his field. They surround the processing of a rather large collection within an incredible archive: that of the architectural firm of Wright, Porteous & Lowe, Inc., an extremely talented collaborative once based in Indianapolis, Indiana. An excellent example of the work of a middle western firm of the mid- to late-201h Century, their collection measures 157 cubic feet of material, and is a testament to residential, commercial, and industrial architectural design of the time period. In the summer and fall of2015, I undertook an internship as a nine credit hour capstone to the Public History program at Ball State University, working over 450 hours during this time to complete the academic and archival work required of the program. Through the experience, I also simultaneously developed my skills as a student and professional to a level previously unknown, and recorded the thoughts, conversations, and ideas which occurred as a result. They are contained in the work presented here, so as to give my own perspective, and perhaps establish the genius loci of the experience through the emotions and reflections had during this time of discovery.