The collection contains five scrapbooks with clippings, designs and photographs of finished buildings with examples of architectural works created by the firm Gelabert-Navia Arquitectos in Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Cuba, as well as a binder with diplomas and awards and four wooden plaque diplomas for the José Alfredo Gilbert (1927-2017) and Rosa Navia Gelabert (1929-2017). The husband and wife team were active professionally in Cuba from 1952 to 1960.
The Joseph Middlebrooks papers includes many of his research documents, administrative files, plaques, awards, drafts, development plans, architectural drawings, urban and development reports, portfolios, clippings, correspondence, audio-visual materials, and other materials related to his life's work.
The Nicolás Quintana papers document the professional activities of Cuban-born architect Nicolás Quintana (1925-2011) in Cuba and while he lived in exile in Miami, Florida. The collection includes correspondence, photographs, architectural drawings, syllabi and other materials from classes taught by Quintana in Puerto Rico, promotional materials from Quintana's exhibits in Miami, materials from architectural conferences in which Quintana participated, and clippings and articles related to Quintana and his work. The collection encompasses the beginning of Quintana's professional career in Cuba as well as his extensive architectural and teaching work in exile, especially in Puerto Rico and Miami.
Originally born in West Virginia, Jefferson attended Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania and studied architecture and industrial design at the University of Michigan. Afterwards, he worked with the Army Corps where he taught aerial photography then supported himself by working as a laborer on various construction sites. He eventually came to Miami in 1954 where he apprenticed under architects, Thomas Madden and Alfred Browning Parker. He ended up establishing his own private architecture firm in Miami in 1959 and dedicated himself to creating plans for residential, commercial, and public buildings. Later, he moved his firm to Stuart, Florida in 1968 and continued to provide the same services.
He also served as a Fellow in the American Institute of Architects and was certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards and was registered with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. His accolades include several architecture awards and international exhibits as well as having his works featured in magazines, such as Architectural Record, House Beautiful, Better Homes and Gardens, Southern Living, Sports Illustrated, Palm Beach Life, American Homes, and L'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui.
This collection contains approximately 191 large format architectural plans and renderings from noted Florida architect, Peter Jefferson. The first 34 plans of his collection have been flattened and placed into map cases while the others remain in their original rolled up state.
