1946–
Drawings and Papers: 1960s to 2000s
Internationally acclaimed architect William P. Bruder was born in Milwaukee and earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in sculpture from the University of Wisconsin. After studying under prominent architects such as Gunnar Birkerts and Paolo Soleri, Bruder opened his own studio forty miles north of Phoenix in New River, Arizona, in 1974. Since then he has designed more than 500 projects, mostly residential, with a philosophy that describes architecture as "functional fine art based on site and user needs." His use of natural materials combined with concrete block and sheet metal and his careful siting of structures with relation to the sun exhibit organic architecture in the desert environment. Bruder's major Arizona projects include the Phoenix Central Library, a 280,000 square-foot facility which opened in May 1995, and the Henkel Headquarters Building in Scottsdale, a 2008 project.
The collection consists of oversize materials, textual records, and photographs. Oversize drawings include perspectives, floor plans, site plans, sections, and elevations. Textual records include job files, general files, and publicity files. Extensive printed materials with references to Bruder and his work are contained within the textual records. Also among the printed materials are architects' files compiled by the Bruder firm that contain biographical and historical information on prominent architects throughout the world. Photographs for nearly two hundred completed Bruder projects are also included among the holdings.
View the preliminary inventory of drawings (PDF)
View the preliminary inventory of exhibit and presentation materials (PDF)
View the preliminary inventory of job files (PDF)
View the preliminary inventory of biographical and historical files (PDF)
View the preliminary inventory of publicity files (PDF)
View the preliminary inventory of general files (PDF)
View selected images from the Bruder Collection on the Library Guide to Arizona Architecture from the Archives