Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
Business Number: 540-231-6308
specref@vt.edu
URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu
Amy Vilelle, Archivist
Administrative Information
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.
Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Czeslawa Zielinska Architectural Collection, Ms2005-017, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
Source of Acquisition
The Czeslawa Zielinska Architectural Collection was donated to the International Archive of Women in Architecture at the Special Collections in 2005. An addition to the collection was received in 2011.
Processing Information
The processing, arrangement, and description of the Czeslawa Zielinska Architectural Collection was completed in August 2005. The 2011 addition was integrated in 2012.
Biographical Note
Czeslawa (or Czesia) Zielinska is a Polish-born Canadian architect and inventor. She was educated in Poland and holds both a Master of Science degree in Architecture from the Warsaw Technical University in 1952 and a Master of Science in Interior Design from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw in 1962. Zielinska invented the patented GETSET Building System (prefabricated components for building structures and modular furniture), and is co-inventor with her husband, structural engineer Zenon A. Zielinski, of patented UCOPAN (Universal Concrete Panel System). She is a partner in UCOPAN Enterprises and is a member of Royal Institute of Architecture of Canada as well as the Interior Decorators Society of Quebec. Her specialization is in integrated exterior-interior architectural and structural design, low cost housing as well as furniture and product design.
Scope and Content
The Czeslawa Zielinska Architectural Collection includes Zielinska's curriculum vitae, a Canadian patent certificate, promotional literature on UCOPAN as well as published papers and articles relevant to UCOPAN's uses and deployment abroad. It also includes personal accounts and photocopies of landscape and building sketches she drew while she and her family were living in Egypt and India from 1966-1971.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged by subject matter, and is divided into three series: I: Personal Papers, II: Professional Papers, and III: Project Records.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
- Architects
- Architects and community
- International Archive of Women in Architecture (IAWA)
- Women -- History
- Women architects -- Canada
Rights Statement for Archival Description
The guide to the Czeslawa Zielinska Architectural Collection by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).
Container List
- box-folder 1 folder: 1
Curriculum vitae, patent, biographical notes, diplomas1964-2005
- box-folder 1 folder: 2
Sketches [Photocopies], Cairo, Aswan, Alexandria, Egypt and Detroit1966-1968, n.d.
- box-folder 1 folder: 3
Personal Account, Egypt1966
- box-folder 1 folder: 4
Personal Account, India1968-1971
- box-folder 1 folder: 5
Conference Materials1974, 1979
- box-folder 2 folder: 1
GETSET Projects, patents and realized work
- box-folder 2 folder: 2
Handbook on Construction of UCOPAN Buildings by Zenon A. ZielinskiJanuary 1970
-
Publications1969-1997 (bulk 1970-1975)
- box-folder 2 folder: 3
Role of Prefabrication in Low-Cost Housing by Zenon A. Zielinski, part of the publication Papers on Housing put out by Calcutta Metropolitan Planning Organization1969
- box-folder 2 folder: 4
Search for Economic and Universal Housing Systems - Some Design and Construction Experience by Zenon A. ZielinskiOct 1970
- box-folder 2 folder: 5
Demonstration Construction of UCOPAN Houses for Flood Victims at Jalpaiguri, North Bengal1970
- box-folder 2 folder: 6
Article in DecormagJune 1975
- box-folder 2 folder: 7
Article in the Journal of the Prestressed Concrete InstituteMay/June 1982
- box-folder 2 folder: 8
Promotional Material on GETSET and UCOPANc.1973-1997
- box-folder 2 folder: 3