MIT Press has launched an unprecedented digitization program for architecture and design publications, with 34 classic architecture and urbanism books now freely available on its platform. The “MIT Press Open Architecture and Urban Studies” is dedicated to classic and out-of-print titles, providing open access to the public via the MIT Press Direct digital book platform.

Among the titles now available are Moshe Safdie’s “Beyond Habitat” from 1970, Donald Leslie Johnson’s “Frank Lloyd Wright versus America” from 1994, and Mark Jarzombek’s “On Leon Battista Alberti” from 1990. Other titles explore the works of famous architects such as Palladio, Walter Gropius, and Le Corbusier.

The collection is in response to years of requests received by MIT Press for e-book versions of historic, out-of-print publications. As many of these books were published before the internet age, digital versions were often impractical to produce due to the complex design and licensing costs. However, funding from the Mellon Foundation has ultimately allowed MIT Press to create e-book versions of the works, while also adding fresh forewords to link the historic words with contemporary events.

According to MIT Department of Architecture associate professor Timothy Hyde, “the books in this collection are drawn from an absolutely formative period in the discourse of architectural and urban history and theory. These are essential publications to have available again, as they represent to some degree the founding of an independent discipline.”

The move by MIT is the latest example of major institutions using digital platforms to democratize architectural knowledge. MIT is one of many institutions, including Harvard GSD, TU Delft, and UBC, who publish free courses via the edX platform. Meanwhile, the University of California maintains an extensive library of publicly available e-books, including hundreds on the topic of architecture.