Claude Stoller Papers, PC.7025
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Claude Stoller Papers
- Call Number
- PC.7025
- Creator
- Stoller, Claude
- Date
- 1940 - 2015
- Extent
- Repository
- Western Regional Archives, State Archives of North Carolina
Restrictions on Access & Use
Access Restrictions
Available for research
Use Restrictions
Copyright is retained by the authors of these materials, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law (Title 17 US Code). Individual researchers are responsible for using these materials in conformance with copyright law as well as any donor restrictions accompanying the materials.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], PC.7025, Claude Stoller Papers, State Archives of North Carolina, Western Regional Archives, Asheville, NC, USA.
Collection Overview
The Claude Stoller Papers consist of photographs, letters, publications, notes, and other materials related to the donor and his time at Black Mountain College in western North Carolina.
Biographical/Historical
Claude Stoller (b. 1921) is an architect of note, known for his advocacy for social
housing and historic preservation. He grew up in the Bronx, New York. Stoller's completion
of studies at DeWitt Clinton High School, coincided with the exhibit Bauhaus 1919-1928
at the Museum of Modern Art. Through this exhibition, he became interested in attending
Black Mountain College (BMC) in western North Carolina.
While at BMC, Stoller took a wide variety of classes, including Josef Albers's courses in design, color, and drawing along with architecture courses led by Lawrence Kocher, Howard Dearstyne, and Lou Bernard Voight. Stoller, along with fellow student Charles Forberg, oversaw the construction of the Jalowetz House, a small dwelling designed by Lawrence Kocher for music instructor Henrich Jalowetz, and his family. BMC also gave Stoller a chance to experiment with photography.
In 1942, Claude Stoller was drafted into the United States Army. He served in the 14th Coast Artillery on Puget Sound in Washington State. After attending army engineering school, Stoller served in Germany and France with the 13th Armored Division.
Following his war-time service, Stoller gained acceptance to the Harvard Graduate School of Design with advanced standing due to his Black Mountain coursework. His classes with Josef Albers and Peter Bergmann, combined with his practical construction experience, laid a firm groundwork for his future scholarship. After studying a year abroad in Florence, Italy, Stoller worked for architectural firms in the Boston area before moving to San Francisco to start his own firm.
In 1956, Claude Stoller and Robert B. Marquis founded Marquis & Stoller Architects, which focused on the general practice of architecture and planning, including residential, institutional, and government projects. The following year, Stoller was invited to join the faculty in the Department of Architecture at the University of California at Berkeley. He served as acting chairman in 1965-1966 and chair of graduate studies from the early 1980s until his retirement in 1991.
In 1965, Stoller started Continuing Education in Environmental Design in collaboration with the University of California, University Extension. Courses were offered in architecture, planning, landscape architecture, and design professionals. In 1966-1967, as the internship component of the program, Stoller founded the pioneering San Francisco Community Design Center to address student interest in inequities in housing, and community concern about redevelopment plans. The Center became a prototype for other Community Design Centers that brought the skills of architectural interns to economically depressed neighborhoods where there was a real need for remodeling of old buildings or new construction, and where interns worked to bring solutions to existing neighborhoods.
In 1978, Stoller formed Stoller/Partners (later Stoller Knoerr Architects) in Berkeley. Projects included single homes, multiple dwellings, religious buildings, and institutional and commercial structures. Social issues such as housing and energy-efficient designs were a primary concern for Stoller as was historic preservation.
Stoller retired from active practice except for consulting. He lives in Berkeley and Maine with his second wife Rosemary Raymond Stoller, also a Black Mountain student. He continues his life-long interest in photography.
While at BMC, Stoller took a wide variety of classes, including Josef Albers's courses in design, color, and drawing along with architecture courses led by Lawrence Kocher, Howard Dearstyne, and Lou Bernard Voight. Stoller, along with fellow student Charles Forberg, oversaw the construction of the Jalowetz House, a small dwelling designed by Lawrence Kocher for music instructor Henrich Jalowetz, and his family. BMC also gave Stoller a chance to experiment with photography.
In 1942, Claude Stoller was drafted into the United States Army. He served in the 14th Coast Artillery on Puget Sound in Washington State. After attending army engineering school, Stoller served in Germany and France with the 13th Armored Division.
Following his war-time service, Stoller gained acceptance to the Harvard Graduate School of Design with advanced standing due to his Black Mountain coursework. His classes with Josef Albers and Peter Bergmann, combined with his practical construction experience, laid a firm groundwork for his future scholarship. After studying a year abroad in Florence, Italy, Stoller worked for architectural firms in the Boston area before moving to San Francisco to start his own firm.
In 1956, Claude Stoller and Robert B. Marquis founded Marquis & Stoller Architects, which focused on the general practice of architecture and planning, including residential, institutional, and government projects. The following year, Stoller was invited to join the faculty in the Department of Architecture at the University of California at Berkeley. He served as acting chairman in 1965-1966 and chair of graduate studies from the early 1980s until his retirement in 1991.
In 1965, Stoller started Continuing Education in Environmental Design in collaboration with the University of California, University Extension. Courses were offered in architecture, planning, landscape architecture, and design professionals. In 1966-1967, as the internship component of the program, Stoller founded the pioneering San Francisco Community Design Center to address student interest in inequities in housing, and community concern about redevelopment plans. The Center became a prototype for other Community Design Centers that brought the skills of architectural interns to economically depressed neighborhoods where there was a real need for remodeling of old buildings or new construction, and where interns worked to bring solutions to existing neighborhoods.
In 1978, Stoller formed Stoller/Partners (later Stoller Knoerr Architects) in Berkeley. Projects included single homes, multiple dwellings, religious buildings, and institutional and commercial structures. Social issues such as housing and energy-efficient designs were a primary concern for Stoller as was historic preservation.
Stoller retired from active practice except for consulting. He lives in Berkeley and Maine with his second wife Rosemary Raymond Stoller, also a Black Mountain student. He continues his life-long interest in photography.
Contents of the Collection
Subject Headings
Acquisitions Information
Donated by Claude Stoller in 2018