LibGuides: Built Environment: Welcome

Welcome to your Built Environment subject guide

This guide has been created by your specialist library team to provide advice and resources to help with study and work in your subject area. It contains relevant resources, instant insights and an overview of the support available to help you with your studies and research.

Use the menu to see how the library can support your learning and research. If you have any questions, please send us an email.

Where to study

You can choose to study in any of UCL's Libraries and study spaces, including bookable study and group work spaces. There are also areas for postgraduate use only.

Support for dissertations and research projects

Support for dissertations and research projects

This guide is primarily aimed at taught postgraduate students, but may also be of interest to final year undergraduates. It highlights the extensive online library collections and services available to you, and also directs you to other academic support services that may be useful when undertaking your dissertation or research project.

LibrarySkills@UCL

On the LibrarySkills@UCL pages, you will find sections on topics such as using the Library catalogue, literature searching, referencing and reference management, and on writing and digital skills.

You will also be able to book live training sessions on a variety of topics

Subject Collections

The print collections of the Bartlett Library support the teaching and research interests of the Schools, Institutes, Centres and Units that make up UCL's Faculty of the Built Environment.

The scope of the collection includes architecture, planning, development planning, construction and project management, sustainable energy and sustainable resources, as well as the social and cultural history of cities and urban spaces, and development in the Global South.

The Library is located at Central House in Upper Woburn Place. In addition to the books and printed journals on the open shelves, lesser used material. including back-runs of some print journals, are kept in off-site Stores

Key literature databases for your subject area

A&AePortal
Yale's A&AePortal is an eBook resource that features important works of scholarship in the history of art, architecture, decorative arts, photography, and design. Accessibility statement for A&AePortal.
AATA Online
Abstracts of literature related to the preservation and conservation of material cultural heritage, including works of art, material culture, and archaeological and architectural sites and materials.
AccessEngineering
AccessEngineering includes access to e-books on a wide variety of Engineering topics and covers Management and Science subject areas. It also includes content such as videos, data visualisation tools and Excel spreadsheets to support solving engineering equations. Accessibility statement for Access Engineering.
Art & Architecture Source
See the LibrarySkills@UCL guide to EBSCOhost. This database covers a broad range of related subjects, from fine, decorative and commercial art, to various areas of architecture and architectural design.
Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals (ProQuest)
Comprehensive tool for research in architecture, urban design, historic preservation, and urban planning history.
BCIS Online (Building Cost Information Service)
Database of elemental cost analyses for over 16,000 building projects, plus lifecycle cost information. Access includes the BCIS Life Cycle Evaluator.
Cities/Buildings Database
Collection of over 5,000 images of buildings and cities drawn from across time and throughout the world, available to students, researchers and educators on the web.
Construction Information Service
Index of standards, regulatory and advisory documents for the UK construction industry plus their full-text images, either scanned facsimiles or in Adobe PDF format.
GLA Affordable Housing Toolkit
UCL username and password required to view data. The GLA Toolkit provides the user with an assessment of the economics of residential development for specific schemes.
ICONDA
See the LibrarySkills@UCL guide to Ovid. This database can be accessed by no more than 5 users at a time. Index of literature on all aspects of planning and building.
Planning Portal
Gateway to planning resources on the web, hosted by the UK government. Aimed at the general public, planning professionals and government users.
RIBA British Architectural Library Catalogue
Catalogue of items held by the library of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
Property & Building Directory
Gateway to websites on topics related to architecture, planning and landscape. UK-based, but including international resources. Can be searched or browsed.

Key organisations in your subject

ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology)
Based in Baltimore (USA), ABET is a non-profit certified organisation that accredits college and university programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering and engineering technology.
AIA (American Institute of Architects)
The website of the professional body for architects in America, founded in 1857. "We advocate for the value of architecture and give architects the resources they need to do their best work."
CIAT (Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists)
Members "specialise in design, underpinned by building science, engineering and technology applied to architecture within projects, playing a pivotal role in project and design management; [they] design and manage all project types from small scale to large commercial, industrial, residential and public projects.
CIBSE (Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers)
"CIBSE is the standard setter and authority on building services engineering ... The Institution speaks for the profession and so is consulted by government on matters relating to construction, engineering and sustainability"
CIOB (Chartered Institute of Building)
CIOB is the world's largest and most influential professional body for construction management and leadership.
ENAEE (European Network for Accreditation of Engineering Education)
The organisation promotes quality engineering education across Europe and beyond, authorising accreditation and quality assurance agencies to award the EUR-ACE® label to accredited engineering degrees programmes.
IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology)
The IET was formed in March 2006 by a merger of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) and the Institution of Incorporated Engineers (IIE). The organisation has a global membership, provides professional registrations. Their Mission is "To inspire, inform and influence the global engineering community, supporting technology innovation to meet the needs of society".
NCARB (National Council of Architectural Registration Board)
NCARB is a nonprofit organization made up of the architectural licensing boards of 55 U.S. states and territories
RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects)
RIBA is the professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its charter granted in 1837.
RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors)
A globally recognised professional body, RICS works to enforce the highest professional standards in the development and management of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure.
RTPI (Royal Town Planning Institute)
The RTPI "champions the power of planning in creating prosperous places and vibrant communities" . It is a leading membership organisation and a Chartered Institute responsible for maintaining professional standards and accrediting world class planning courses nationally and internationally.
Society of Architectural Historians
The Society (based in Illinois) promotes the study, interpretation and conservation of architecture, design, landscapes and urbanism worldwide.
Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain
The Society brings together all those with an interest in the history of the built environment
UK Green Building Council
The Mission of the UKGBC "is to radically improve the sustainability of the built environment, by transforming the way it is planned, designed, constructed, maintained and operated"
Union internationale des Architectes
Founded in Switzerland in 1948, the UIA is an international non-governmental organisation recognized by UNESCO as the only architectural union operating at an international level.
Urban Land Institute
The Institute aims to "shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide"