Guides and databases: Built Environment: Databases

Key databases for indexes, abstracts and full text collections

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.
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.
DETAIL Inspiration
This is a database for architects and structural engineers which provides access to more than 3,600 project documentations from over 30 years of DETAIL. The database contains detailed project descriptions, drawings, pictures and information on architects and, more recently, manufacturers.
Gale Academic OneFile
Providing access to millions of articles from over 17,000 scholarly journals and other authoritative sources, including videos from BBC Worldwide Learning to thousands of podcasts and transcripts from CNN.
Gale General OneFile
Gale’s largest general-interest periodical resource, Gale General OneFile, provides periodical and news information.
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.
JSTOR
Archive of important scholarly journals. Core resource. Accessibility statement for JSTOR.
RIBA British Architectural Library Catalogue
Catalogue of items held by the library of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
SAGE Research Methods
Combining content from Sage books, journals, case studies, datasets and references works to help users explore methods concepts when designing research projects, conduct research, and write up findings. Access to all areas including Datasets and Doing Research Online. Some video contents is available - refine by 'Available to me'. Foundations content is now included. Accessibility statement for SAGE Research Methods.
ScienceDirect
Information source for scientific, technical, and health research. Contains full-text scientific database offering journal articles and book chapters from nearly 3,800 journals and more than 35,000 books. Accessibility statement for ScienceDirect.

SCOPUS
See the LibrarySkills@UCL guide to Scopus. Multi-disciplinary database containing references to journal articles, conference proceedings, trade publications, book series and web resources. Please use IE 8 or higher, Google Chrome or Firefox browsers.

Data collections

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.
Digimap - Ordnance Survey
Access for UCL students and staff only. Users must register with their UCL username and password on first use and agree to licence conditions. Online digital mapping and data extraction facilities using Ordnance Survey data of Great Britain. Login and choose "Ordnance Survey". Please note, from Aug 2019 OS Northern Ireland data is included.
LSEG Workspace (Eikon)
Access for UCL students and staff only. Contact the e-resources team to request a licence. Licences are initially for 1 week and may be reassigned after this depending on demand. Access includes SDC Platinum deal-making data add-on, to access SDC data, type SDC in the top search bar
FAME
Access for UCL students and staff only, UCL sign in required. Company data on every registered business in the UK and Ireland
IBISWorld
A key resource for marketing and industry research, and for company and financial data. UK and Global Industry / Business research reports providing key analysis on performance, industry outlook, markets, competitive landscape, major companies, operating conditions and key statistics.
Select "Login with SSO" and add UCL email address to be directed to UCL single sign on. Free access for UCL students and staff until 30th September 2021.

Image databases

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.
Bridgeman Education
Access to over 390,000 images. To download iPhone app click here and enter username/password.
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.
RIBApix
Database of more than 35,000 architectural images taken from the photograph and drawing collections of the Royal Institute of British Architects. Low resolution images are free to download, although there are charges for higher resolution.
VADS : Visual Arts Database
VADS provides a national collection of over 140,000 images from over 300 art and design collections across the UK. The images cover the broad range of the visual arts including applied arts, architecture, design, fashion, fine art, and media

Films, documentaries, lectures

Academic Video Online
Academic Video online delivers more than 66,000 titles spanning subject areas including anthropology, business, counseling, film, health, history, music, and more. Accessibility statement for Academic Video Online.
BoB (Box of Broadcasts)
Access for UCL students and staff only. Access to BoB is only permitted within the United Kingdom. Requires login with UCL username and password. BoB is Learning on Screen’s on demand TV and radio service for education allowing users to record programmes from over 75 free-to-air channels, access over 2.2 million broadcasts dating back to the 1970s, create playlists, clips and clip compilations; search programme transcripts and subtitles; embed content in VLEs and share on social media
Pidgeon Digital
The Pidgeon Digital Audiovisual collection of illustrated talks by architects and related designers is a continuing archive, to which new talks are being added regularly. A unique library of contemporary attitudes which will become of value to future generations.

Newspaper articles

The Nexis database provides a searchable database of international news sources. The ProQuest Central database also includes international newspaper articles. Search results can be filtered if you wish to view newspaper articles only..

NewsVault includes the British Library Newspaper collection, and other important historic titles such as the Illustrated London News (from 1842) and The Economist (from 1842) - these will be useful resources for studying the historical development of infrastructure (such as railways), urban growth, town planning and architectural and engineering projects.

Gale OneFile News
Gale OneFile: News provides access to more than 2,300 major world newspapers, and includes thousands of images, radio and TV broadcasts and transcripts.
NewsVault
Allows cross-searching of all UCL's subscribed Gale newspaper archives using a single interface. Search the full text of over 10 million page images from over 400 years.
Nexis
Access for UCL students and staff only. Database of news and company information (formerly provided as LexisNexis 'Executive').
ProQuest Central
ProQuest Central is the largest multidisciplinary database with over 11,000 titles, with over 8,000 titles in full-text. Over 160 subjects areas are covered including business and economics, health and medical, news and world affairs, technology, social sciences and more. Accessibility statement for ProQuest Central.

Library Databases

Library databases A-Z
Browse or search our databases by title, or use the Subject drop down box at the top to narrow down to databases in your subject area.

UCL LIBRARY SERVICES

Built Environment