The 2020 winner: Louisiana State University's drawing of a bus stop shelter (HABS No. LA-1201-B), Highland Road at Evangeline Circle, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Delineator: Guy W. Carwile.
What the prize is
The Leicester B. Holland Prize is an annual competition for the best single-sheet measured drawing of a historic building, structure or site, made to the standards of the National Park Service's Heritage Documentation Programs. A sheet can be made for any of three surveys:
- the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS)
- the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER)
- the Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS)
The prize is supported by the Paul Rudolph Trust, the American Institute of Architects and the Library of Congress's Center for Architecture, Design, and Engineering.
Who Leicester B. Holland was
Leicester B. Holland (1882–1952), FAIA, chaired the AIA's Committee on Historic Buildings, headed the Library of Congress's Fine Arts Division, co-founded HABS in the 1930s, was the first curator of its collection and the first chair of its advisory board.
Why it exists
- To raise awareness and appreciation of historic sites, structures and landscapes across the United States.
- To add to the permanent HABS/HAER/HALS collection at the Library of Congress.
- To honor the art of architectural drawing in the tradition of the École des Beaux-Arts, which treated drawing historic buildings as central to an architect's education — a way to learn design and construction, and to gather motifs for restoration and new work.
One sheet only is the challenge: the drawing must capture what makes the place significant — historically and architecturally, as landscape or as engineering.
Anyone can enter, whatever their experience, except current employees of the Heritage Documentation Programs.
The award
- $1,500 and a certificate.
- The Library of Congress announces the winning drawing.
- Merit awards may also be given.
What to document
The site must suit the HABS/HAER/HALS Collection — buildings, structures, engineering and industrial sites, or landscapes — and must either be unrecorded by the programs or have changed enough to need an addendum to an existing survey.
How to enter
- Follow the program's measured drawing guidelines for HABS, HAER or HALS.
- Check the rating scale used by the jury.
- Send the entry form by the deadline. Student teams enter through their faculty sponsor. The prize coordinator confirms the site's name and address.
- The coordinator reviews up to two drafts, and supplies the AutoCAD title block after at least one review. Draft histories can be reviewed too.
- The coordinator plots the final sheet. To plot it yourself, or to submit ink on Mylar, ask first.
A history earns bonus points — follow the program's guidelines for historical reports. Without one, the sheet must carry a brief statement of significance.
Composing the sheet
Include what best conveys the site's significance in history and design:
| Survey | Typical elements |
|---|---|
| HABS | plans, elevations, sections, a site plan; details such as typical windows and doors, moldings and construction |
| HAER | all of the above, plus process plans and machinery sections and details |
| HALS | vegetation and circulation plans, and hardscape |
Final submission checklist
- Drawing: a high-quality PDF of the final 24 × 36 inch (ARCH D) sheet; a full-size print only if agreed with the coordinator.
- Field notes: the original field sketches, or field records for laser scanning and photogrammetry — folded to 8.5 × 11 inches, unbound, with the survey number on every page.
- A signed copyright release, donating the work to the collection.
- Historical report (for bonus points), as a Word file.
- Field photos (optional), printed, with the survey number on each.
Digital files can go by email or on CD or DVD. Mail to the programs through the U.S. Postal Service is irradiated, so send physical items by a private carrier.
Deadlines
| When | What |
|---|---|
| August 1 | entry forms due by email; last day for staff review of drafts |
| August 1 – October 1 | completed entries accepted (postmark) |
| October | the jury meets |
| Winter | winners announced |
Contact the prize coordinator through the Heritage Documentation Programs.
Sources
Based on "Holland Prize," Heritage Documentation Programs, National Park Service; a work of the United States government in the public domain. The winning drawing was donated to the HABS/HAER/HALS Collection.
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.nps.gov
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