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A Digital Archive of Architecture Images


SAHARA is a digital image archive developed by the Society of Architectural Historians in collaboration with JSTOR/ITHAKA (formerly Artstor), with funding from the Mellon Foundation. SAHARA contains nearly 200,000 images of the built environment, all contributed by SAH members. SAHARA access is one of the many benefits of SAH membership.

Visit the SAHARA collection at its new home on JSTOR where as an SAH member you can:

  • search for images, along with JStor’s print materials and open access image collections
  • organize images into groups with Workspace
  • download individual images; download groups in Zip file or directly to PowerPoint
  • share images and image groups with colleagues and students (coming soon!)

You can contribute SAHARA content using the JSTOR Forum platform where you can upload media files, add descriptive data, and publish them to the SAHARA collection.

Tips for Using SAHARA

  • Use the Advanced Search to specify date ranges, locations, and other criteria.
  • Use Workspace -> Folders to save images for your upcoming courses or research.
  • Download images from Folders directly to PowerPoint or as a Zip file.
Heatherwick-Studio-installation-800x540

SAHARA Highlights

A monthly selection of images from the SAHARA collection, selected by SAHARA Co-Editors.

See Highlights

Frequently Asked Questions

 

SAHARA is available to all individual SAH members. (Join or renew.) SAHARA has been developed as an online academic resource for people in the field of architectural history and its related disciplines. It contains two collections: the Members Collection, available to SAH members, and the Public Collection, available to everyone.

SAHARA still requires a separate log in and password from the one you use for the SAH website. Click on the ACCESS SAHARA button at the top of this page and log in using the email address and password that you established for SAHARA. If you have forgotten your log in credentials, email membership@sah.org or call the SAH office at 312.573.1365 and ask to speak to Anne Bird.

Inquiries should be made directly to the person who holds copyright (see the Rights statement in each image record). If you need assistance locating the copyright holder, contact info@sah.org.

Inquiries should be made directly to the person who holds copyright (see the Rights statement in each image record). If you need assistance locating the copyright holder, contact info@sah.org.

Yes, you can upload images directly from your smartphone through the Forum website, but the interface is not ideal yet (there is no mobile app).  Forum editing is easier on a desktop or laptop computer.

See the technical specifications for SAHARA.

Contacts

SAH membership and SAHARA access questions: Anne Bird, Director of Membership
JSTOR Help:  support@jstor.org
JSTOR Forum Help: forumsupport@jstor.org
SAHARA Co-Editors: Jackie Spafford and Mark Hinchman 
SAHARA Associate Editor: Jeannine Keefer, University of Richmond