Carl Siegel, project archivist for the Rudy Bruner Center for Urban Excellence (RBC), brings a sharp eye for architecture and a commitment to archival preservation to his role at the University at Buffalo. He is also the first dedicated curator of the Bruner Award Collection in the more than 25-year history of the collection at the UB Libraries.
Originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Siegel studied architecture and architectural history as part of a multidisciplinary undergraduate program at the University of Oklahoma. He later earned a Master of Science in Information Studies from the University of Texas, building a strong foundation for working with complex design records. That background — especially his research interest in the challenges of born-digital architectural documents — led him to UB nearly two years ago.
“One of the primary things that attracted me to this position was the opportunity to work with architectural and design records,” he said. “The challenges and opportunities presented by design documents — especially as the professional world of architecture has shifted over the last few decades to born-digital records and hyper-specialized, proprietary drafting and modeling software — have been a primary intellectual and research interest of mine since starting in the archival field.”
Siegel’s work centers on the Rudy Bruner Award Collection. His role includes processing both physical and digital records and supporting the research, teaching and outreach missions of the center. He also collaborates with faculty on research and public engagement.
“That faculty support includes, in general, working with my colleagues at the RBC any time library or archival resources can add value to one of their ongoing projects,” he said.
“The Bruner collection is pretty broad and has a large variety of material types,” Siegel added. “That keeps the work interesting and varied day to day.”
One of the highlights of Siegel’s earlier career was his involvement in Renegades: Bruce Goff and the American School of Architecture, an exhibition and publication developed at the University of Oklahoma. The project spotlighted a largely overlooked chapter in architectural history. Siegel contributed from the early stages — first as a student and later as an adjunct. Although the exhibition was cut short by the pandemic, he said he’s proud to have helped showcase a cultural legacy closely tied to his home state.
Currently, he is working with RBC faculty on a paper for the upcoming Symposium of Urban Design History and Theory. The project uses the Bruner collection as a data set to trace the evolution of urban design language and priorities over the past 40 years.
Outside the library, he is a lifelong New York Mets fan and a regular at Bisons games — especially when the Mets’ Triple-A team from Syracuse is in town.
From digital design archives to the Mets’ bullpen, Siegel is your go-to person with any questions!