Richard A. Moore Landscape Architecture Drawings and Papers 1950-2003

Richard Alan Moore practiced landscape architecture with his firm Megatech Incorporated in Raleigh, North Carolina; with Oceanic Properties, Inc. in Honolulu, Hawaii, and with international firm Eckbo, Dean, Austin & Williams (EDAW Inc.) in Hawaii and San Francisco, California, 1969-1979. He taught landscape architecture at North Carolina State University's School of Design, 1962-1968, and at Texas A & M University, 1977. Moore continued to practice landscape architecture until 2002. Richard A. Moore died in January 2017.

Born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1930, Moore received his undergraduate degree from the University of Missouri (1951)and his master’s degree in Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Oregon (1957). Moore worked as a planning technician in California and then taught landscape architecture at Cal Poly Pomona. Moore began a landscape architecture practice in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he operated through his firm, Megatech Incorporated. He taught architecture courses as well, and was appointed Associate Professor and Head of Landscape Architecture in 1962 at North Carolina State University's School of Design, positions which he held until 1968. Moore was a member and fellow of ASLA, the American Society of Landscape Architects, and had frequent correspondence and conference trips related to the association. In addition to lecturing to graduate students, Moore often traveled nationwide to attend and speak at architecture and beautification conferences.

In 1967, Moore took a leave of absence from the School of Design and began to practice in Hawaii. He formally resigned from the faculty of the School of Design in August, 1968, when he was offered a position with Oceanic Properties, Inc. in Honolulu, Hawaii. With this firm, Moore’s largest project was Mililani Town, a satellite city on the island of Oahu that provided affordable resort-style amenities and homes.

Citing organizational issues within Oceanic Properties, Inc., Moore began working with Eckbo, Dean, Austin & Williams (EDAW Inc.), a leading international landscape architecture, urban and environmental design firm. Moore was a part of various architectural reports and projects worldwide through the firm, including Burke Mountain community in British Columbia and a proposed helicopter industry community in Isfahan, Iran. Moore was mainly located at EDAW’s California and Hawaii offices and served on its Board of Directors. Documents show various struggles within the firm, including employee dissatisfaction, management issues, and an ASLA ethical investigation prompted by former partner Garrett Eckbo.

After leaving the firm, Moore taught again, this time as a professor of landscape architecture and dean at Texas A & M University in College Station, Texas. He continued privately as a landscape architect for decades. There is a gap in the record following 2002 that indicates retirement from his architectural work. EDAW, Inc. folded in 2009, the same year that Moore contacted them requesting information on a memo “blacklisting” him from various projects.

This collection contains Richard A. Moore’s personal and professional papers from his work as a landscape architect. The collection includes documents from the entire range of his career until 2003, including papers documenting his landscape architectural work, drawings, photographs, and personal correspondence. Many of his projects include both residential and commercial landscape architectural work in North Carolina, California, Hawaii, British Columbia, and Iran. This collection also contains administrative paperwork from his private practice firms and the universities at which he taught. Many of the project categories are residential subdivisions, garden designs, and federal buildings; specific projects include the Fayetteville Market Square, Mililani Town, and Lanai city. Also included are various conference speeches, class lectures, publications, and personal correspondence. Most documents date from 1967-1978. Major organizations referenced within the collection include: EDAW, Inc., Oceanic Properties, Inc., NC State University School of Design, Texas A & M, UC Berkeley, and the various state governments.

Records are arranged topically by series. Within each series, records are arranged either alphabetically or chronologically, depending on the specific contents. The final series in the collection contains all the oversize materials: large blueprints, drawings, sketches, designs, posters, charts, catalogues, and books.

This collection is arranged into six series:

Oceanic, Inc. and EDAW, Inc. Files; Consulting Files; Teaching and Related Administrative Files; Personal and Professional Papers; Photographs and Slides; Oversized Materials

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This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which North Carolina State University assumes no responsibility.

[Identification of item], Richard A. Moore Landscape Architecture Drawings and Papers, MC 00430, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC

• Lewis Clarke Collection, MC 00175
• Lewis Clarke Oral Histories, MC 00191

This collection was received through the donation of the Lewis Clarke Collection, 2009-2011 (Accession no. 2010.0232); Gift of Richard A. Moore, October 2013 (Accession no. 2013.0270)

This collection was processed by Carolyn Chesarino in 2011 December; finding aid updated by Gwynn Thayer in 2013 November; updated by Jennifer Baker with assistance from Leah Bullard and Peter Raia April 2018.

This collection was processed with support from the Council on Library and Information Resources Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives program.