The collection documents the professional and personal activities of Félix Candela over much of his lifetime and contains a diversity of materials ranging from his childhood photographs from the 1910s and notes from his school days in the early 1930s in Madrid, to photographs, architectural drawings, writings, and correspondence, representing his life and professional contributions to the field of architecture from 1950 until his death in 1997.

The papers contain a wide range of photographic media documenting Candela's buildings under construction and following completion, architectural drawings, plans, calculations, and notes for some of his famous churches, stadiums, and factories, typescripts, drafts, and clippings of lectures and published articles on various topics related to structural analysis and design, a group of professional and personal correspondence, as well as travel itineraries and receipts related to his participation in international architecture conferences and gatherings. Also included are Candela's appointment books and personal expense ledgers, student artwork, college course notebooks and study guides, awards and certificates honoring his work, personal and travel photographs, identification papers and official documents, reference files and clippings on different architectural styles and topics, clippings of writings by and about Candela, and several VHS tapes regarding his work.

Rather than serving as traditional project or business files, such as his Cubiertas Ala office files, which are held elsewhere, these papers provide a broader view of Candela's personal life and practice of architecture, including ample photographic documentation of his buildings and major structural acheivements using hypars, fans, umbrellas, and other unique shapes. Also represented here are materials related to Candela's role as a lecturer and proponent of efficient thin-shell design at international architecture conferences and colleges, as well as materials demonstrating the relationship between his education and the trajectory of his professional career. The original arrangement of Candela's files was preserved when it was discernable, and often observes thematic relationships rather than strict chronological or other practical divisions.

Researchers should be aware that, in keeping with the bilingual nature of materials in this collection, Candela labeled some of his files in Spanish and others in English. Original folder titles were transcribed in the language in which they were found, and thus reflect this variation. Occasionally, a folder with a title in Spanish is followed by another folder with the same title in English. This practice reflects original divisions of some materials by language, and reflects Candela's international practice. When no original file labels were present, titles were generally supplied in English.