How can I set up a separate directory and have Wordpress ignore it?

The Wordpress htaccess file rewrites URL's to be seo friendly, but sometimes you might want to exempt a directory from any rewrites.  Add the highlighted line in the htaccess file:

# BEGIN WordPress
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /articles
RewriteCond % !-f
RewriteCond % !-d
rewriteCond % !^/directory1.*
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
</IfModule>

# END WordPress