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Building and Landscape Types: Types and Styles

This is a general and introductory guide to information sources on architectural and landscape architecture precedents, typologies, and building and landscape types, with a focus on the United States.

Type and Style

Type: "Exemplar, pattern, prototype, or original work serving as a model after which a building or buildings are copied." (A Dictionary of Architecture. James Stevens Curl. Oxford Univ.Pr. 1999. Oxford Reference Online, Art & Architecture UCB Only;

Style: "A particular type of architecture based on distinctive qualities of design or decoration." (Webster's Unabridged online UCB Only.)

General Works

  • American architecture since 1780: a guide to the styles. Marcus Whiffen. Rev.ed. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1992.
  • American landscape architecture: designers and places, ed. by William H. Tishler. Washington, D.C.: Preservation Press, 1989. Building watchers series. In addition to brief biographies of important designers, includes articles by experts on 21 types. Illus., bibl.
  • American vernacular design, 1870-1940: an illustrated glossary / Herbert Gottfried, Jan Jennings. New York : Van Nostrand Reinhold, c1985. Sections on elements (structures, roofs, windows, ornament, etc.) and on building types. Focus on houses. Illus., bibl.
  • Built in the U.S.A.: American buildings from airports to zoos, ed. by Diane Maddex (National Trust for Historic Preservation. Washington, D.C.: Preservation Press, 1985. Building watchers series. Concise illustrated articles by experts on 42 types. Incl.bibl.
  • "Building types", Encyclopedia of architecture: design, engineering & construction. Joseph A. Wilkes, editor-in-chief, Robert T. Packard, assoc. ed. New York: Wiley, 1988-1989, v. 1:515-16. Reference to numerous articles on different building types, tracing their development from earliest times to present, with illustrations. Includes a list of building types included.
  • Clues to American architecture. Marilyn W. Klein, David P.Fogle. Rev. ed. Washington, DC: Starrhill Press, 1986. Concise, well illustrated overview. Includes many types and styles.
  • Clues to American garden styles. David P. Fogle, Catherine Mahan, Christopher Weeks. Rev. ed. Washington: Starrhill Press, 1988. Concise, well-illustrated overview. Includes many types and styles.
  • Encyclopedia of American architecture. Robert T. Packard, Balthazar Korab. 2nd ed. NY: McGraw-Hill, 1995. Includes entries on many different types of buildings and their history and development in America. Well-illustrated.
  • History of building types. Nikolaus Pevsner. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1976. A.W. Mellon lectures in the fine arts;19; Bollingen series; 35. Core, classic scholarly guide to the history of: monuments, government buildings, theatres, libraries, museums, hospitals, prisons, hotels, banks, office buildings, railway stations, market halls, stores and factories. Outstanding bibliographies.
  • Illustrated international architecture index. Den Haag, Ten Hagen, 1967-1969. Catalog of actual examples of 34 modern building types, incl. plans, photos.
  • Styles and types of North American architecture: social function and cultural expression. Alan Gowans. New York, N.Y.: IconEditions, 1992. Thorough analysis and survey. Covers many types. Excellent introduction ("Style and type - on reading history in architecture," p.xi-xiv), illus. and bibl.
  • Time-saver standards for building types. Joseph De Chiara, Michael J. Crosbie.. 4th ed. NY: McGraw-Hill, 2001. General design data for many types of buildings (see index), including: residences, museums, libraries, and theaters, hospitals and nursing homes, churches, air and truck terminals, retail shops, restaurants, hotels, industrial parks, playgrounds, and arenas. Includes plans, diagrams, tables, and schematics, sections on housing for the elderly and the handicapped, including access for the handicapped to public and government buildings. References for more information.
  • Time-saver standards for landscape architecture: design and construction data. co-eds, Charles W. Harris, Nicholas T. Dines. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998. See section on Structures for details of many types.