Vernacular Architecture and Landscape Architecture Resource Guide: General Resources

This is a selective list of collective bibliographies. For more, check library catalogs under keywords: vernacular architecture bibliography or subject: Vernacular architecture--bibliography or try a combination of other subject headings from the list in this guide.

For bibliographies on the vernacular architecture of a specific place, check library catalogs under subject: Vernacular architecture--(name of place)--bibliography.

For a broader scope of resources on a particular topic, try general architectural bibliographies and guides.

Guides to Anthropology

• Cultural anthropology: a guide to reference and information sources / JoAnn Jacoby and Josephine Z. Kibbee. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, 2007.
• Introduction to library research in anthropology / John M. Weeks. 2nd ed. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1998. Westview guides to library research. 

International or Multiple Countries

• Architecture of the Arabian house / by Aghil M. Barbar. Monticello, Ill.: Vance Bibliographies, 1979. Architecture series--bibliography; A-85. 
• Bibliography on traditional architecture in Africa / compiled and edited by Mod Mekkawi. Washington: Mekkawi, 1978. 
• Bibliography on vernacular architecture / edited by Robert de Zouche Hall [for the Vernacular Architecture Group] Newton Abbot, David and Charles, 1972. 
• Encyclopedia of vernacular architecture of the world / edited by Paul Oliver. Cambridge, U.K.; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Includes bibliographies for each region or culture. 
• Indigenous architecture worldwide: a guide to information sources / Lawrence Wodehouse. Detroit: Gale Research, 1980. 
• Literature on building and housing in the tropics / Amsterdam: Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen. 1962. 
• North African architecture / Norman Cigar. Monticello, Ill.: Vance Bibliographies, 1978. Architecture series--bibliography; A-28. 
• Primitive architecture: a selected bibliography / Anthony G. White. Monticello, Ill.: Vance Bibliographies, [1985] Architecture series--bibliography; A 1363. 
• Vernacular architecture: a bibliography / Mary Vance. Monticello, Ill.: Vance Bibliographies, [1983] Architecture series--bibliography; A-1030. 

American Vernacular Architecture

• American common houses: a selected bibliography of vernacular architecture / John A. Jakle, Douglas K. Meyer, Robert W. Bastian. Monticello, Ill.: Vance bibliographies, 1981. Architecture series--bibliography; A-574. 
• American folk architecture: a selected bibliography / Howard Wight Marshall. [Washington, D.C.]: American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, 1981. 
• Architectural pattern books: an annotated survey of recent scholarship, 1975-1988 / Carole Cable. Monticello, Ill.: Vance Bibliographies, [1989]. 
• Vernacular architecture in America: a selective bibliography / John A. Cuthbert, Barry Ward, Maggie Keeler. Boston, Mass.: G.K. Hall, 1985. 
• Vernacular houses in the U.S.A. / Lamia Doumato. Monticello, Ill.: Vance Bibliographies, [1987]. Architecture series--bibliography; A-1739. 

Because vernacular architecture encompasses such a broad and diverse domain of varied disciplines, places and time periods, consider beginning topical research with dictionaries and encyclopedias. They provide overviews of styles, cultures or places and often list pertinent scholars or provide extensive bibliographies on specific topics. Also, look here for common versus preferred names for keyword search terms to enhance your searches in the library's catalog and journal databases.

For more information beyond these resources, try also searching under the name of specific building types, countries, locations or cultures in general dictionaries and encyclopedias of architecture.

Vernacular Architecture and the Built Environment

• American vernacular design, 1870-1940 / Herbert Gottfried, Jan Jennings. Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1988. 
• The anatomy of a house: a picture dictionary of architectural and design elements / Fayal Greene. NY: Doubleday, 1991. Clear, concise identification of the parts and elements of American houses. 
• Dictionary of Islamic architecture / Andrew Petersen. London ; New York: Routledge, 1996. 
• Encyclopedia of urban America: the cities and suburbs / Neil Larry Shumsky, editor. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 1998. 
• Encyclopedia of vernacular architecture of the world / edited by Paul Oliver. Cambridge, U.K.; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997. 
• Glossary of urban form / edited by Peter J. Larkham and Andrew N. Jones. [Birmingham]: Urban Morphology Research Group, School of Geography, University of Birmingham, [1991]. 
• The visual dictionary of American domestic architecture / Rachel Carley; illustrations by Ray Skibinski and Ed Lam. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1994. 

Geography and Cultures

• Companion encyclopedia of anthropology / edited by Tim Ingold. London; New York: Routledge, 1994. Routledge reference. Introductory essays on topics such as "spatial organization," and "the built environment," with bibliographies. 
• The dictionary of human geography / edited by Derek Gregory [et al.]. Chichester, U.K. ; Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.
• Encyclopedia of cultural anthropology / editors, David Levinson, Melvin Ember. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1996. Organized by topic with excellent coverage of architecture, environmental anthropology, ethno-archaeology, environmental behavior, and bibliographies. 
• Encyclopedia of world cultures / David Levinson, editor in chief. Boston, Mass.: G.K. Hall, 1991-96. 10 vols. (Vol. 10 is index to set, which is organized by cultures; includes section on settlements and bibliography for each culture.) 
• Worldmark encyclopedia of cultures and daily life / Timothy L. Gall, editor. Detroit: Gale, 1998. 4 vols. Organized by culture; includes excellent background information and bibliographies. 

Online Resources