Berkeley, California: A Primer to Documentation and Analysis of Urban Vernacular Architecture

Abstract

The purpose of this project is to document homes in a neighborhood of Berkeley, the Elmwood District, through photography, sketches, oral histories, and informal interviews. That material ,combined with research from primary and secondary sources, connected the places and the people who live there. Unlike the majority of vernacular architecture publications and teachings, my approach does not include measured drawings, dating techniques, or construction and materials technology. I would encourage the use of those whenever they benefit the description and interpretation of architecture. I use a historical perspective and ethnographic methods to identify the social and cultural construction of meanings for this specific place.