Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World - Tapa dura

'... the breadth and detail is staggering.' Building Design

'It should be seen as a major pioneering work.' The Times Higher Education Supplement

'The Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World is ... a many-sided achievement, dealing with material culture and sustainable settlements as a source for understanding both present and past and as an inspiration for constructing the future.' Architecture Today

' ... a masterwork in that it is not only a rare achievement of collaborative scholarship but also the result of its editor's individual vision and determination, and his skill in constructing a multidimensional matrix of themes and materials ...'. Anthropology Today

'Paul Oliver is the Sir Banister Fletcher of our age, chronicling the architecture of the people rather than for the people.' Architects Journal

' ... a monument in its own right, and a classic to put on the shelf alongside Pevsner ... in the league of Banister Fletcher's famous tome on comparative architecture and Nikolaus Pevsner's extensive Building of England series'. RIBA Journal

Vernacular - or traditional - architecture encompasses most of the buildings of the world. This encyclopedia is the first to show the remarkable diversity of the buildings constructed and lived in by the people of over a thousand cultures. The first of the three volumes focuses on the theories, principles and philosophy that underpin traditional architecture. Volumes 2 and 3 consider these principles within specific cultural and societal contexts. As building traditions vary widely within some countries and extend across the political boundaries of others, the encyclopedia considers vernacular architecture within its cultural rather than its national contexts. Richly illustrated with photographs, line drawings and maps, the work is also supported by a glossary, a lexicon, and the largest bibliography on the subject ever published. This work will be an inspiration and resource for architects, anthropologists, folklorists and geographers, and important for all who help shape housing and conservation policies.