Lindsay Asquith worked with Paul Oliver on the compilation of the Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World (1997) and subsequently as a Research Associate in the Department of Architecture at Oxford Brookes University. She completed her PhD in 2003 and now works as an Architectural Design Consultant in the housing sector.

Marcel Vellinga is a Research Fellow in the Department of Architecture at Oxford Brookes University, England. He is the author of Constituting Unity and Difference: Vernacular Architecture in a Minangkabau Village (2004) and of various articles dealing with the anthropology of architecture in Indonesia. He is currently co-editing, with Paul Oliver, the Atlas of Vernacular Architecture of the World.

Foreword Nezar AlSayyad Introduction Part 1: The Vernacular as Process 1. Building Tradition: Control and Authority in Vernacular Architecture 2. Endorsing Indigenous Knowledge: The Role of Masons and Apprenticeship in Sustaining Vernacular Architecture - The Case of Djenne 3. Forms and Meanings of Mobility: The Dwellings and Settlements of Sedentarised Irish Travellers 4. Engaging the Future: Vernacular Architecture Studies in the Twenty-First Century Part 2: Learning from the Vernacular 5. Traditionalism and Vernacular Architecture in the Twenty-First Century 6. Learning from the Vernacular: Basic Principles for Sustaining Human Habitats 7. Lessons from the Vernacular: Integrated Approaches and New Methods for Housing Research 8. Sheltering from Extreme Hazards 9. A Journey through Space: Cultural Diversity in Urban Planning Part 3: Understanding the Vernacular 10. Vernacular Design as a Model System 11. 'Generative Concepts' in Vernacular Architecture 12. The Future of the Vernacular: Towards New Methodologies for the Understanding and Optimisation of the Performance of Vernacular Buildings 13. Architectural Education and Vernacular Building 14. Educating Architects to become Culturally Sensitive