A City’s History Through its Houses

This project was done under Can Bilsel. My contributions include research, graphics, and the production of a book.

Nearly every American learns how to peruse real estate listings in the course of their life. Quantitative and repetitive, a real estate listing is a notoriously imprecise and ubiquitous narrative about architecture.

Intrigued by San Diego’s volatile real estate market, and the apparent disconnect between the ways housing is perceived by architects, developers, and the public, we looked at a collection of San Diego’s suburban and inner city subdivisions and analyze 20 houses currently on sale. Based on the descriptions and data provided by real estate listing, we drew floor plans, lot areas, and relationship diagrams, categorizing the neighborhoods and their respective housing into distinct types and taxonomies.