Vernon DeMars earned his Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1931. DeMars worked from 1936-1942 as district architect for the Farm Security Administration’s regional office in San Francisco. During his tenure with the FSA, DeMars collaborated with landscape architects Burton Cairns and Garret Eckbo, and planners Fran Violich and Corwin Mocine, to make lasting contributions to the field of planning and low-cost housing design. In 1939, DeMars, Burton Cairns, Joseph McCarthy, Garrett Eckbo, T.J. Kent Jr., and Francis Violich co-founded Telesis, a city and regional planning organization that was the inspiration for the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR). He married Betty Bates in the same year. He joined the National Housing Agency in Washington DC as Chief of Housing Standards in 1943, where he was engaged in research on post-war housing. He subsequently served two years with the Navy. From 1947-1949 he was visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In 1951 DeMars reestablished himself in Berkeley. He became Professor of Architecture at the College of Environmental Design in 1953. He chaired the Department from 1959-1962 and eventually became Professor Emeritus upon his retirement in 1975. Before joining the UC Berkeley faculty, he consulted for the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency on Diamond Heights, Hunter's Point and the Western Addition neighborhoods. During this period he also collaborated with architect Donald Hardison on several projects in Richmond, California, including Easter Hill Village public housing, which was noted for its attempt to bring individuality to residences in a low-income development. DeMars and architect Donald P. Reay established the firm DeMars & Reay in 1955, continued in 1966 as DeMars & Wells with John G. Wells. The firms’ emphasis was housing and community development and covered a wide range of building types and planning problems. Major projects accomplished during DeMars’ tenure as principle with these firms included the Capitol Towers apartments in Sacramento; San Francisco’s Golden Gateway Redevelopment project (with Wurster, Bernardi & Emmons); Mililani New Town in Oahu, Hawaii; the Mt. Angel Abbey Library (with architect Alvar Aalto); the University of California at Berkeley’s Student Center and Zellerbach Hall, and the College of Environmental Design’s Wurster Hall. DeMars & Wells dissolved in 1977 and was followed by DeMars & Maletic with principle Carl Maletic. The firm's major project was championing the cause of rehabilitating the San Francisco Ferry Building and expanding Embarcadero Plaza after the Emabarcadero Freeway was demolished in 1991. The project was a continuation of DeMars' longstanding interest in Willis Polk's concept of creating a major plaza in front of the Ferry Building. DeMars was a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, and received many AIA awards, including the Award of Honor for Design Excellence from the Bay Area Chapters of the AIA for the Student Center and Zellerbach Hall on the Berkeley campus. In 1975 he received the Berkeley Citation, the campus’ top honor, and in 1999 the College of Environmental Design honored him as a distinguished alumnus. DeMars received a lifetime achievement award from the American Institute of Architects and the Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Environmental Design in 2003.

The collection spans the years 1933 to 2001, and includes DeMars' personal papers, records from his private practice and professional career, and materials generated by the firms DeMars & Reay, DeMars & Wells, and DeMars & Maletic. The collection is organized in six series.

Personal Papers contain biographical material, personal correspondence, some financial records, documentation related to his service with the Navy, student work, his art and illustrations, writings, travel photographs and portraits. Records related to DeMars' abiding anthropological interest in the Indians of the southwest United States and his performances of Native American dances appear in this series. A small number of artworks and photographs by DeMars’ wife, Betty Bates DeMars, are also represented.

Professional Papers include correspondence with other architects, awards, and correspondence and presentation notes related to professional organizations, committee work, and juries. Research and reference files are extensively represented. Administrative and personnel documents from his work with governmental agencies are represented, as well as records from the Telesis group.

Faculty Papers contain material related to DeMars' professorship at the College of Environmental Design. Primarily, this series contains official correspondence with other members of the UC Berkeley Architecture faculty, committee work documentation, and course materials such as syllabi and lecture notes from classes he taught.

The majority of the Projects Records series documents DeMars & Reay and DeMars & Wells projects spanning the years 1955-1977, through drawings, photographs, administrative files, and models. The Major Projects series includes Farm Security Administration and Old Sacramento Historic District records. The UC Berkeley sub-series is extensive and includes each commission carried out on the UC Berkeley campus. The San Francisco Performing Arts Center and the San Francisco Ferry Building and Embarcadero Plaza proposals are also well documented, although DeMars' designs for them were not realized.