Memory of the Designed Landscape
In 2021, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science commissioned Nieuwe Instituut to investigate how to deal with archives in the field of garden and landscape architecture. How do we store this material, and how do we keep it accessible? This field currently lacks a clear repository for the archives that document its history. Materials struggle to find their way into cultural institutions, get fragmented or lost.
As a follow-up to the initial inventory (2021) of a potential collection policy, a three-year programme aimed to create a broad consensus whereby the importance of a careful handling of garden and landscape architecture archives is implemented in cultural policy as a public responsibility.
Inventory 2020-2021
Based on discussions and meetings with various stakeholders, this research focused primarily on the professional practices of Dutch garden and landscape architects. It mapped the playing field and explored the bottlenecks, opportunities for improvement and expectations for a long-term perspective for garden and landscape architecture archives. The research report was presented to Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven on 8 July 2021.
The programme aimed to provide the impetus for a shared and sustainable perspective on garden and landscape archives. It focused not only on preserving, sharing and interpreting the important archives, but also on using them in future design assignments and preserving the cultural-historical values of gardens and landscapes. It focused primarily on exploring the possible contours of a method for valuing and selecting garden and landscape architecture archives, and the associated network. In order to explore the possible forms of such a network and archive, the programme was organised around four concrete case studies.
Garden Futures
➝ Garden FuturesContact
The programme is coordinated by the Nieuwe Instituut. For more information about this programme, reach out to ontworpenlandschap@nieuweinstituut.nl or sign up for the newsletter through the button below.