Memory of the Designed Landscape
An initial inventory (2021) of a possible collection policy was followed by a three-year programme (2022-2024) aimed at creating a broad consensus in which the importance of a careful management 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.
2022-2024 Programme
The Framework Programme aimed to stimulate 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 commissions and in preserving the cultural and historical value of gardens and landscapes. It focused primarily on exploring guidelines for a possible method for evaluating 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.
On 15 November 2024, Youssef Louakili from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) received the advisory report Geheugen van het ontworpen landschap [Memory of the Designed Landscape]
In addition to this written report, a physical presentation was made as part of the exhibition Garden Futures, on show at the Nieuwe Instituut from 15 November 2024 to 13 April 2025. Together, they form the conclusion of the Programme.