The past has always had a profound influence on the present, and for contemporary designers there is significant value in the study of design history. Unfortunately, at a time when incredible value is placed on novelty and individual creativity, the narratives of the past often fall on deaf ears, written off as mere nostalgia (Hunt 2014, 1). Focusing on landscape architecture, this essay will defend the presence of history in contemporary thought and promote an active and critical engagement with the antecedents of design. It will be argued that the study of design history provides valuable self-reflection and a broader understanding of the context designers operate within, offers the ability to respond in an informed and sensitive manner to
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With an increasing concentration of projects in urban environments, the landscapes encountered by practitioners are likely to be pre-empted, recycled spaces rather than an idealised tabula rasa. In Historical Ground (2014, 6), Greg Hunt explains that landscapes are not from one particular time but rather possess multiple layers of history from different periods and cultures. Hunt uses the metaphor of a palimpsest to explain the way layers are erased, and new ones are built on top of the old. This metaphor is extremely useful for landscape architects. It takes skill, knowledge and a keen eye to detect and decipher faint texts on a parchment. It also involves a high degree of respect and caution when dealing with the physical parchment itself. One cannot assume to know what lies beneath the most recent layer or indeed which layer will prove to have significance. The same is true of landscapes and, as conscious and skilled designers, landscape architects must be able to approach sites with respect and an informed sensitivity that enables them to recognise cultural and historical value within the sites they operate …show more content…
The vital point is that, whether it occurs consciously or subconsciously the influence of historical forms and ideas on contemporary designers is inevitable (Beardsley 2006, 9). To take an anti-historical approach and dismiss history out of ignorance is a mistake that, as argued by Richardson, can only lead to mediocrity. A far more effective approach is to critically evaluate history and, if necessary, dismiss it from a position of knowledge (Richardson 2008, 97). This anti-historicist approach is by no means a new concept. In his essay On the Advantages and Disadvantages of History for Life (1997, 77) Friedrich Nietzsche writes “every man [sic] and every nation requires, in accordance with its goals, energies and needs, a certain kind of knowledge of the past…but always and only for the ends of life and thus also under the domination and supreme direction of these ends”. An awareness of the historical vocabulary of forms provided by a study of design history gives designers the power to construct contemporary narratives with coherence, regardless of whether that narrative is a continuation of past and present trends or a radical break to form the new (Willis 2009,
With an increasing concentration of projects in urban environments, the landscapes encountered by practitioners are likely to be pre-empted, recycled spaces rather than an idealised tabula rasa. In Historical Ground (2014, 6), Greg Hunt explains that landscapes are not from one particular time but rather possess multiple layers of history from different periods and cultures. Hunt uses the metaphor of a palimpsest to explain the way layers are erased, and new ones are built on top of the old. This metaphor is extremely useful for landscape architects. It takes skill, knowledge and a keen eye to detect and decipher faint texts on a parchment. It also involves a high degree of respect and caution when dealing with the physical parchment itself. One cannot assume to know what lies beneath the most recent layer or indeed which layer will prove to have significance. The same is true of landscapes and, as conscious and skilled designers, landscape architects must be able to approach sites with respect and an informed sensitivity that enables them to recognise cultural and historical value within the sites they operate …show more content…
The vital point is that, whether it occurs consciously or subconsciously the influence of historical forms and ideas on contemporary designers is inevitable (Beardsley 2006, 9). To take an anti-historical approach and dismiss history out of ignorance is a mistake that, as argued by Richardson, can only lead to mediocrity. A far more effective approach is to critically evaluate history and, if necessary, dismiss it from a position of knowledge (Richardson 2008, 97). This anti-historicist approach is by no means a new concept. In his essay On the Advantages and Disadvantages of History for Life (1997, 77) Friedrich Nietzsche writes “every man [sic] and every nation requires, in accordance with its goals, energies and needs, a certain kind of knowledge of the past…but always and only for the ends of life and thus also under the domination and supreme direction of these ends”. An awareness of the historical vocabulary of forms provided by a study of design history gives designers the power to construct contemporary narratives with coherence, regardless of whether that narrative is a continuation of past and present trends or a radical break to form the new (Willis 2009,