Landscape Heritage: Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development in Past and Present (Leiden University)
Heritage Landscape Design (TU Delft)
This transdisciplinary course is part of the LDE Global Heritage and Development program. Some lectures are combined with lectures given in the course Heritage Landscape Design at TU Delft. Within the closing workshop students from Leiden and Delft cooperatively work on research-based and heritage-inclusive narrating designs.
This pilot-year students from Erasmus Rotterdam can join the course in Leiden or Delft.
Spatial planning is inherent to people's nature. From the onset of a sedentary lifestyle, and even earlier, humans worldwide started structuring their environment, often with major sometimes unintended consequences. Over time the landscape was increasingly adapted instead of man adapting to the landscape.
Contemporary spatial planning is gradually more aimed at managing human impact on (future) environment; focused on the sustainable use and governance of natural resources, biodiversity but also at the protection and integration of ‘heritage’. Heritage-inclusive spatial planning is first of all about the Past in the Present: what to preserve? how to bring it back? etc.) but also about the Past in the Past: what role did older relicts (heritage values) play in (pre)historic landscapes? In short: what is the biography of landscapes in Past and Present?
Landscapes are palimpsest having a layered character illustrating their deep history. This course challenges students to (re)place and/or -value designated archaeological and historical sites within contemporary environments, in order to make them visible to present and future inhabitants/visitors. Students work on real-world challenges realizing that landscapes can also contribute to a sense of belonging and (social) well-being. The focus will be on the Genii Loci, the spirit and story of a place.
Designing resilient heritage-inclusive landscapes
You are challenged to perceive spatial developments in a long-term and layered perspective on the landscape, and to make an integrated, experienceable and sustainable plan, while taking into account the preservation and perception of the past considering the various stakeholders and target groups.
This course consists of a combination of a series of lectures, tutorials and assignments, concluded by a presentation of a thought-out design idea of a given development area incorporating a (pre)historical heritage landscape. An important goal is to challenge students to plan sustainable developments with a focus on the future and the experience of the past in the present whereby heritage values are preserved to the fullest: ‘protection through development’.
The design ideas form input for the concluding workshop. During the workshop you'll team up with students from different disciplines. Together you will debate theories on e.g. place-making, story-telling, etc. You will prepare proposals to modify a heritage site in cooperation with stakeholders and governmental bodies. The workshop results in a heritage-inclusive design which will be presented and discussed to local stakeholders and authorities.
Course objectives
Ability to:
· Understand how landscapes are built up (layers and spatial (pre)historic design);
· Systematically identify, visualize and value the main characteristics of the (cultural) landscape design project as a continuous process in time;
· Gain insight in the international and national perspectives on heritage landscapes and management;
· Know which stakeholder and target groups need to be involved in development plans and know how to make a stakeholder analysis including the different interests of these groups;
· Gain an understanding of designing heritage landscape development projects as part of interdisciplinary professional design teams.
· Take a critical stance and reflect on plans of portraying a past in a present landscape;
· Use proper methods and tools to create a visionary transformation plan and present it to a larger audience;
· Communicate effectively your design ideas within a multidisciplinary setting with and for local stakeholders.
