Constructed histories: storytelling and the practices of architectural conservation

A fundamental concern of the practices of architectural conservation is the protection of history, identity, and place, against a modernizing world that displaces and forgets. To achieve this, these practices have relied on recourse to the past, attaching themselves to the environment of old, as well as the atmosphere and social structures that characterized it. As a consequence, conservation has been guided by nationalist attitudes that seek to inscribe singular, dominant cultural codes onto the physical manifestation of history that is the built environment. Indeed, these practices, oriented through the antiquated lens of homogenizing nationalisms, attempt to transform the heterodoxies of the past into a new cultural orthodoxy. This thesis proposes, however, that practices of conservation should include, at their core, the recognition of genuine epistemic and social difference. A building can be conserved only through the understanding and employment of its own heterogeneous story, one that endures in and through its plurality of meanings, and transcends any particular moment in its own accumulated history. For this reason, this thesis will explore the intersection of social theory and architecture as a means to reach a critical understanding of the motivations and ramifications of conservation practices. In doing so, it will not only criticize the nature of traditional architectural conservation, but will also propose a framework of storytelling as a potential alternative for future practices of conservation that would result in a more ethical and equally representative forum.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Architecture (M.Arch.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Architecture

Grantor dc:publisher

Carleton University

Year dc:date.issued

2009

Author dc:creator

• Jensen, Nathan

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright © 2009 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, research, scholarship, and teaching. Theses may only be shared by linking to Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be used without proper attribution to the author. No part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

10.22215/etd/2009-08623

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:carleton.scholaris.ca:20.500.14718/31078