Landscape architectural documents in personal archives, an added challenge

the case of Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles' archive

Abstract

Incorporating architectural records into thematic archival institutions has been a common practice since the 1970s, a trend that has recently accelerated in the Portuguese context. The uniqueness of certain architectural records and collections has been an archival challenge, reflected by the several attempts to standardize their description in an ongoing process since the 1980s. While acknowledging the crucial work done by these institutions in preserving documents, there is also a tendency to focus on preserving fragments of an information system, which can have pernicious effects on understanding archives.

In an attempt to understand the composition and organization of archives in the field of landscape architecture and how they can restrict or distort archival classification and knowledge, a brief comparative analysis is conducted on the corpus of documentation of three archives under the custody of thematic institutions. For enhanced understanding, a concise overview of the discipline of landscape architecture and the roles played by its practitioners is provided. This comparative analysis attempts to demonstrate how a thematic approach, breaking organic ties, even if indelible, or underestimating lesser-known contexts or producer activities, can restrict or distort archival classification and knowledge.

The focus on Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles's archive and its ongoing organization, along with the analysis of a drawing from this archive, aims to demonstrate the need for a transition, especially in specialized or thematic institutions, from the construction of professional collections or archives to a focus on personal archives, which are organic aggregations of individuals who, during their lifetimes, also bequeathed records related to landscape architecture.