The story of the place

Abstract

Appointing the pedestrian crossing on Abbey Road (London, UK) as a listed monument is exemplary for the changing ideas on the preservation of monuments and historic sites in the last decades. This pedestrian crossing was not listed as a monument for its beauty, authenticity or its unique role in architectural history, which are normally criteria for a monumental status. It was listed because it was the décor of the Beatles last album cover and iconic for British pop music. The story of this spot, its cultural or human aspect which touched the physical world, is gaining importance in preservation in research as well as policy. In the Netherlands, this changing perspective started with the Nota Belvedere (Feddes, 1999) influencing transformation and preservations of sites, monuments and landscapes in the last decades. Identification and adaptation of the story of the place will contribute to define the meaning, identity and historic continuity of a place. But every place may have a great variety of stories to tell. Which story can be told in what way? This contribution will explore influence of culture on the landscape and therefor in the story of the place. Second, it explores a way of grouping of what kind of stories can be told in what way. Three various-small sized- Dutch transformation projects are described to explain this classification.