Construction History, Above and Beyond

Numerous scholars have underscored the inherent interdisciplinary character of Construction History over the past two decades. However, interdisciplinary exchanges with other historical disciplines are rare and not always explicit. In a new research project (2022-2026), entitled ‘Construction History, Above and Beyond. What History Can do For Construction History’, 13 scholars  aim to set up a true dialogue between construction history and other fields of history, in order to bring out the full richness and relevance of Construction History as an ‘inter’disciplinary link between various fields of history in a meaningful way, with mutual added value. The project is strategically built around the dialogue between Construction History and three other fields of history: Colonial History, Legal History and Planning History.  By crossing methods, theories and concepts from these fields, we initiate a novel approach to construction history, while also enhancing the disciplinary relevance of Construction History as a field with “a special flavour that is not to be found in other fields”. The systematic and methodical cross-overs furthermore allow to address important knowledge gaps, for instance by expanding the range of actors (e.g. less common but also highly relevant actors like developers, lawyers, urban administrations, etc.), sources (e.g. case law, archives of professional organisations, real estate brochures) and types of knowledge (e.g. tacit knowledge, practical knowledge or situated knowledge). In this paper, we will discuss the overall set-up, objectives and methodology of the research project, as well as the first insights into the challenges and added value of such interdisciplinary collaborations.