Design and Making in Heritage Settings: The Role of the Polytemporal as a Means to Bridge Past, Present and Future in Contemporary Design Practice

Recent years have seen a growing tendency for designers to create and display work in response to heritage sites. While such projects often foreground a contrast between old and new, this paper explores how the idea of the polytemporal – the blending of past, present, and future practices – can underpin more sympathetic and sustainable approaches to design within historic contexts. Originally developed by archaeologist Michael Shanks as part of an archaeological imagination, the polytemporal encourages creative engagement with historic sites alongside traditional scholarship. We adapt this concept to inform contemporary design practices that engage with heritage and craft traditions. Drawing on our experience of staging exhibitions in collaboration with English Heritage, a national heritage body, we use specific artefacts and practices to illustrate a polytemporal sensibility. Case studies include Material & Memory at Brinkburn Priory (July-October 2024) and Make & Mend at Belsay Hall (from September 2025). These projects demonstrate how new works can draw on historic materials and practices while employing contemporary techniques and technologies. We argue that such approaches foster a dialogical engagement with heritage, renewing threatened crafts and offering alternative methodologies to support future making. The paper is grounded in practice-based research and combines insights from the authors’ own work with critical evaluation of other participants’ contributions.