Abstract
Building an information legacy requires method: identifying, selecting, and cataloguing information that can anchor future research demands a thorough archiving process, with accurate information access and rigorous preservation practice. Yet academic archives today must also respond to a broader cultural condition shaped by digital transformation and interdisciplinary collaboration. This paper discusses the development of an academic design archive as part of the wider GLAM ecosystem, where preservation, innovation and digital transformation coexist. It proposes a design-led framework that approaches archiving as a cultural and participatory process. Through literature review and institutional reflection, the study highlights the archive’s dual role: collecting and curating pedagogical outputs while activating them for new purposes such as exhibitions, partnerships, and critical discourse. The archive thus becomes a living system, sustaining academic memory, fostering creative renewal, and positioning design education within the post-digital landscape as a platform for continuity, participation, and ethical reflection.
Keywords
academic archives, digital cultural heritage, GLAM ecosystem, co-design
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.2433
Citation
Marques, A., Duque, J.F., and Figueiredo, F. (2026) Co-Designing Academic Archives: Design-Led Frameworks for Post-Digital Cultural Heritage, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.2433
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
Co-Designing Academic Archives: Design-Led Frameworks for Post-Digital Cultural Heritage
Building an information legacy requires method: identifying, selecting, and cataloguing information that can anchor future research demands a thorough archiving process, with accurate information access and rigorous preservation practice. Yet academic archives today must also respond to a broader cultural condition shaped by digital transformation and interdisciplinary collaboration. This paper discusses the development of an academic design archive as part of the wider GLAM ecosystem, where preservation, innovation and digital transformation coexist. It proposes a design-led framework that approaches archiving as a cultural and participatory process. Through literature review and institutional reflection, the study highlights the archive’s dual role: collecting and curating pedagogical outputs while activating them for new purposes such as exhibitions, partnerships, and critical discourse. The archive thus becomes a living system, sustaining academic memory, fostering creative renewal, and positioning design education within the post-digital landscape as a platform for continuity, participation, and ethical reflection.