ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with all buildings, how they relate to the future at a particular moment in their lifespans and what that means as buildings age and become potential heritage assets. It examines one of the ‘ignored’ contexts, a building’s construction period. The chapter looks at non-completion in the contemporary built environment. It outlines some of the ways in which approaching buildings in this way has a potential to reveal interesting and useful aspects of building and buildings that are not available by examining any other point in time after the construction period. The chapter presents some short case studies, each of which examines public art projects focused on the creation of new buildings. It highlights potential new ways of working for archaeologists wishing to understand the spectre of non-completion and allowing archaeologists to factor consideration of it into their analysis of buildings.
