Creative practices are at the heart of human history. Humans have responded creatively to a broad range of challenges—environmental, political, economic, social, religious, cultural—by shaping our tangible physical environment and our intangible cultural practices. Our present buildings, cities, and landscapes as well as our local cultures, socio-cultural behaviours, and lifestyles are the outcome of creative practices of many centuries. The structures of the past, their practices, and representations are part of our heritage. They condition how we live today and how we plan for tomorrow. To move forward, we must understand the how and why, the who and where, of past creative practices that have created our contemporary environment.