Conserving Modern Architecture Initiative
Advancing the conservation of twentieth-century heritage internationally
Project Details
- Categories
- Years 2012 – present
- Status
- Organizer
About
Goal
The Conserving Modern Architecture Initiative seeks to advance the practice of identifying, conserving, and sustaining the buildings, structures, landscapes, urban areas, and building materials that characterize twentieth-century built heritage.
Outcomes
- Three field projects on modern sites that model sound conservation methodologies and technical practices
- Training programs on conservation methodologies and technical practices delivered to midcareer professionals
- Public program series on modern heritage conservation, with thirteen events held to date
- An open access bibliography, Conserving Twentieth-Century Built Heritage, for conservation practitioners working with twentieth-century built heritage
- The 2013 Colloquium to Advance the Practice of Conserving Modern Heritage to examine the current state of the field and identify areas of outstanding need in order to develop actions to advance practice in this area of conservation. Report from the colloquium made public
- Free, published resources, more than twenty to date, covering a broad range of topics including conservation methodology and principles, management of twentieth-century heritage places, broadening our understanding of and appreciation for twentieth-century built heritage and conserving specific modern materials
- Conserving Modern Heritage book series, published by Getty Publications, to promote and demonstrate the application of sound conservation methods to modern heritage. Two titles published to date (Concrete and Managing Energy Use in Modern Buildings) with two titles forthcoming
- Conserving Modern Architecture issues of Conservation Perspectives in 2013 and 2023
Background
From the late 1980s, new conservation challenges emerged as the seminal works of the early modern era and midcentury gradually reached fifty years of age and became eligible for heritage protection. Many of these buildings have not aged well. The new and innovative construction methods and materials and new architectural forms and planning approaches that typify the era challenge traditional conservation approaches and raise new methodological and philosophical issues. Despite improved recognition of modern architecture's cultural significance, there is still a lack of practical conservation knowledge that addresses the many complex challenges. The Conserving Modern Architecture Initiative was established to respond to these challenges.
Approach
Project Team
Chandler McCoy, Project Manager, Senior Project Specialist; Ana Paula Arato Gonçalves, Associate Project Specialist; César Bargues Ballester, Associate Project Specialist; Elsa Haarstad, Assistant Project Specialist; Sara Lardinois, Project Specialist; Susan Macdonald, Head, Buildings and Sites; Gail Ostergren, Research Specialist; Margherita Pedroni, Project Specialist; Timothy Ong, Getty Graduate Intern (2023–2024)
Contact the Team
Projects in This Initiative
Concrete Conservation
Advancing the conservation of concrete heritage to secure sustainable, technically appropriate outcomes that preserve cultural significance
Contemporary Architecture in the Historic Environment
Creating methodologies and tools to guide the design of new buildings in historic environments and assess their impacts
Eames House Conservation Project
Advancing conservation and management of modern sites by modeling investigative techniques and conservation approaches at the Eames House
Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh, Environmental Management
Improving this historically significant museum’s interior environment to protect its collection and improve comfort for museum occupants
Salk Institute Conservation Project
Partnership with the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla to conserve their building’s historic teak window wall assemblies
Thematic Approach to Identifying and Assessing Twentieth-Century Heritage
A framework for promoting a broad understanding of the richness and diversity of twentieth-century heritage places
Training and Education on the Conservation of Modern Heritage
Advancing conservation and management of twentieth-century built heritage by developing and delivering a range of trainings and workshops
Resources
All Resources
- 2021
Publication
Managing Energy Use in Modern Buildings : Case Studies in Conservation Practice
- 2021
Publication
Twentieth-Century Historic Thematic Framework: A Tool for Assessing Heritage Places
- 2020
Publication
Cleaning Historic Concrete: A Guide to Techniques and Decision-Making
- 2020
Publication
A Global Survey on Education and Training for the Conservation of Twentieth-Century Built Heritage
- 2020
Publication
Conservation Principles for Concrete of Cultural Significance
- 2019
Publication
The Buildings of Louis Kahn: Conserving Exterior Wood
- 2019
Publication
Eames House Conservation Project Investigations: 2011–2016
- 2019
Publication
Concrete: Case Studies in Conservation Practice
- 2018
Publication
Eames House Conservation Management Plan Overview
- 2018
Publication
Eames House Conservation Management Plan
- 2017
Publication
Salk Institute for Biological Studies Conservation Project: Teak Window Wall Assemblies
- 2013
Publication
A Colloquium to Advance the Practice of Conserving Modern Heritage : Meeting Report
- 2013
Publication
Conserving Twentieth-Century Built Heritage: A Bibliography
- 2012
Video playlist
Modern Architecture
Related
Modern and Contemporary Art Research Initiative
Project
Multifaceted, long-term research program focusing on the many and varied conservation needs of modern and contemporary art
Built Heritage Research Initiative
Project
Uniting lab and field-based research to develop innovative approaches to the conservation of built heritage
Keeping It Modern
Project
Helping professionals and communities preserve 20th-century buildings around the world
Keeping It Modern Report Library
Database
Technical reports from grants for the conservation of 20th-century architecture
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Architecture & Design Collections Research Guide
Research guide
Conserving Black Modernism
Project
Preserving modern architecture in the United States by Black architects and designers
Conservation Perspectives, Conserving Modern Architecture issue (2023)
Magazine issue
Reflects on our work in recent years, but also on how the field itself has evolved during that time
Conservation Perspectives: Conserving Modern Architecture issue (2013)
Magazine issue
Discusses best-practice solutions for maintenance, repair, and renovation of modern architecture