As the built heritage of the 20th century is increasingly understood, appreciated, and protected, architects and conservators need to acquire a complex array of skills for managing it.
To address these problems, Getty has launched the International Course on the Conservation of Modern Heritage, conceived by the Getty Conservation Institute as a hybrid course for mid-career professionals. The course offers its participants an opportunity to connect with other professionals from around the world and gain practical conservation knowledge that they can apply to their own local modern heritage projects.
After nine weeks of remote online teaching, a final two-week in-person component will bring the participants to Los Angeles, a city of modern masterpieces. From August 6–19, participants from six continents, along with a group of expert instructors, will converge on Los Angeles to meet each other, visit important modern sites, and apply their knowledge to local case studies.
The course uses modern sites in Los Angeles such as the Eames House (Charles and Ray Eames), Hollyhock House (Frank Lloyd Wright), and the Reunion House (Richard Neutra), among others, as case studies that will allow focused, hands-on study. There will also be a trip south to the Louis Kahn-designed Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the campus of UCSD, both in La Jolla, to examine completed and ongoing conservation projects.
For those planning the course, Los Angeles seemed like a natural fit for this experience.
“Not only are participants given classroom instruction, but they will also gain firsthand experience at modern landmarks across Los Angeles that face many of the challenges we address in the online course,” says Chandler McCoy, senior project specialist at Getty. “We’re using Neutra’s Reunion House as a case study project, and they’ll get up close and personal with this important site while at the same time considering possible strategies for its future preservation.”
The course builds on previous courses developed and delivered by Getty’s Conserving Modern Architecture Initiative, which seeks to advance the conservation of 20th-century built heritage around the world.
For more information, visit the International Course on the Conservation of Modern Heritage webpage.