Twentieth-Century Historic Thematic Framework Document

The project to develop the Twentieth-Century Historic Thematic Framework was initiated in 2009 by the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Twentieth-Century Heritage (ISC20C). The objective was to look beyond the great works of architecture and consider the global historical context in which places were created. Applying the thematic approach to the twentieth century can lead to broader thinking about what constitutes the heritage of this era, helping guide researchers to identify a wide range of potentially significant sites. The framework can also support the World Heritage listing process by providing a tool to contextualize places nominated and assist assessors in their reviews, particularly in undertaking comparative analysis.

In 2011, the Conservation Institute began collaborating with ISC20 on the project, organizing and sponsoring a two-day meeting that brought together ISC20C thematic framework subcommittee members and an international group of invitees with expertise in a range of twentieth-century heritage types and experience with thematic frameworks, including representatives of several international heritage organizations. The group agreed that a thematic framework would be a valuable tool, developed a preliminary list of historic themes for the twentieth century, and identified sites that exemplified those themes. The work done during this meeting served as a starting point for the final project.

In 2016, the Conservation Institute proceeded with developing the framework. With an international project reference group serving in an advisory role, the Institute engaged a team of consultant historians to take the project forward. Working collaboratively with Conservation Institute staff and a representative of ISC20C, they identified the principal social, economic, political, and technological drivers that shaped the twentieth-century world, which were distilled into ten succinct, interconnected themes.

Themes

1. Rapid Urbanization and the Growth of Large Cities
2. Accelerated Scientific and Technological Development
3. Mechanized and Industrialized Agriculture
4. World Trade and Global Corporations
5. Transportation Systems and Mass Communication
6. Internationalization, New Nation-States, and Human Rights
7. Conserving the Natural Environment, Buildings, and Landscapes
8. Popular Culture and Tourism
9. Religious, Educational, and Cultural Institutions
10. War and its Aftermath

Each of the ten themes is explored in a brief essay that demonstrates how the theme is represented in twentieth-century buildings, landscapes, infrastructure, and urban areas. These essays are accompanied by charts that list related subthemes and types of places, as well as photo galleries that depict actual places that exemplify the themes. The essays, subthemes, and photo galleries are intended to stimulate broad thinking about the types of places identified as heritage in order to represent the twentieth century in all its complexity. The framework is not a history of the twentieth century, it provides a historical context that can be used to identify, compare, conserve, and interpret twentieth-century heritage places holistically.

Since 2021, the Conservation Institute has actively promoted the benefits of using a thematic approach in assessing and recognizing modern heritage through dissemination of the Twentieth-Century Historic Thematic Framework. To improve accessibility to an international audience, it has been translated into French and Spanish; additional translations are being considered.