Docomomo International

Docomomo International, also written as DoCoMoMo or Docomomo, is an international nonprofit organization focused on the documentation and conservation of buildings, sites, and neighborhoods associated with the Modern Movement in architecture and urbanism. Its work addresses a preservation challenge that differs from the protection of older historic monuments: many modernist structures were built with experimental materials, industrial construction systems, open plans, curtain walls, reinforced concrete, and relatively recent technologies that can be difficult to repair, authenticate, or adapt. The organization provides a scholarly and professional framework for identifying the cultural value of this twentieth-century heritage and for encouraging its responsible conservation. The organization was founded in Eindhoven in 1988 by Dutch architects Hubert-Jan Henket and Wessel de Jonge. Its creation was influenced by the work of ICOMOS, the International Council on Monuments and Sites, established in 1965. Whereas ICOMOS had developed broad international approaches to the protection and conservation of historic buildings and sites, Docomomo was formed to address the particular conditions of modern architecture and urbanism. These included the vulnerability of buildings that were often considered too recent to merit protection, the deterioration of innovative materials, changing technical standards, redevelopment pressure, and disagreements about authenticity and acceptable alteration. Docomomo operates through an international network of national chapters and working parties. These groups may be based within universities, professional associations, or architectural institutions. Their activities include preparing inventories and gazetteers, organizing lectures and conferences, advising on threatened buildings, supporting local preservation campaigns, and sharing technical research. The network has expanded to more than 80 countries, giving the organization a broad geographic reach while retaining a strong connection to local architectural histories. A central part of Docomomo's public and scholarly role is its program of biennial international conferences. These meetings bring together architects, historians, conservation specialists, engineers, academics, and other participants to exchange research on the history, design, technology, and preservation of Modern Movement sites. The organization also supports specialist seminars through its International Scientific Committee on Technology. Topics have included reinforced-concrete restoration, curtain-wall façades, windows and glass, timber, color in modern architecture, and stone used in modern buildings. Meetings are frequently held in significant modernist buildings, linking research and professional discussion to the places under consideration. Docomomo publishes the docomomo Journal, an international periodical established in 1990 and issued twice yearly. The journal covers the history and design concepts of Modern Movement architecture as well as conservation methods, materials technology, education, and current research. Through this publication and its conferences, the organization has helped frame modernist architecture as a heritage field requiring specialized historical and technical knowledge. The international secretariat has moved several times. After operating in Eindhoven, it relocated to Paris in 2000, where it was hosted by the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine at the Palais de Chaillot. It moved to Barcelona in 2010 under the hosting of the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, then transferred to the Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon in 2014. From 1 January 2022, the secretariat has been hosted by TU Delft's Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment. The organization remains active as a network, publisher, conference organizer, and advocate for the recognition and conservation of modern architectural heritage.

Docomomo International emerged from the growing recognition that twentieth-century modern architecture required its own methods of heritage documentation and conservation. Earlier international preservation institutions, particularly ICOMOS, had established important principles for protecting historic buildings and sites, but much modernist architecture remained outside conventional preservation systems. Modern Movement buildings were often relatively young, technically experimental, and constructed from materials whose deterioration patterns were not well understood. They were also vulnerable to redevelopment because their cultural significance had not yet been widely accepted. In 1988, Dutch architects Hubert-Jan Henket and Wessel de Jonge founded Docomomo International in Eindhoven. The organization's name reflects its original purpose: documentation and conservation of buildings, sites, and neighborhoods of the Modern Movement. Its remit encompasses not only individual landmark buildings but also urban ensembles and the social, technological, and cultural ideas associated with modern architecture. The organization developed as a network in which national working parties could investigate local examples while contributing to international research and advocacy. Henket served as chair and de Jonge as secretary during the organization's first period. In September 2000, the international secretariat moved to Paris, where the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine hosted it at the Palais de Chaillot. During this period, Maristella Casciato served as chair, Émilie d'Orgeix as secretary, and Anne-Laure Guillet as director. The Paris base strengthened the organization's links with architectural scholarship, cultural institutions, and European conservation networks. In 2010, the secretariat moved to Barcelona and was hosted by the Fundació Mies van der Rohe. Ana Tostões became chair and Ivan Blasi served as secretary. The Barcelona period connected Docomomo's international activities with an institution closely associated with the study and interpretation of modern architecture. In 2014, the secretariat transferred to Lisbon at the Instituto Superior Técnico. Tostões continued as chair and Zara Ferreira became secretary. A major part of Docomomo's history has been its conference and seminar program. Biennial international conferences provide a forum for research and professional exchange on modernist buildings, sites, neighborhoods, and conservation policy. The International Scientific Committee on Technology organizes more specialized meetings concerning the practical challenges of conservation. Its themes have included reinforced-concrete structures, curtain-wall façades, windows and glass, timber, color, and stone in modern buildings. Holding events in important modernist buildings has made the sites themselves part of the educational experience. Examples cited in the organization's history include the 2003 seminar at Alvar Aalto's Vyborg Library, the 2004 conference's closing event at Gordon Bunshaft's Lever House in New York, and the 2008 conference at the Van Nelle Factory in Rotterdam. Publication has been another continuing activity. The docomomo Journal, first issued in 1990 and published twice each year, reports on research and debate concerning Modern Movement architecture. Its scope extends from architectural history and design theory to conservation practice, materials, technology, and education. The journal helps connect national working parties and provides a durable scholarly record of buildings and preservation questions that may otherwise receive limited attention. At national level, Docomomo chapters and working parties have prepared lists and inventories of significant modernist buildings. Examples include documentation of key Scottish monuments and architectural masterpieces of Finnish Modernism. These groups can also support campaigns to protect threatened sites. In the United States, Docomomo's work with other organizations was recognized by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection following a 2009 charrette concerning the former Bell Labs complex in Holmdel. From 1 January 2022, TU Delft's Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment became the host of the international secretariat. By that point, the network included chapters in more than 80 countries. Docomomo International continues to function as a distributed professional and scholarly organization rather than as a commercial product company. Its influence comes from assembling expertise, creating documentation, disseminating research, convening conservation debates, and helping establish modernist buildings and urban environments as legitimate and technically demanding heritage.

• 2022

  TU Delft becomes host institution

  [1]Docomomo Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  Beginning on 1 January, TU Delft's Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment hosted the international secretariat.

• 2014

  Secretariat transfers to Lisbon

  [1]Docomomo Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  The organization moved its international secretariat to the Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, Portugal.

• 2010

  Secretariat moves to Barcelona

  [1]Docomomo Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  The secretariat relocated to Barcelona under the hosting of the Fundació Mies van der Rohe.

• 2008

  International conference at the Van Nelle Factory

  [1]Docomomo Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  A Docomomo conference was held at the Van Nelle Factory in Rotterdam, an important example of Dutch modernist industrial architecture.

• 2003

  Technology seminar at Vyborg Library

  [1]Docomomo Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  The International Scientific Committee on Technology held a seminar at Alvar Aalto's Vyborg Library, connecting technical conservation research with a significant Modern Movement building.

• 2000

  Secretariat moves to Paris

  [1]Docomomo Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  The international secretariat relocated to Paris and was hosted by the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine at the Palais de Chaillot.

• 1990

  Launch of the docomomo Journal

  [1]Docomomo Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  The organization began publishing its international periodical on modernist architecture, history, conservation, technology, and education.

• 1988

  Foundation in Eindhoven

  [1]Docomomo Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  Hubert-Jan Henket and Wessel de Jonge founded Docomomo International to address the documentation and conservation of Modern Movement architecture and urbanism.

An international specialist network and knowledge platform for the documentation, research, advocacy, and conservation of twentieth-century Modern Movement architecture and urbanism.

• Scholarly publication · 1990

  docomomo Journal

  An international periodical published twice a year since 1990. It covers the history, design concepts, conservation, technology, and education of Modern Movement architecture, bringing together research by architects, historians, conservation professionals, and other specialists.

• Professional and academic events

  International conferences

  Biennial international conferences convene researchers, architects, historians, engineers, and conservation practitioners to exchange studies and debate the preservation of modernist buildings, sites, and urban areas.

• Technical conservation seminars

  International Scientific Committee on Technology seminars

  Specialist seminars addressing the technical conservation of Modern Movement buildings. Topics have included reinforced concrete, curtain-wall façades, windows and glass, timber, architectural color, and stone used in modern buildings.

• Heritage documentation

  National documentation and gazetteers

  Programs conducted by national chapters and working parties to identify, research, and record important examples of modernist architecture. Documented outputs include lists of key Scottish monuments and architectural masterpieces of Finnish Modernism.

• 2009Bell Labs Holmdel Complex preservation charrette

  United States · New Jersey

  Docomomo worked with other participants in a 2009 charrette concerning the protection of the former Bell Labs complex in Holmdel, New Jersey, a major modernist research and office campus.

  Outcome. The preservation work was subsequently recognized by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

  Source

• 2022

  Secretariat hosted by TU DelftStrategy

  Background

  Docomomo's distributed international structure continued to rely on an academic host for its central secretariat.

  Action taken

  From 1 January 2022, TU Delft's Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment became the host institution.

  Aftermath

  The international secretariat returned to the Netherlands, where the organization had originally been founded, while its national network continued to span more than 80 countries.

  Source

• 2014

  Transfer of the secretariat to LisbonStrategy

  Background

  Following its Barcelona period, Docomomo changed its institutional host while maintaining its international network.

  Action taken

  The international secretariat transferred to the Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, Portugal.

  Aftermath

  Ana Tostões remained chair and Zara Ferreira became secretary during the Lisbon-based period.

  Source

• 2010

  Relocation of the secretariat to BarcelonaStrategy

  Background

  Docomomo continued to use host institutions to support its international secretariat and scholarly network.

  Action taken

  The secretariat moved to Barcelona under the hosting of the Fundació Mies van der Rohe.

  Aftermath

  The organization continued its conference, publication, and technical conservation programs from a host institution closely associated with modern architecture.

  Source

• 2000

  Relocation of the international secretariat to ParisStrategy

  Background

  After its founding period in Eindhoven, Docomomo International sought a new institutional base for its expanding international network and conservation activities.

  Action taken

  The secretariat moved to Paris and was hosted by the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine at the Palais de Chaillot.

  Aftermath

  The move placed the organization within a major architectural and heritage institution and began a sequence of later relocations among host institutions.

  Source

1. 1Docomomo Internationalen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Docomomo International official websitedocomomo.com