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Disciples, Devotees, Scholars, and Friends
Full text linkIt is a long-standing and well-appreciated tradition of Docomomo International to emphasize its diversity expressed in buildings, sites, and neighborhoods due to different geography, language, education, and personalities. The term multiple modernisms has been coined to express regional, stylistic, and constructive differences in the formal and philosophical expression of Modern Movement across the globe, within the continents, and even within countries. Docomomo conferences and Docomomo Journals have used and interpreted the term over the last 30 years to express and acknowledge the diversity in the growing community of national working parties. We only need to refer to the recent Docomomo Journal no. 67 (2022) on Multiple Modernities in Ukraine1, or no. 36 (2007) on Other Modernisms2, published in parallel with the 2006 Docomomo International Conference in Istanbul and Ankara (Turkey) with the same title. Other issues highlighted local and regional particularities together and, at the same time, referenced common roots and personal links, such as the preservation technology dossier no. 13 on Perceived Technologies in the Modern Movement 1918-1975 published by the International Specialist Committee on Technology (ISC/T) in 2014. In that publication, the specific and long-term collaborations of architects with engineers and artists were explored often leading to exceptional solutions in structure, design, and function
Innovatory Kharkiv Mass Housing Estates in Urban Planning of the 1960s-1980s
Full text linkThe destructions of the Russo-Ukrainian war are leading to a rapid loss of cultural heritage in Ukraine, including contemporary 20th century monuments in Kharkiv, the cradle of Ukrainian modernism. At the greatest risk are the sites, which were complex and not well understood heritage before the war - mass housing estates of 1960s-1980s. In view of the postwar reconstruction, there is a great need to analyze mass housing estates in Kharkiv as potential objects of preservation. The purpose of this article is to reveal the architectural and historical value of the first Kharkiv mass housing estates in terms of their innovation, which might be the basis for further preservation steps. The article focuses on the three earliest areas of mass housing estates of the city - Pavlovo Pole, Novi Budynky and Saltovsky mass housing, which were designed and built during the period of the transition to rapid and large-scale pre-fabricated industry in the late 1950s - early 1960s. It is namely during the design and construction of these estates that innovatory technologies and approaches were developed and tested, which were later used in the construction of new housing estates both in Kharkiv and in other cities of Ukraine. These innovations included the system of microdistricts, the staggered system of services for the population, and the method of focusing in urban planning. The creation of a number of standard series of pioneering residential buildings for mass industrial development by the “Kharkovproject” and “Ukrmistostroyproject” design institutes. The study is based on the reconstruction of the historical chronology of design work of 1960’s - 1980’s in the history of Ukrainian city planning; a comparative analysis of the first-erected housing estates, and the definition of the unique solutions of Kharkiv city planners that were implemented in the development of the first housing estates in Kharkiv
Sites of Modern Industrial Heritage in Egypt and Iran: Local, National, and International Relevance for Conservation and Reuse
Full text linkThe countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have only recently discovered their modern industrial heritage as an object of conservation and future development. Through an in-depth analysis of four industrial sites in Egypt and Iran, testifying to a designated modern era, this article documents the complex historical process of industrialization and its political and economic background. Building on fieldwork, archive studies, workshops, and interviews, the article explores how built structures of modern industrial sites signify the multi-facetted, symbiotic, and exploitative international exchange behind the modernization of economies in the region. In the face of many obstacles to the conservation of this heritage, ranging from incomplete listings and ineffectual policies to high development pressures on urban land, this article aims to transcend the current Eurocentrism in industrial heritage research and practice, and encourage regional claims on this significant heritage
Kharkiv Modernism
Full text linkIn 2022, Docomomo International launched a call for papers on Modern Movement in Ukraine together with Docomomo Ukraine. More than 20 proposals were received, most of them from authors based in Ukraine itself—despite the difficult circumstances. The Docomomo Journal 67 presented a first selection of those articles to display regional and architectural particularities and current challenges of archiving, documenting, protecting, and preserving the modern heritage. Nearly 100 examples of Ukrainian modern buildings were presented in a graphical overview. The modern Ukranian architecture was dominated by Constructivism from the mid-1920s to the early 1930s, with Kharkiv as the epicenter of production, while Socialist Realism with the Stalin Empire emerged from 1932, lasting until 1955, with Kyiv as the capital of Ukraine. From December 1919 to January 1934, Kharkiv was the first capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the cultural, economic, and educational center of the new Ukrainian Republic. The status as new capital led to prestigious master plans and construction projects, among them the world-famous Derzhprom building at Freedom Square–as a symbol of Constructivism–or the Kharkiv Tractor Factory–as a symbol of the industrialization of agriculture. The leading role of Kharkiv as a forerunner and capital of Constructivism is often expressed by the famous State Industry House (Derzhprom) built from 1925 to 1928. Being the only modern ensemble in Ukraine nominated as UNESCO World Heritage, it became and still is the focus of identification and pride—despite the many controversial reflections and discussions about the conservation efforts and changes carried out since the original construction in the 1950s and after the year 2000. This explains the many articles dealing with Freedom Square and Dherzprom as a reaction to the call for papers in 2022 and also Docomomo International’s commitment to dedicate this special issue of the Docomomo Journal to Kharkiv under the title From Constructivism to Modernism in Kharkiv
The ETOM NEB-Lab for the New European Bauhaus and the ETOM – European Triennial of Modernism: Activating trans-European Modernism
No full textThe collaborative trans-European dimension of Modernism engenders particularly three huge potentials – especially exploring the developments beyond east and West dichotomies: first, a scope of incredibly rich and diverse modern cultural heritage, second the vital realm and diversity of historic protagonists as well as of current actors, topics, and formats and, third, its fruitful relevance and diverse perspectives for contemporary challenges and opportunities
The Higher School of Agriculture of Mograne (1947-1952) in Tunisia: A referential architectural work of Jean Pierre Ventre
No full textIn order to document the architectural production of the Modern Movement in Tunisia1, we propose in this article to study a major project in the production of academic institutions, the “Ecole d’Agriculture de Mograne” at Zaghouan in northern Tunisia. The school was designed by architect Jean Pierre Ventre (1913-1979) and his collaborator Marcel Faure (1882-?) and built between 1947 and 1952. The commission for this institution of higher learning, located in a verdant natural setting, was programmed with the political aim of bringing a breath of modernity to the country, breaking with the local traditional heritage. The complex is a classic example of structural modernity, in which the building’s layout reflects both the functional nature of the complex and its coherent integration into the surrounding context. The overall aesthetic of the building is based on a rigorous geometric composition, with horizontal and vertical lines giving it a monumental character. The individual parts, meanwhile, are rationally designed, giving them a functional dimension in terms of sun shading, circulation, or structural maintenance. The mixed use of jointed ashlar masonry and bush-hammered concrete lends stylistic coherence to the whole and has contributed to the school’s longevity and durability for over 70 years. For all its students, the school represents an exemplary academic environment where the memory of the place has left its mark on past generations and continues to do so. Over the years, the School of Mograne has been subject to a number of modifications. What’s more, several of the annex buildings are now in a state of neglect. This calls for urgent action to rehabilitate and reconvert these abandoned spaces. And even more importantly, the Mograne School of Agriculture needs to be protected and classified as a modern heritage and national heritage monument for the values it offers in terms of history, architecture, and environmental integration
Middle-Class by Design: Mass Housing Estates and the Consolidation of the Israeli Urban Middle-Class
Full text linkMiddle-class housing in the context of post-independence growth in Israel, where urban growth was guided by the massive construction of new neighborhoods and buildings, produced various types of shared dwellings which became the prevailing types of urban housing. While mass housing is discussed in the context of Israel as a key device of a modernization project on the national scale, with deep consequences for marginalized immigrants and the lower classes – it has rarely been studied as housing typology for the middle classes. Nonetheless, urban growth and national consolidation starting the 1960s led to an emerging urban middle class, whose housing was the product of diverse actors, including urban and national policy, private contractors, neighborhood associations, financial systems, architects, and planners. Yet, as the social category ‘middle class’ is muddled, how can we distinguish mass housing for the middle classes, or middle class housing?
This paper examines the architectural features of three middle-class mass housing estates built in Israel in the 1960s. Asking what constitutes the middle class, we point to the capacity of an architectural analysis to identify the designed elements that construct a middle-class identity within the context of shared urban dwellings. The three cases briefly examined include the Be’eri estate in Tel Aviv, Kiron estate in Kiryat Ono, and Shchuna Bet in Beer Sheba. The three estates, developed in the 1960s by commercial and semi-commercial companies explicitly for the emerging urban middle class, employ New Brutalist architectural and urban design principles in mitigating community and individuals, public and private, identity and property
What is Shared about African Modernism? What is African about Modern Heritage?
Full text linkThe Shared Heritage Africa (SHA) project focused on the rediscovery of modern university campuses and seminal buildings in West and East Africa from the 1950s to the 1970s. The project involved nine research fellows from Ghana, Nigeria, and Uganda, who conducted heritage research, local writing and photography workshops, exhibitions, and published content to document Africa’s built cultural heritage, eight of them are presented here. This initiative aimed to promote sustainable urban and social development, drawing on African and international efforts and targeting students and young professionals to foster social, cultural and political awareness
A Tropical Modern Architect: Prof. John Owusu Addo
Full text linkProfessor John Owusu Addo is a Ghanaian tropical modern architect and a pioneer in architectural education and practice in the nation-building of Ghana and other Commonwealth countries. His contributions to the modern architecture discourse seem to be overshadowed by the cohort of architects of both Western and Socialist origin who practiced in Africa during the decolonization era. The Community Center at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) campus in Kumasi-Ghana was designed by him; it represents a classic example of ‘unknown’ heritage within the narrative. This short essay examines both primary and secondary data, including unpublished interviews, master series events, articles, and papers to contextualize Prof. Owusu Addo as an exemplary protagonist to be explored for the benefit of tropical modern architects, especially in African settings
Reflections on the Impact of Tropical Modernism on African Primary Schools: A comparison of two schools in Sub-Saharan Africa
Full text linkThe architectural design of educational spaces in Sub-Saharan Africa after the 1950s was heavily influenced by Tropical Modernism, an architectural style that rose to prominence in Africa during the period of independence movements across the continent. Notably, in growing independent countries such as Rwanda and Ghana, educational buildings assumed profound symbolic significance as tangible representations of progress and development. This article explores the architecture of two primary schools, École Belge in Kigali, Rwanda and Republic Road School in Tema, Ghana. It highlights the role of standardization as well as the role of landscape and climate responsiveness in school designs and today’s impact of the school buildings on their respective communities. The two schools in Ghana and Rwanda were selected in order to draw on themes related to Anglophone and Francophone colonial influences. Through site visits and document analysis, general conclusions were drawn to describe how two schools built at the same time but in completely different parts of Sub-Saharan Africa are very similar and yet so different