# Docomomo International

Docomomo International (sometimes written as DoCoMoMo or simply Docomomo) is a non-profit organization whose full title is: International Committee for Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites and Neighbourhoods of the Modern Movement.
Mrinalini Rajagopalan, author of "Preservation and Modernity: Competing Perspectives, Contested Histories and the Question of Authenticity," described it as "the key body for the preservation of modernist architecture".

## History

Its foundation was inspired by the work of ICOMOS, the International Council on Monuments and Sites, established in 1965. The work of Icomos was concerned with the protection and conservation of historical buildings and sites, whereas Docomomo was founded to take up the challenge of the protection and conservation of Modern Architecture and Urbanism.
Docomomo International was founded in Eindhoven in 1988 by Dutch architects Hubert-Jan Henket and Wessel de Jonge. Henket chaired Docomomo International with de Jonge as secretary until September 2000 when the International Secretariat relocated to Paris, where it was hosted by the Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine, in the Palais de Chaillot. The chair was Maristella Casciato, architect and architectural historian; with Émilie d'Orgeix, architectural historian, as secretary and Anne-Laure Guillet as director.
In 2008 there were 2,000 individual members. That year, 49 countries had national chapters and working parties of Docomomo. In 2010, the International Secretariat was relocated to Barcelona, hosted by the Fundació Mies van der Rohe. Ana Tostoes, architect and architect historian, chaired Docomomo International with Ivan Blasi, architect, as secretary. In 2014 the secretariat was transferred to the Instituto Superior Técnico at Lisbon, Portugal. Professor Tostoes remained as chair, with Zara Ferreira as secretary.

## Conferences and seminars

Docomomo holds biennial international conferences where the people related to conservation issues gather and exchange information and studies pertaining to their scholarly research. The list of conferences held until now is as follows:
| Session | Year | Date | Host city |
| 1 | 1990 | September 12–14 | Eindhoven |
| 2 | 1992 | September 16–19 | Bauhaus Dessau |
| 3 | 1994 | September 16–19 | Barcelona |
| 4 | 1996 | September 18–20 | Bratislava and Sliac |
| 5 | 1998 | September 16–18 | Stockholm |
| 6 | 2000 | September 20–22 | Brasília |
| 7 | 2002 | September 16–21 | Paris |
| 8 | 2004 | September 26 – October 2 | New York City |
| 9 | 2006 | September 26–29 | Istanbul and Ankara |
| 10 | 2008 | September 13–20 | Rotterdam |
| 11 | 2010 | August 24–27 | Mexico City |
| 12 | 2012 | August 7–10 | Espoo |
| 13 | 2014 | September 24–27 | Seoul |
| 14 | 2016 | September 6–9 | Lisbon |
| 15 | 2018 | August 28–31 | Ljubljana |
| 16 | 2020 | September 10–14 | Tokyo |
| 17 | 2022 | September 6–9 | Valencia |
| 18 | 2024 | December 10–14 | Santiago |
The International Scientific Committee on Technology (ISC/T) organizes seminars covering the following themes: restoration of reinforced concrete structures, curtain-wall facades, windows and glass, wood and the modern movement, colours in modern architecture and stone in modern buildings.
Seminars and conferences are often held in key modernist buildings, as for instance at Alvar Aalto’s Vyborg Library (2003 ISC/T seminar), Brinkman and Leendert van der Vlugt's Van Nelle factory in Rotterdam (2008 Conference), and Gordon Bunshaft's Lever House in New York (closing party at 2004 Conference).

## Publications

The docomomo Journal is an international periodical that, since 1990, regularly summarizes recent research on the sites and buildings of Modern Movement. It is a bi-annual publication featuring articles by noted architecture practitioners and scholars, addressing all facets of Modern Movement architecture, from history and design concepts to conservation, technology or education.
| ISSUE | TITLE | YEAR |
| 1 | Newsletter 1 | August 1989 |
| 2 | Newsletter 2 | January 1990 |
| 3 | Newsletter 3 | June 1990 |
| 4 | Newsletter 4 | March 1991 |
| 5 | Newsletter 5 | June 1991 |
| 6 | Newsletter 6 | November 1991 |
| 7 | Newsletter 7 | June 1992 |
| 8 | Newsletter 8 | January 1993 |
| 9 | Technology | July 1993 |
| 10 | | November 1993 |
| 11 | North America | June 1994 |
| 12 | Metal | November 1994 |
| 13 | Latin America | June 1995 |
| 14 | The Image of Modernity | November 1995 |
| 15 | Curtain Wall Refurbishment | July 1996 |
| 16 | Urbanism, Gardens & Landscape | March 1997 |
| 17 | Exposed Concrete | September 1997 |
| 18 | | February 1998 |
| 19 | Nordic Countries | July 1998 |
| 20 | Windows to the Future Anniversary Issue – 10 Years Docomomo | January 1999 |
| 21 | | June 1999 |
| 22 | Modern Houses | May 2000 |
| 23 | The Modern City Facing the Future | August 2000 |
| 24 | | February 2001 |
| 25 | | July 2001 |
| 26 | Engineering the Future | December 2001 |
| 27 | The History of Docomomo | June 2002 |
| 28 | Modern Heritage in Africa | March 2003 |
| 29 | Modernism in Asia Pacific | September 2003 |
| 30 | 2003 A Year of Docomomo Activities | March 2004 |
| 31 | Modernism in the US after World War II | September 2004 |
| 32 | New Frames | March 2005 |
| 33 | The Modern Movement in the Caribbean Islands | September 2005 |
| 34 | France-Brazil Round Trip | March 2006 |
| 35 | Modern Architecture in the Middle East | September 2006 |
| 36 | Other Modernisms: A Selection from the Docomomo Registers | March 2007 |
| 37 | Places of Modernism | September 2007 |
| 38 | Canada Modern | March 2008 |
| 39 | Postwar Mass Housing | September 2008 |
| 40 | Tel Aviv 100 Years | March 2009 |
| 41 | Nine Favorite Architects | September 2009 |
| 42 | Art and Architecture | Summer 2010 |
| 43 | Brasilia 1960–2010 | 2010/2 |
| 44 | Modern and Sustainable | 2011/1 |
| 45 | Bridges and Infrastructure | 2011/2 |
| 46 | Designing Modern Life | 2012/1 |
| 47 | Global Design | 2012/2 |
| 48 | Modern Africa, Tropical Architecture | 2013/1 |
| 49 | For an Architect's Training | 2013/2 |
| 50 | High Density | 2014/1 |
| 51 | Modern Housing. Patrimonio Vivo | 2014/2 |
| 52 | Reuse, Renovation and Restoration | 2015/1 |
| 53 | LC 50 Years After | 2015/2 |
| 54 | Housing Reloaded | 2016/1 |
| 55 | Modern Lisbon | 2016/2 |
| 56 | The Heritage of Mies | 2017/1 |
| 56 | The Heritage of Mies – SECOND EDITION | 2019/1 |
| 57 | Modern Southeast Asia | 2017/2 |
| 58 | Louis I. Kahn. The Permanence | 2018/1 |
| 59 | An Eastern Europe Vision | 2018/2 |
| 60 | Architectures of the Sun | 2019/1 |
| 61 | Education and Reuse | 2019/2 |
| 62 | Cure and Care | 2020/1 |
| 63 | Tropical Architecture in the Modern Diaspora | 2020/2 |
| 64 | Modern Houses | 2021/1 |
| 65 | Housing for All | 2021/2 |
| 66 | Modern Plastic Heritage | 2022/1 |
| 67 | Multiple Modernities in Ukraine | 2022/2 |

## Work at national level

Many countries have national Docomomo working parties, as either part of academic establishments or architecture federations. They may define gazetteers of important structures to be protected, such as DoCoMoMo Key Scottish Monuments and DoCoMoMo Architectural Masterpieces of Finnish Modernism, or support local campaigners.
Preservation work by Docomomo together with others was recognised by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection after a 2009 charrette to protect the former Bell Labs Holmdel Complex.