The Modern Heritage Programme
The Modern Heritage Programme was set up to reach the following objectives:
At the start of 2001 the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) and DOCOMOMO (Working Party for the Documentation and Conservation of buildings, sites and neighbourhoods of the Modern Movement) launched a joint programme for the identification, documentation and promotion of the built heritage of the 19th and 20th centuries - the Programme on Modern Heritage. With financial support from the government of the Netherlands, this programme focuses on raising awareness concerning the heritage of architecture, town planning and landscape design of the modern era, which is considered to be particularly vulnerable because of weak legal protection and low appreciation among the general public.The Programme on Modern Heritage aims to establish a framework of conceptual thinking on the significance of this heritage, its preservation and some of the pivotal issues concerning identification and valorisation. This framework is being developed through the various Regional Meetings on Modern Heritage, which have been implemented by the World Heritage Centre, and should facilitate further, more concrete studies and exercises undertaken by the States Parties concerned.
reference:http://whc.unesco.org/en/initiatives/36/
At a series of regional meetings it was tried to develop a framework of conceptual thinking on the significance of this heritage, its preservation and some of the pivotal issues concerning identification and valorisation.
UNESCO has identified this UNESCO World Heritage Sites as part of the modern heritage:
- Works of Antoni Gaudí
- Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin
- Skogskyrkogården
- Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona
- Hospicio Cabañas, Guadalajara
- Museumsinsel (Museum Island), Berlin
- Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus)
- Historic Quarter of the Seaport City of Valparaíso
- Rietveld Schröderhuis (Rietveld Schröder House)
- Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta (Brussels)
- Tugendhat Villa in Brno
- White City of Tel-Aviv -- the Modern Movement
- Muskauer Park / Park Muzakowski
- Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens
- Varberg Radio Station
- Luis Barragán House and Studio
- Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City
- Dresden Elbe Valley
- Le Havre, the City Rebuilt by Auguste Perret
- Urban Historic Centre of Cienfuegos
reference:http://whc.unesco.org/en/projects/66/
I will follow the activities of this network closely, because i have the impression that in many regions of the world modern heritage is not very well known, appreciated and promoted.
Some more links on modern architecture as a cultural heritage:
Docomomo International
World Heritage Papers 5: Identification and Documentation of Modern Heritage (PDF)
ICOMOS Activities on 20th century cultural heritage
Database on Modern Architecture
Skogskyrkogården, cemetery located in Stockholm, Sweden reference:WIKIPEDIA, GNU
