Do.co, mo.mo
DOCOMOMO (Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites and Neighbourhoods of the Modern Movement) is an international organization dedicated to the research, documentation, promotion, and conservation of modern architecture. The organization was founded in 1990 in the Netherlands, and Slovakia is one of its founding members. It is currently based at Delft University of Technology and brings together over 80 national working groups.
The Slovak docomomo working group also functions as an association within the Slovak Chamber of Architects. Its members—architects, historians, theorists, and architectural critics—are engaged in the research and presentation of modern architectural heritage, and their activities include the compilation of a national register of modernist heritage sites. The international register currently contains 101 buildings from across Slovakia and is in a state of constant development. Its expansion reflects shifts in focus and the progress of the organization’s research, as well as the programmatic themes of individual DOCOMOMO international conferences.
The list of buildings monitored and documented by the Slovak DOCOMOMO working group is being compiled in stages. The basic register of interwar modernist monuments, the so-called Top Register, was established in 1994 and included 29 of the finest examples of interwar modernism in Slovakia. Subsequently, in line with the focus of DOCOMOMO International, attention shifted to the modern heritage of the entire 20th century.
Further entries into the register were made in accordance with thematic areas specified by the International Committee for Registers. These included works of modern architecture serving sports and recreational activities (2003), works of late modernism (2004), family homes and villas (2005), modern works of distinctive regional or national character (2006), educational buildings (2007), architectural works representing the modern movement’s relationship to machinery and industry (2008), architectural works reflecting the connection between modernism and power (2009), and modern architecture of healthcare buildings (2010). In 2015, an additional 30 buildings were added to the international register. The international register is accessible on the MOMOVE virtual platform. In parallel with the creation of the international register, a national docomomo register is being developed. All works included in it are presented on the modern architecture register website.
Contact: docomomo.sk@gmail.com
