ABOUT
Docomomo is the International working party for the documentation and conservation of buildings, sites, and neighborhoods of the modern movement. Docomomo US MN is the Minnesota chapter of Docomomo US.
MISSION STATEMENT
The primary objects of DOCOMOMO US MN are:
- To stimulate interest in, to educate the public about Modern architecture, and to advocate its preservation where appropriate;
- To make a register of important Modern buildings to be preserved and documented;
- To exchange knowledge and ideas about the field of Modern architecture and urban design and to share techniques about the documentation and conservation of the movement; and
- To act as a watchdog when examples of Modern architecture and urban design are in jeopardy.
HOW DOES DOCOMOMO DEFINE MODERNISM?
DOCOMOMO US states that a building or structure must have been designed and constructed during the Modern period, the duration of which we define as roughly the 1920s to the 1970s. In order to apply the label of “modern” to a built work, it must conform to the following definition of Modern:
- The Modern Movement was an artistic and architectural movement that embodied the unique early twentieth century notion that artistic works must look forward to the future without overt references to historical precedent.
- Modern design emphasized expression of functional, technical or spatial properties rather than reliance on decoration.
- Modern design was conscious of being modern: it purposefully expressed the principles of modern design.
Common Terms to Describe Modern Architecture:
Art Deco, Streamline, Moderne, Bauhaus, Prefabricated, International, Mid-Century, Atomic, Modern, Googie, Art Nuevo, Constructionist, Cubist, Futurism, Machine Age, Brutalist, Brutalism, Corporate Modern/Slick Skin, Curtain Wall, Geodesic Dome, International, Miesian, Neo Expressionism, New Formalism, Pavilion, Populuxe, Quonset Hut, Wrightian, Usionian.
LEARN MORE
Want to research your own home? The University of Minnesota Architectural Archives provides a wonderful resource on drafting a house history. This resource can be viewed at: www.lib.umn.edu/scrbm/naa/drafting
Want to browse all the modern buildings and sites Minnesota has to offer? Check out our Modern Registry.
Want to know more about an Architect, builder, or building? Check out these resources:
Northwest Architectural Archives: www.lib.umn.edu/scrbm/naa
Minnesota History Center Gale Family Library: sites.mnhs.org/library/
Minnesota Architects: A Biographical Dictionary by Alan K. Lathrop:
www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/minnesota-architects
AIA Guide to the Twin Cities by: Larry Millett: http://shop.mnhs.org/moreinfoMHSPress.cfm?Product_ID=1145
Want to browse all the modern buildings and sites Minnesota has to offer? Check out our Modern Registry.
Want to know more about an Architect, builder, or building? Check out these resources:
Northwest Architectural Archives: www.lib.umn.edu/scrbm/naa
Minnesota History Center Gale Family Library: sites.mnhs.org/library/
Minnesota Architects: A Biographical Dictionary by Alan K. Lathrop:
www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/minnesota-architects
AIA Guide to the Twin Cities by: Larry Millett: http://shop.mnhs.org/moreinfoMHSPress.cfm?Product_ID=1145
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