Docomomo US/MN board members at the Getty Center in Los Angeles
Originally billed as a ‘Once in a career opportunity,’ the 19th International Docomomo Conference was held in Los Angeles last month. The biennial conference was held in the US for only the second time since the founding of Docomomo.
And Docomomo US/MN was there.
The Minnesota chapter had a strong delegation in Los Angeles. Six members of the board attended the conference, all of whom participated as conference presenters or volunteers – at the registration tables, as session monitors, as tour captains and docents.
Docomomo US/MN board members connected formally and informally with counterparts from across the country, and indeed, from around the globe. Nearly 50 countries were represented by the 500+ conference attendees.
And the tours! The conference was bookended by opportunities to see iconic Mid Mod locations across Southern California. The MN attendees visited sites from Bakersfield to Long Beach, visiting iconic homes and office buildings designed by California icons Ray and Charles Eames, Paul R. Williams, Rudolph Schindler, Richard Neutra, John Lautner, and many, many others.
IDC also provided the opportunity for Docomomo chapters around the world to consider what is next for the organization – how we evaluate the impacts of mid-century architecture on present-day design; how we define Modernism in the 21st Century; and whether the Modern Movement, as it originated a century ago, continues to evolve in art, philosophy and the built environment…
“Past national conferences in the US have taken me to different American cities with distinct cultures I’m somewhat familiar with beforehand. Finding myself in LA among people from across the globe allowed me to really take in how this conference would be quite different.
The sessions provided a wide variety of research, practice, and debate. Each one introducing us to different environments, political influences, materials, methods, and designers. It is encouraging and inspiring to hear how others all around the world are fighting much of the same fight to preserve our modern heritage.
I am thankful so many from our Minnesota board were able to attend this conference to understand the broad array of work being done to educate, preserve, and document the modern movement throughout this international organization.”
– Amy Van Gessel, Docomomo US/MN Board President
“The focus of my conference track was largely on international presentations, ranging from histories of Modernism outside of North America and Europe, to adaptive reuse of mid-century buildings around the world. I learned new perspectives on Modern design – including its use as means for control and surveillance by colonial and authoritarian regimes – themes that I had never considered before. I also learned about vernacular uses and homemade adaptations of the Modernist vocabulary in post-war and post-colonial Vietnam and Senegal; and about brutalist design in the Middle East that flowed from early attempts at climate resiliency (and ironically, oil profits).
It was fascinating to hear from the Norwegian project architects about preserving and repurposing the Eero Saarinen-designed former US embassy building in Oslo, a site I visited in-person shortly after it reopened in 2024. Equally fascinating was learning about the ongoing renovation of the Walter Gropius-designed US embassy in Athens, a site I hope to visit during IDC 2028!
I will be processing the lessons learned from IDC 2026 for many months.”
– Ben Clasen, Docomomo US/MN Board Vice President
“I started the conference by helping the Docomomo US staff with organizing and ribboning the attendee badges and getting to know the layout of the USC Campus before diving into the first round of tours.
My first tour was Icons of Innovation, Neutra + Wright in Bakersfield where we visited 2 homes by Richard Neutra, 1 home by Frank Lloyd Wright, and one home by Charles Biggar. The next tour was A Day with Charles and Ray: Living + Working at the Eames House, which was a bucket list tour of mine. Tours later in the week consisted of Lines and Light: Inside the Sheats Goldstein Residence, Cars to the Curb: The Radical Vision of Baldwin Hills Village, and Killingsworth & Company: Modernist Mavericks in Long Beach.
The closing keynote and reception at The Getty was an impressive finish to what I will remember as one of the most exciting and inspiring weeks I have had with Docomomo.”
– Peter Barile, Docomomo US/MN Board Member
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