EXPLORE

Buildings & Sites

Resources

2022 Theme: SHOPPING MALLS

2021 Theme: TRAVEL & LEISURE

2020 Theme: 70s TURN 50

2015 National Symposium Archive

RESOURCES

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 through 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.
Docomomo US has provided a handy "How to Evaluate Modern" for further reading.

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.

R​ESEARCH

Want to browse all the modern buildings and sites Minnesota has to offer? 
​
Want to know more about an Architect, builder, or building?  ​Want to research your own home? The University of Minnesota Architectural Archives provides a wonderful resource on drafting a house history. 

ORGANIZATIONS

​Docomomo US
Docomomo International
Duluth Preservation Alliance
Historic St. Paul
MNHS
Minnesota Modernism Tour
National Trust for Historic Preservation
Rethos (formerly Preservation Alliance of Minnesota)
Preserve Minneapolis
Picture
St. John's Abbey
Picture
St. Columba Church