Docomomo Journal

Sites of Modern Industrial Heritage in Egypt and Iran

Mirhan Damir — 2024-07-01

The countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have only recently discovered their modern industrial heritage as an object of conservation and future development. Through an in-depth analysis of four industrial sites in Egypt and Iran, testifying to a designated modern era, this article documents the complex historical process of industrialization and its political and economic background. Building on fieldwork, archive studies, workshops, and interviews, the article explores how built structures of modern industrial sites signify the multi-facetted, symbiotic, and exploitative international exchange behind the modernization of economies in the region. In the face of many obstacles to the conservation of this heritage, ranging from incomplete listings and ineffectual policies to high development pressures on urban land, this article aims to transcend the current Eurocentrism in industrial heritage research and practice, and encourage regional claims on this significant heritage.

Recovering the Historical Construction and Materials of Erik Gunnar Asplund’s Stockholm Public Library

Patrick Fleming — 2024-07-01

This work presents the first detailed study of the construction and materials of the Stockholm Public Library. As the building undergoes a rare period of maintenance and renovation, the floors and walls of the library are examined from three perspectives. First, using available but limited archival documents and plans; second, with non-destructive ground-penetrating radar measurements; and finally, through on-site surveys during local interventions for the maintenance and renovation process. The ensuing results emphasize the complementary nature of this combined research approach in recovering lost or forgotten construction details and further reveal several important findings. In the case of the unique wall finishing of the library’s rotunda, multiple layers of lime mortar, each varying in thickness and coarseness, were used to build up and craft the relief-like interior wall surface. With the use of in-situ aerated concrete and prefabricated Solomite panels in the library’s 1931–32 floor construction, a material connection between Asplund and the broader modern movement in architecture is further highlighted. At first glance, these construction-related findings seem to reinforce the common architectural narrative of the library as a transitional project between neoclassicism and modernism. At the same time, however, the library’s separate periods of construction of 1925–28 and 1931–32 and their distinct materials can be seen as a continuity of construction culture, with the innovative use of local raw materials related to the Swedish landscape.

From Hospital to Criminal Justice Complex

Ivo Giroto — 2024-07-01

This article analyses the conversion of a big hospital and teaching complex, designed between 1968 and 1978 and commissioned by Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo to a team of architects led by Fábio Moura Penteado, into the biggest criminal justice complex in Latin America, since it was acquired by the State of São Paulo in the mid-1990s and opened in 1999. The architectural characteristics and the superlative scale of the complex constitute a privileged object to analyze the potentialities and limits of architectural flexibility, as well as how this concept is related to the modern project culture, specifically with the general strategies developed by the so-called Escola Paulista.

A Listed Public Heritage or Shopping Mall?

Renato Alves e Silva — 2024-11-14

The recognition of 20th-century architecture in Brazil is still a field restricted to specialists, which makes the remaining assets of this collection susceptible to defacement or even destruction. The designation of the Lagoa Rowing Stadium as a historic landmark by the city of Rio de Janeiro gives us the possibility of reflecting on the existing dispute between the public interest, protected by the listing in 2005, versus the financial voracity of private groups toward the asset in question. Grotesque defacement was undertaken starting in 2003 with the approval of the State and city administrations, including the intent to turn the sports complex into a business complex, thereby distorting the original proposal from the 1950s.

An Architect's House in Curitiba

Felipe Sanquetta — 2024-07-17

The study object of this paper is architect Manoel Coelho’s (1940-2021) house in Curitiba, Brazil. The main objective is the historiographical documentation and descriptive analysis of the residence’s architectural design. Projected by the architect and built in 1980-81, it is located on an urban plot in a residential neighborhood in Curitiba. It is characterized by the use of fair-face concrete and utilizing color as the main design element. This article begins with a description of the architect’s biography and then of the project itself, firstly through an analysis of the existing bibliographic references and then through a descriptive analysis of the house. The result of the documentation is a reproduction of the original project through plans, sections, and elevations. In parallel, current photographs taken during a survey illustrate the description. Through all these materials, we can better understand the effectiveness of the project documentation methodology and the contribution of this survey to new research on related subjects and, of course, on the production of this architect and others, whose work is still little researched and published.

From Newsletter to Open Issue

Uta Pottgiesser — 2024-11-14

Docomomo International is proud to present the first Open Issue of the Docomomo Journal. Creating the opportunity for scholars, practitioners, policy makers, activists or any other group of authors to publish in our journal without having to wait for a thematic Special Issue on a theme that would fit their topic felt like the logical next step in (the continued) continuing professionalization of the Docomomo Journal.
In the plan of action for the candidacy of Delft University of Technology as the new headquarters for Docomomo International – presented in 2021 – open access to the journal and expansion of its reach was advocated:
“In addition, Docomomo International aims to involve the Docomomo network more actively into the production of content – in particular linked with the new biannual conferences, seminars and workshops related to digitization, education and sustainability. This will strengthen the role of the Docomomo Journal as a link between Docomomo members, the Docomomo chapters to serve the Docomomo network, and its impacts on professional practices and the general public.”
The Open Issue aims for contributions that do not fit within the topic of the thematic Special Issues but fit the overall scope of the Docomomo Journal. All contributions to this open issue have had the same peer reviewing process, but instead of organized by guest editors, now under the wings of the editors-in-chief. The 2024 Open Issue features articles on the Lagoa Rowing Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, industrial heritage in Egypt and Iran, on Erik Gunnar Asplund’s Stockholm public library, the transformation of a former hospital to a criminal justice complex in São Paulo, and the House of Manoel Coelho in Curitiba.
The creation of a yearly Open Issue in addition to the two regular thematic Special Issues is the next step in the evolution of the Docomomo Journal, that once started as a simple Newsletter and evolved into an academic peer-reviewed and indexed journal (figure 1). The first Newsletter was published in 1989 and changed into a Journal in 1993 (no. 9). Starting with no. 28 in 2003 the lay-out and graphics of the Docomomo Journal changed tremendously, marking the transition into a more academic oriented journal. Another change in graphics took place in 2010, starting with no. 42 and Ana Tostões and Ivan Blasi as editors, also marking the move towards online publication of the individual articles in the Docomomo Journal. In 2022, with the special issue on Modern Plastic Heritage (no. 66) a new lay-out and publication scheme was adopted to accommodate fast online and open access publication of new issues of the journal and its individual articles.
The 2024 Open Issue (no. 71) marks the newest development and we call upon the Docomomo Community to continue using, referencing and contributing to the Docomomo Journal, not only to the thematic Special Issues, but also to the Open Issues.