Docomomo®

DOCOMOMO was set up to study and document the architecture of the Modern Movement, aiming to have this legacy recognised as part of our twentieth century culture, and to protect and preserve it.

Therefore it was essential to identify the buildings that comprise this heritage, find out the circumstances in which they were created, safeguard the project documents and assess their current condition. The Iberian DOCOMOMO Register has done this work in successive phases. During the first general phase 166 buildings in the Iberian Peninsula were identified as most representative of the period from 1925 to 1965, and this clarified the overall situation. In a series of subsequent phases the various themes of modern architecture were documented — industry, housing and social facilities. These studies were followed by a chronological extension of the Registers, which addressed the period between 1965 and 1975. The result is an extensive Register that includes the best architecture related to Modernism and that includes 2,438 buildings.

This work led to a theoretical discussion, not just about the various themes of the recorded works, but also other aspects including their relevance to the study period as well as protection and conservation of the buildings. Since 1997, therefore, seminars and biennial congresses have been held.

All this has given rise to various publications and exhibitions, essential for disseminating and publicising the architectural heritage of the twentieth century. These are about the first general register, completed in 1996, and the subsequent thematic registers covering industry, housing and social facilities. The publications, together with the archive, databases it generated and documentation of the seminars and congresses, make up a valuable group of documents.

Concentrating on the identification and study of the built heritage of modernity, there have been other activities. A review of the Register to highlight its most important buildings of the period 1925-1965 was carried out and incorporated, for the Spanish buildings, to the National Plan for the Protection of 20th Century Cultural Heritage, promoted by the Spanish Ministry of Culture. These activities are complemented with many others such as the Inventory of Spanish Twentieth Century Architecture with more than 6,000 entries in the database.