About // Mission // Eindhoven-Seoul Statement // Constitution // International Secretariat // Executive Commitee // Advisory Board

Mission

In the last decades, the architectural heritage of the modern movement appeared more at risk than during any other period. This built inheritance glorifies the dynamic spirit of the Machine Age. At the end of the 1980s, many modern masterpieces had already been demolished or had changed beyond recognition. This was mainly due to the fact, that many were not considered to be elements of heritage, that their original functions have substantially changed and that their technological innovations have not always endured long-term stresses.

Docomomo International’s missions are to:

• act as watchdog when important modern movement buildings anywhere are under threat
• exchange ideas relating to conservation technology, history and education
• foster interest in the ideas and heritage of the modern movement
• elicit responsibility towards this recent architectural inheritance.

Since its creation, DOCOMOMO International has experienced a rapid growth, establishing itself as a major player not only in the realm of conservation, but also in the broader field of architectural culture. The pluralist, interdisciplinary nature of DOCOMOMO International, due to its ability to bring together historians, architects, town-planners, landscape architects, conservationists, teachers, students and public officials, has been a strong asset.

Eindhoven-Seoul Statement

Docomomo’s main goals are brought together in the Eindhoven Statement which was issued at the conclusion of the founding conference in 1990. It was updated in Seoul, 2014, where it was approved the Eindhoven-Seoul Statement:

Docomomo International is a non-profit organization dedicated to the documentation and conservation of buildings, sites and neighborhoods of the Modern Movement. It aims to:

• Bring the significance of the architecture of the Modern Movement to the attention of the public, the authorities, the professionals and the educational community.
• Identify and promote the surveying of the works of the Modern Movement.
• Promote the conservation and (re)use of buildings and sites of the Modern Movement.
• Oppose destruction and disfigurement of significant works.
• Foster and disseminate the development of appropriate techniques and methods of conservation and adaptive (re)use.
• Attract funding for documentation conservation and (re)use
• Explore and develop new ideas for the future of a sustainable built environment based on the past experiences of the Modern Movement.

Constitution

DOCOMOMO International’s Constitution and its appendices were approved in Eindhoven on September 14, 1990. It was:

Amended in Dessau, September 18, 1992 (see Newsletter 8, p.8)
Amended by written vote, May 1, 1993 (see Journal 9, p.10-11)
Amended in Barcelona, September 16, 1994 (see Journal 12, p.8-10)
Approved in Sliac, September 20, 1996
Amended in Delft, December 15, 2000
Amended in Mexico City, August 26, 2010 (see Journal 43, p.88)
Amended in Seoul, September 24, 2014 (see Journal 51, p. 89-91)
Amended in Valencia, September 8, 2022

Download the 2022 revision of the DOCOMOMO Constitution here (pdf).

International Secretariat

The DOCOMOMO International Secretariat serves as the general communication between the various regional, national and individuals initiatives, by maintaining an information network about people and their activities, as well as about Modern Movement buildings in danger. The chair and the secretary are responsible for general international activities and the DOCOMOMO International Secretariat.

Secretary General

Wido Quist (1977) is associate professor in building conservation and historic building materials (since 2013) as well as Section Leader Heritage & Architecture at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment of Delft University of Technology (since 2018). Wido Quist holds a double master degree in both Architecture and Building Technology from TU Delft (2003) and he obtained his PhD in building conservation in 2011 on the topic of replacement of natural stone during conservation where he focussed on the decision process in the subsequent conservation campaigns. He is involved in education of master students in architecture with a specific focus on building conservation and (technical) adaptation of existing buildings to future needs.

Wido Quist is chairman of Docomomo Netherlands since 2015 after he joined the board in in 2005. He was one of the initiators, main organiser and vice-chairman of the 10th International Docomomo Conference with the theme “The Challenge of Change – Dealing with the legacy of the Modern Movement”, hosted at the Van Nelle Factory in Rotterdam in 2008. He joined many national and international Docomomo events.

Dutch is his mother tongue and he is a proficient user of English and holds a University Teaching Qualification. He acts as visiting critic, PhD reviewer, reviewer for institutions and conferences as well as advisor for provincial authorities. He was involved in (co-)organising and (co-)chairing over thirty conferences on a wide range of topics, in EU COST- programmes, DOCOMOMO, WTA as well as the Flemish-Dutch days on natural stone and some unique events such as ‘Culturele draagkracht’. As a speaker, he contributed to a broad range of national and international academic and professional events, such as conferences, seminars, open lectures, etc. This includes conferences like the International Conference on Durability of Building Materials and Components, national and international Docomomo conferences, International Congresses on Construction History, seminars organised by the Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency, specialist meetings on natural stone, lectures organised by local heritage organisations, etc.

His recently finished and ongoing research projects include the NWO financed KIEM project “Schokkende Ontdekkingen” dealing with the concrete recipes of Schokbeton N.V., the “concrete” in the Getty – Keeping it Modern granted research on the Aula of TU Delft. He is involved in the KaDER project – related to the various aspects of sustainability – commissioned by the Province of Gelderland and a project granted by the Dutch Government to study the energetic performance of historic massive brickwork masonry.

For more information click HERE   

Chair

Uta Pottgiesser (1964) is an architect and Chair of Heritage & Technology at TU Delft (Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment) in the Netherlands since 2018 and Professor of Building Construction and Materials at OWL University of Applied Sciences and Arts (Detmold School of Architecture and Interior Architecture) in Germany since 2004. She was appointed Professor of Interior Architecture at University of Antwerp (Faculty of Design Sciences) in Belgium from 2016–2019.

Next to the appointments she had several academic positions at OWL, University of Applied Sciences and Arts where she served as Vice-President for Research, Development and Internationalization from 2006-2011 and as Dean of the Detmold School of Architecture and Interior Architecture from 2012-2016. In 2012 she was a Visiting Researcher at the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI), Los Angeles.

Uta Pottgiesser holds a diploma in architecture (TU Berlin, 1991) and obtained her PhD (Dr.-Ing.) from on the topic of “Multi-layered Glass Constructions. Energy and Construction” in (TU Dresden, 2002) – both in Germany. With more than twenty-seven years of experience as a practicing architect and research scientist Uta Pottgiesser is concerned with the protection, reuse and improvement of the built heritage and environment, in particular of 20th century architecture, its building envelopes, interiors and indoor comfort.

She is vice-chair of DOCOMOMO Germany and chair of the DOCOMOMO International Specialist Committee on Technology (ISC/T) both since 2016. In addition, she is a co- founder and active member of the European Facade Network (efn), a network of European universities that collaborates in education and research. She is experienced in the development of educational programs and was responsible for the implementation of the international Master of Engineering in Integrated Design (MID) program at OWL University of Applied Sciences and Arts. She researches, teaches and lectures internationally and has responsible for several international academic cooperations, among them three EU-COST Actions, European projects and applied research in collaboration with companies. She continues to be a reviewer and (co-) author of international journals and publications with a focus on construction and heritage topics.

For more information click HERE or HERE

Board Member

Lidwine Spoormans is a researcher, teacher and architect working at TU Delft. She is a Board Member of DOCOMOMO International, together with the Chair and the Secretary General.

For more information click HERE

Administrator

Sophie Karchkhadze has an extensive background in working with international organizations. In April 2022 she joined the DOCOMOMO headquarters at TU Delft to assist with administrative and organizational matters and coordinate established programs. She studied social psychology (Tbilisi State University, Georgia) and linguistics (Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania, University of Oslo, Norway). She is passionate about art and communications, and is happy to assist DOCOMOMO members, chapters and partners with all issues.

Executive Commitee

The DOCOMOMO Executive Committee consists of an elected chairman, an elected secretary, an elected member and an appointed member representing the host national or regional working party responsible for the next International DOCOMOMO Conference. The actual members of the Executive Committee are:

Uta Pottgiesser (Chair of DOCOMOMO International)
Wido Quist (Secretary General of DOCOMOMO International)
Louise Noelle Gras (ICSs Representative/ DOCOMOMO Member)
Horacio Torrent (18th International DOCOMOMO Conference Representative, Chair of Docomomo Chile)