Oslo’s Y-block

After starting a compaign in 2015, Docomomo International asks for your attention and consideration regarding the threat the Y-block in Oslo, Norway, is facing. The building was designed by Erling Viksjø, with contributions by Carl Nesjar and Pablo Picasso, to complement the monumental high-rise H-block, also by Viksjø. Both buildings are part of the government quarter of Oslo. The Directorate for Cultural Heritage proposed in June 2011 to list both buildings as protected monuments. That process was brought to a halt on 22 July, when the building was whitness to a terrorist attack. Highlithing the special features of the building, in the petition can be…

Antiguo Mercado Central de Frutas y Verduras de Legazpi [old Fruit and Vegetable Market of Legazpi]

Docomomo International is sorry to inform that demolition works have started this month in the Antiguo Mercado Central de Frutas y Verduras de Legazpi. After the transformation project for the site, which envisioned serious alteration its patrimonial, architectural and historical values, was approved, it is now unclear what will be the outcome of the works and what will actually remain and be used from the original structure. The market was an extraordinary testimony of the modern Spanish architecture of the 30s, that had been preserved until now without irreversible alterations. The rationality of its layout and structure, its versatility and its infrastructural condition, made it an…

Nakagin Capsule Tower

Docomomo International wishes to draw your attention to the alarming future of the Nakagin Capsule Tower, in Shimbashi, Tokyo, Japan, a symbol of cultural revival and optimism for post-war Japan. Built in 1972, the tower was designed by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa and it was conceived to serve as a mixed-use residential and office building, with the intention to host traveling executives. The Nakagin Capsule Tower was the world´s first precedent of capsule architecture built for permanent and practical use. The tower is made of detachable modular-steel capsules, which are connected to two concrete cores that contain stairs and elevators….

Thessaloniki International Fair pavilions

Docomomo International has been notified by Docomomo Greece about the demolition threat the Thessaloniki International Fair pavilions, in Thessaloniki, Greece, are currently facing. “The urban complex of the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF), established in 1937, is under threat. According to the new master plan of the site, most of the buildings inside the TIF, including some vanguard modern pavilions of the 1950s and the 1960s designed by renowned Greek architects (such as D. Tripodakis; E. Vourekas, S. Staikos, P. Vassiliadis; K. Kapsampelis, I. Vikelas; N Valsamakis; D. Fatouros), are either to be demolished or not considered for future use. The…

Transgas Complex

Docomomo International is sorry to inform that, after the validation of the demolition permit of the Transgas Building (Prague, Czech Republic) on February 1st 2019, demolition works have been initiated this week. On February 6th, the developer Group HB Reavis announced they have decided to sell the Transgas building, which led to uncertainty regarding the course of events for the building itself. Docomomo International appreciates the efforts and the commitement shown by Docomomo Czech Republic to protect the Transgas Building. The previous campaign to preserve the building can be found here. More details: facebook + website + Newsreport

Sign the Petition: Maison du Peuple of Clichy

Last year docomomo International has raised awarness about the endangered status of Maison de Peuple in Clichy, France, which is threatened by the planned construction of a 96 meter tower in the back of the building. The Association Quartier Maison du Peuple has started a petition addressed to the French Minister of Culture, Mr. Franck Riester, opposing the project and calling for the preservation of this exceptional building through a reuse program that will respect its original characteristics. The petition can be signed here. “Let’s invent the massacre! The Maison du Peuple of Clichy (1935-1939), Eugène Beaudoin and Marcel Lods architects (with the participation of…

Transgas Complex Update

It is with great sadness that docomomo International has learnt that the permit for the demolition of the Transgas Complex had been granted on 9th January 2019. The fate of the building hangs by the tread, as final decisions are soon to be made. “Former telemetric control center  of International gas pipeline Transgas and administrative department of The Ministry of Fuel and Energy, situated in the center of Prague, near the National Museum, Main Railway station and Czech Radio Headquarters, at the border between Vinohrady neighborhood and New Town of Prague (gps 50°04´42.8″N, 14°25´59.9″E).  The objects are arranged into urban micro-landscape,…

Al-Sawaber Complex

In 2017 docomomo International has informed about a threat facing Al-Sawaber Complex (by Arthur Erickson, Kuwait City, 1981). Recently docomomo has learned that the complex faces imminent demolition, despite being listed at the World Monuments Fund (website) and enjoying a growing public popularity, with groups advocating for its preservation. Built in 1981, based on the design from 1977 by Arthur Erickson, the Al-Sawaber Complex aimed to provide numerous Kuwaiti families with private, intimate housing, within the city centre. In recent years a lack of maintenance, arson in some of the units, escalating land values in the surrounding area, and gentrification have rendered…

World Heritage nomination of eight Frank Lloyd Wright’s works

On 20th November 2018 the National Park Service submitted a nomination of eight famous works of Frank Lloyd Wright, to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The proposal will be reviewed at the 2019 session of the World Heritage Committee, scheduled to be held in early July in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, a non-profit organisation of Chicago, Illinois, has coordinated the nomination. The works listed for nomination are: Unity Temple, Oak Park, Chicago, IL, 1905-1908 Frederick C. Robie House, Chicago, IL, 1909 Taliesin, Spring Green, WI, 1911 Hollyhock House, Los Angeles, CA, 1922 Fallingwater, Bear Run, PA, 1935 Herbert…

Former Industrial School

Docomomo International would like to draw your attention to the alarming situation of the former Industrial School in Plovdiv, Bulgaria (current Professional High School of Interior Architecture and Woodworking). The building, designed by Bulgarian architects Svetoslav Grozev and Dimitar Popov, at the time one of the most important modern movement edifices in Bulgaria, was opened to host the Plvodiv Industrial Fair, after a 40-year break from its inauguration in 1893. A staircase glass enclosure that was lighted by four vertical bands of windows was designed and installed in the building. The window´s openable segments – with common lever – strongly resembled the ones applied in the Bauhaus…