Foco – Santo António Office Block

Docomomo International wishes to express its full support for the efforts that are being carried out in order to preserve FOCO, the Residencial Park of Boavista unity, believing that this complex must be preserved taking into consideration its history and the will to maintain its integrity and authenticity for future generations. The Boavista Residential Park (by Agostinho Ricca, João Serôdio and Magalhães Carneiro, Residencial Park of Boavista, Porto, Portugal, 1964), most known as FOCO, was conceived as a housing unit, following other similar European experiences. It is one of the most exemplar housing complexes in Portugal, organized around a large central landscaped space, marked by the different complementary…

Parador Ariston

The Parador Ariston, on the Atlantic south coast, is the only work by Bauhaus master Marcel Breuer in Latin America. Created between 1946 and 1947 in collaboration with Carlos Coire and Eduardo Catalano, this beautiful structure was used as a restaurant and nightclub in its heyday. It is shaped like a four-leaved clover, with curved glazing that allows maximum sun penetration. The windows also allow a wide view of the dunes for which Mar Del Plata is famous. The building has an elevated floor, and was constructed within just 60 days using volcanic lava tiles, unusual in the region at…

Union Church – Sanctuary & Bell Tower

Docomomo International wishes to draw your attention for the threatened future that Union Church in Hong Kong is facing. “The Union Church is located at No. 22A Kennedy Road, up the hill from Central, and next to where the Peak Tram bridge intersects with Kennedy Road. It was built after World War II to replace an earlier church which had been severely damaged during the war period. The foundation stone of the original church dating from 1890 was re-laid, and is now found right up the entrance stairs. During the period of Japanese Occupation (1941-1945), the Church’s religious service was ceased and the…

Restoration of Frey House II

On 22nd October 2017, the Pal Springs Art Museum and the Modernism Week promoted a funds raise event to help support the ongoing restoration and operations of Frey House II. “The Frey House II appears to grow from the craggy rocks of the San Jacinto mountain overlooking Palm Springs, California. Architect Albert Frey spent years measuring the movement of the sun and the contours of the rocks before he selected the site for his modernist home. The house was completed in 1963. Widely praised as a landmark example of Desert Modernism, the Frey II house is now owned by the Palm Springs…

Villa Beer

The working party DOCOMOMO Austria and the Austrian Society for Architecture (Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Architektur ÖGFA) wish to raise awareness for the serious endangerment of the iconic piece of architecture VILLA BEER(Wenzgasse 12, 1130 Vienna/Austria) by Josef Frank and Oskar Wlach. This monument of the European and Austrian Modern Movement is in danger because of a conversion which will cause irreversible damage.The Villa Beer (1929-30) is one of the most important buildings of private housing from the nineteen-twenties and nineteen-thirties. Together with buildings by Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe, the Villa Beer stands in the European architecture´s first row….

The Civic Center

The Civic Center of Guatemala City is endangered because of real estate speculation. The site has a unique patrimonial industrial and modern heritage, and for that it has been declared as modern heritage of the nation in 2014. Unfortunately the Government of Guatemala has promoted a project to accommodate administrative offices for the state. This includes the construction of several buildings in the area of the former Central Railroad Station, which is protected by several ministerial agreements and is situated within the maximum protection polygon of the areas of influence of the Civic Center. The implementation of this project will…

Municipal Swimming Pool in Ostend

The petition launched by the association Archipel, pleading for a respectful renovation and reuse of the building, is still receiving signatures. Please sign here and spread the word to help raise awareness on this case. The Municipal Swimming Pool in Ostend (1976), designed by the architects Paul Felix and Jan Tanghe, currently faces the threat of demolition. The complex is a remarkable example of brutalist architecture, especially rare in Flanders, featuring a monumental concrete structure in the swimming hall. As a significant architectural legacy of the 1970s that is part of the urban identity of Ostend, the building must definitely be preserved for future generations. Petition: sign here More…

Bidura Children’s Court

Bidura Children’s Court Updates: “The Sydney Bidura Children’s Court in Glebe has now been nominated for heritage listing. And an independent heritage assessment has been commissioned, alongside a petition to be submitted to council for adaptive reuse to be considered. Docomomo also wrote a submission to the City of Sydney regarding its proposed demolition, but is now more hopeful that the future of this building may be reconsidered.” Image: Bidura Children’s Court, photo by Jenna Reed Burns (2015) More details: website. More updates: website. [by Docomomo Australia]

Villa Aghion

It is with great deception that docomomo International informs that Villa Aghion, residential project of the brothers Auguste (1874-1954) and Gustave Perret (1876-1952) has been completely demolished in recent days. Located in Alexandria, Egypt, Hotel Avignon, how it was also known, has been projected between 1926-1927 for the high society architect Gustave Aghion in the Palladian style. Part of it demolition started in 2009, illegally, once it was total indifferent with the Egyptian law.The other half of the project was put down in 2014, after it has been withdrawn from the list of Historical Monuments at that same year. That allowed its…

Glasgow´s Red Road flats

“Glasgow´s Red Road flats final demolition Explosions on Sunday, 12 October, destroy most of the iconic postwar housing estate Explosions on Sunday, 12 October, destroy most of the iconic postwar housing estate The demolition of the famously infamous Red Road estate, in Glasgow, is nearing its end. On Sunday past, 12 October, the remaining six of originally eight high-rise residential buildings were brought down by explosion. The demolition as been a long affair, with the first tower block falling in 2012 and a slab following in 2013. In 2014, the proposal to incorporate the demolish the remaining tower into the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth…