Enhancing the presence and visibility of landscapes in Docomomo
Haenraets, Jan; Saniga, Andrew; Cengiz, Gulnur
Landscape themed initiatives, presentations and publications have become regular occurrences in Docomomo International and its
chapters. A general impression remains that Docomomo predominately focusses on architecture, and that there is work to be done to
elevate the importance of ‘landscape’, a significant task being to define and clarify the breadth of sites that are characteristic of the
modern landscape in a range of contexts, geographically and typologically.
While its activities remain modest, the Specialist Committee on Urbanism and Landscape (ISC/U+L) has taken up the role as a point
of contact for landscape advice to chapters along with organising themed events. In 2018 the ISC/U+L proceeded to develop a thematic
book on designed landscapes of the Modern Movement based on submissions from Docomomo chapters. The initiative had several objectives
based upon broadening knowledge and appreciation of salient issues to do with modern landscapes world-wide. With the book,
Docomomo and the ISC/U+L could potentially enhance the presence and visibility of landscapes in the broader field of mid-Twentieth
century historical and theoretical research and beyond to heritage and conservation more generally.
This paper clarifies — within the context of the evolution of the conservation of landscapes of the Modern Movement and the status
of landscape activities in Docomomo — the method and process followed to gather the submissions from the chapters. Key findings from
an analysis of the process to engage the chapters and the submitted sites lead to thoughts on potential future actions.
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