In the course of the 20th century the built environment expanded and changed at a pace unprecedented in human history. New philosophies of design and innovations in building technology produced a vast and very diverse body of work that in turn is posing a unique series of challenges as it ages and requires rehabilitation. The Technical Committee on Modern Heritage (TC-MH) is constituted to promote the understanding and management of this heritage and to foster the development of the full range of philosophical, design and technical issues necessary to ensure our ability to sustain this legacy.
As an integral component of APT, the TC-MH has a primary concern to address the technical issue raised by the stewards of modern resources as well as the design and construction communities charged with carrying out rehabilitation efforts. However we also acknowledge that the planning and material nature of many modern buildings – as well as the urgency of the mandate to create the most sustainable possible environment – often suggest rehabilitation solutions that require us to re-think many aspects of traditional preservation practice. The TC-MH will therefore take an active role in the broad and ever expanding philosophical debate about the changing nature and priorities of preservation that has ensued over the course of the last twenty years, particularly as they apply to the heritage of the recent past.
The TC-MH has been active in promoting scholarship and dialogue concerning the heritage of the recent past including leading a track at the most recent APT conference in Miami.
The work of the TC-MH can only be fully carried out through the efforts of its sub-committees and consequently we are seeking committed individuals to serve on the following sub-Committees:
• Public Outreach • Education • Technical Database
Renewing Modernism Video "Renewing Modernism: A New Paradigm” describes draft “Principals for Practice” developed by APT’s Technical Committee on Modern Heritage in support of the preservation and sustainable reuse of our modern heritage.
Principles for Practice Initiated as proceedings of the Renewing Modernism Symposium held during APT’s 2015 annual conference in Kansas City, APT's draft "Principles for Practice on Renewing Modernism" address challenges particular to the evaluation, materials, assemblies and continued functionality of midcentury modern buildings, including those of less than top tier architectural value. Meant to complement existing standards and charters that guide modern properties and heritage conservation practice in general, the principals are now being refined toward fostering broader consensus on approaches that best balance conservation, sustainability and resilience. It is the committee's intent that the guidelines will remain flexible and iterative to assure their continued relevance
Getty Conserving Modern Architecture Initiative (CMAI) Publications include: Bibliographies for Conserving Twentieth-Century Built Heritage, Conserving Concrete Heritage, Meeting reports from the Colloquium to Advance the Practice of Conserving modern heritage, and Conserving Concrete Heritage Experts.
