Approaches to the conservation of the 20th Century cultural heritage

Approaches to the conservation of the 20TH century cultural heritage

Madrid - New Delhi Document

Erica Lenticchia (Politecnico di Torino)

The sweeping economic, social, technological and political developments of the twentieth century produced unprecedented change. Two world wars, the Cold War that followed, the Great Depression, and decolonisation, together, significantly altered the fabric of society over the course of the twentieth century. Rapid urbanisation and the growth of large cities, accelerated technological and scientific development and the emergence of mass communications and transportation fundamentally changed the way we lived and worked, producing new buildings and structures, unprecedented building types and forms, using experimental materials.
Massively changed landscapes were created by industrialisation and mechanised agriculture. And yet, comparatively few of the sites and places created by such tumultuous events have been listed and protected for their heritage values.

Thus, too many of the heritage places and sites of the twentieth-century remain at risk. Although appreciation of mid-century modernism is increasing in some regions, the range of buildings, structures, cultural landscapes and industrial sites that are characteristic of the twentieth century are still threatened by a general lack of awareness and recognition. All too often they are pressured by redevelopment, unsympathetic change, or simply by neglect.

Aware of these threats, in 2010 the members of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Twentieth‐Century Heritage (ISC20C) began to draft a reference text, setting out the approach and the principles that should be applied to managing and interpreting twentieth-century sites and places.
The ambitious objective was to provide an international benchmark.

The document entitled Approaches to the conservation of the 20th Century cultural heritage, also knonw as Madrid - New Delhi Document, was updated in 2017 after many debates and experts confrontations. The current version was endorsed at the 19th General Assembly of ICOMOS in Delhi in December 2017, incorporating the comments and inputs received during the 2014-17 consultation period.