“As Keeping It Modern’s international network continues to grow, we have seen grantees increasingly identify themselves with the initiative and the principles it represents,” says Joan Weinstein, acting director of the Getty Foundation. “Chief among them is an emphasis on research and planning, values that have guided the Getty’s funding for decades. We believe that Keeping It Modern projects are setting a new standard.”

The Gateway Arch in fall:

photo © NPS

Photo of the Arch during construction, just prior the closure and placement of the final section in October 1965:

photo courtesy of the National Park Service JNEM Archives

Among this year’s projects, the grant for The National Schools of Art of Havana is of particular importance, given the site’s architectural significance. The complex was one of the first major cultural projects to be built in Cuba following the country’s 1959 revolution, but later fell out of favor and was shut down. In addition to a detailed study of the site, the grant includes training opportunities for Cuban conservation professionals to build local support and expertise.

Salk Institute for Biological Studies:

photo by Elizabeth Daniels

Salk Institute for Biological Studies:

photo by Elizabeth Daniels

Additionally, the grant for Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer’s Rashid Karami International Fairground in Tripoli, Lebanon highlights the struggle to conserve sites ravaged by war and by decades of neglect. This boldly modernist compound of exhibition pavilions, theaters, museums, and residences was only partially completed before Lebanon’s civil war broke out in 1975 and was left in an incomplete state. A team of distinguished local and international consultants will work on the elaboration of a conservation management plan for this modern complex and explore the possibilities for adaptive reuse that respect Niemeyer’s original vision.

Oscar Niemeyer’s Permanent International Fairground in Tripoli, Lebanon:

photo © UNESCO Beirut Office

Oscar Niemeyer’s Museum of Lebanon, Rashid Karami International Fairground Tripoli:

photo © UNESCO Beirut Office

Other projects focus on modern materials and techniques not yet addressed by earlier grants, such as Eero Saarinen’s Gateway Arch in St. Louis , which was built with an ingenious double wall of carbon steel and stainless steel. This year also includes a second grant to the Salk Institute for Biological Studies for the implementation of concrete conservation that will set a new model for this prevalent and challenging modern building material (Salk was previously awarded a conservation planning grant in 2014). Additionally, the two new grants in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia, together with previous grants in Armenia, Kosovo, Poland, and Russia, have the potential to create a strong network in the region.

External view of the University of Leicester Engineering Building tower and workshops:

photograph © University of Leicester (photographer Simon Kennedy)

University of Leicester Engineering Building interior:

photo © University of Leicester (photographer Simon Kennedy)

The Getty Foundation also recently launched the Keeping It Modern Report Library, which includes completed technical reports from 20 grant projects that are free to download and can be used by practitioners in the field or anyone interested in cultural heritage preservation. As the Getty Foundation learned from grantees and from these reports, common themes among the Keeping It Modern projects include conservation planning to guide sustainable and energy-efficient use of modern buildings, the importance of community engagement to garner support for modern buildings, and the benefits of conservation management plans (CMPs), which help stewards of modern buildings plan for longer-term maintenance and preservation.

TU Delft Aula building:

photo © Marc Blommaert

“The 2018 Keeping It Modern competition was remarkable for the many strong proposals we received, especially from international applicants,” says Antoine Wilmering, senior program officer for the Getty Foundation. “We have always believed that, for cultural heritage conservation, it is crucial to first understand all the issues before doing any work, and 20th century architecture is no different. After five years of funding, the project outcomes are beginning to have a collective impact as more and more stewards embrace comprehensive planning as the bedrock for responsible preservation of modern buildings.”

Università degli Studi di Urbino Carlo Bo, Italy – Aerial view:

photo owned by Università degli Studi di Urbino Carlo Bo – Photographer: Paolo Bianchi

Università degli Studi di Urbino Carlo Bo, Italy – view with Urbino in the background:

photo owned by Università degli Studi di Urbino Carlo Bo – Photographer: Paolo Bianchi

Keeping It Modern was developed by the Getty Foundation to complement the Getty Conservation Institute’s Conserving Modern Architecture Initiative (CMAI). Of the 54 Keeping It Modern projects to date, two buildings (including the Salk Institute) are directly related to CMAI.

View of Social Space, St Brendan’s Community School, Birr, Co Offaly, Ireland, Peter and Mary Doyle Architects:

photo © John Donat / RIBA Collections

View of Entrance Gate, St Brendan’s Community School, Birr, Co Offaly, Ireland, Peter and Mary Doyle Architects:

photo © John Donat / RIBA Collections

Deadlines and criteria for the next round of Keeping It Modern applications are available at www.getty.edu/foundation.

Getty Foundation Keeping it Modern Grants for 2017

Bauhaus Building One of Twelve Recipients of Getty Fou3ndation’s Keeping It Modern Grants

photo © Bauhaus Dessau Foundation, photo © Yvonne Tenschert

Getty Foundation Keeping it Modern 2017 Grants

Villa E-1027, Cap Moderne, photograph Manuel Bougot www.manuelbougot.com. 2016

Modern Architecture Conservation Grants 2016 – Keeping It Modern by the Getty Foundation – 29 Jul 2016

Getty Foundation Keeping it Modern Grants for 2017

getty.edu/inspired

Location: 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, California 90049-1685, USA

Modern Architecture – Major Modernist Buildings

Post-war Architecture

photo : Morley von Sternberg
Post-war Architecture

These Modern buildings

Boston City Hall, Boston, Massachusetts (architects: Kallmann, McKinnell, & Knowles);

photo © Naquib Hossain/Dotproduct Photography
Boston City Hall Building

Sidi Harazem Thermal Bath Complex, Sidi Harazem, Morocco (architect: Jean-François Zevaco);

Image © Frac Centre-Val de Loire Collection.
Sidi Harazem Thermal Bath Complex Building

Child of the Sun Buildings

Modern English house – one of the first Modern houses in England

Lake Shore Drive Towers

Miller House

Modern Architects

Comments / photos for the Getty Foundation 2018 Keeping it Modern Grants page welcome