It is a long-standing and well-appreciated tradition of Docomomo International to emphasize its diversity expressed in buildings, sites, and neighborhoods due to different geography, language, education, and personalities. The term multiple modernisms has been coined to express regional, stylistic, and constructive differences in the formal and philosophical expression of Modern Movement across the globe, within the continents, and even within countries. Docomomo conferences and Docomomo Journals have used and interpreted the term over the last 30 years to express and acknowledge the diversity in the growing community of national working parties. We only need to refer to the recent Docomomo Journal no. 67 (2022) on Multiple Modernities in Ukraine1, or no. 36 (2007) on Other Modernisms2, published in parallel with the 2006 Docomomo International Conference in Istanbul and Ankara (Turkey) with the same title. Other issues highlighted local and regional particularities together and, at the same time, referenced common roots and personal links, such as the preservation technology dossier no. 13 on Perceived Technologies in the Modern Movement 1918-1975 published by the International Specialist Committee on Technology (ISC/T) in 2014. In that publication, the specific and long-term collaborations of architects with engineers and artists were explored often leading to exceptional solutions in structure, design, and function.@en

Docomomo International is proud to present the first Open Issue of the Docomomo Journal. Creating the opportunity for scholars, practitioners, policy makers, activists or any other group of authors to publish in our journal without having to wait for a thematic Special Issue on a theme that would fit their topic felt like the logical next step in (the continued) continuing professionalization of the Docomomo Journal.
In the plan of action for the candidacy of Delft University of Technology as the new headquarters for Docomomo International – presented in 2021 – open access to the journal and expansion of its reach was advocated:
“In addition, Docomomo International aims to involve the Docomomo network more actively into the production of content – in particular linked with the new biannual conferences, seminars and workshops related to digitization, education and sustainability. This will strengthen the role of the Docomomo Journal as a link between Docomomo members, the Docomomo chapters to serve the Docomomo network, and its impacts on professional practices and the general public.”
The Open Issue aims for contributions that do not fit within the topic of the thematic Special Issues but fit the overall scope of the Docomomo Journal. All contributions to this open issue have had the same peer reviewing process, but instead of organized by guest editors, now under the wings of the editors-in-chief. The 2024 Open Issue features articles on the Lagoa Rowing Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, industrial heritage in Egypt and Iran, on Erik Gunnar Asplund’s Stockholm public library, the transformation of a former hospital to a criminal justice complex in São Paulo, and the House of Manoel Coelho in Curitiba.
The creation of a yearly Open Issue in addition to the two regular thematic Special Issues is the next step in the evolution of the Docomomo Journal, that once started as a simple Newsletter and evolved into an academic peer-reviewed and indexed journal (figure 1). The first Newsletter was published in 1989 and changed into a Journal in 1993 (no. 9). Starting with no. 28 in 2003 the lay-out and graphics of the Docomomo Journal changed tremendously, marking the transition into a more academic oriented journal. Another change in graphics took place in 2010, starting with no. 42 and Ana Tostões and Ivan Blasi as editors, also marking the move towards online publication of the individual articles in the Docomomo Journal. In 2022, with the special issue on Modern Plastic Heritage (no. 66) a new lay-out and publication scheme was adopted to accommodate fast online and open access publication of new issues of the journal and its individual articles.
The 2024 Open Issue (no. 71) marks the newest development and we call upon the Docomomo Community to continue using, referencing and contributing to the Docomomo Journal, not only to the thematic Special Issues, but also to the Open Issues.@en

Introduction: In recent decades, there has been a rise in mental illnesses. Community infrastructures are increasingly acknowledged as important for sustaining good mental health. Moreover, green spaces are anticipated to offer advantages for both mental health and social cohesion. However, the mediating pathway between green space, social cohesion and mental health and especially the proximity and characteristics of green spaces that trigger these potential effects remain of interest. Methods: We gathered data from 1365 individuals on self-reported social cohesion and mental health across four satellite districts in European cities: Nantes (France), Porto (Portugal), Sofia (Bulgaria), and Høje-Taastrup (Denmark). Green space data from OpenStreetMap was manually adjusted using the PRIGSHARE guidelines. We used the AID-PRIGSHARE tool to generate 7 indicators about green space characteristics measured in distances from 100–1500 m, every 100 m. This resulted in 105 different green space variables that we tested in a single mediation model with structural equation modelling. Results: Accessible greenness (900–1400 m), accessible green spaces (900–1500 m), accessible green space corridors (300–800 m), accessible total green space (300−800), and mix of green space uses (700–1100 m) were significantly associated with social cohesion and indirectly with mental health. Green corridors also showed negative indirect and direct associations with mental health in larger distances. Surrounding greenness and the quantity of green space uses were not associated with social cohesion nor indirectly with mental health. We also observed no positive direct associations between any green space variable in any distance to mental health. Conclusions: Our results suggest that accessibility, connectivity, mix of use and proximity are key characteristics that drive the relationship between green spaces, social cohesion and mental health. This gives further guidance to urban planners and decision-makers on how to design urban green spaces to foster social cohesion and improve mental health.

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In 2022, Docomomo International launched a call for papers on Modern Movement in Ukraine together with Docomomo Ukraine. More than 20 proposals were received, most of them from authors based in Ukraine itself—despite the difficult circumstances. The Docomomo Journal 67 presented a first selection of those articles to display regional and architectural particularities and current challenges of archiving, documenting, protecting, and preserving the modern heritage. Nearly 100 examples of Ukrainian modern buildings were presented in a graphical overview. The modern Ukranian architecture was dominated by Constructivism from the mid-1920s to the early 1930s, with Kharkiv as the epicenter of production, while Socialist Realism with the Stalin Empire emerged from 1932, lasting until 1955, with Kyiv as the capital of Ukraine. From December 1919 to January 1934, Kharkiv was the first capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the cultural, economic, and educational center of the new Ukrainian Republic. The status as new capital led to prestigious master plans and construction projects, among them the world-famous Derzhprom building at Freedom Square–as a symbol of Constructivism–or the Kharkiv Tractor Factory–as a symbol of the industrialization of agriculture. The leading role of Kharkiv as a forerunner and capital of Constructivism is often expressed by the famous State Industry House (Derzhprom) built from 1925 to 1928. Being the only modern ensemble in Ukraine nominated as UNESCO World Heritage, it became and still is the focus of identification and pride—despite the many controversial reflections and discussions about the conservation efforts and changes carried out since the original construction in the 1950s and after the year 2000. This explains the many articles dealing with Freedom Square and Dherzprom as a reaction to the call for papers in 2022 and also Docomomo International’s commitment to dedicate this special issue of the Docomomo Journal to Kharkiv under the title From Constructivism to Modernism in Kharkiv.@en

The conference “Conventional to Experimental—Mass Housing and Prefabrication” on which this volume is based was hosted by the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, DOCOMOMO Israel, DOCOMOMO Germany, and the EU COST-Action Middle Class Mass Housing (MCMH-EU) and held online on June 14 and 15, 2021. Mass housing and prefabrication are both recurring themes in architectural academic research and discourse, as well as prominent subjects in the daily debates on housing shortages and possible solutions for providing affordable and quality lodging in the near term. Today, the connection between prefabrication—a field of engineering— and mass housing worldwide is as real as it was in the early days of the modern movement in the interwar period. As early as in the 1920s, prefabrication was one of the solutions proposed by modern architects to answer the housing shortage and to provide affordable homes in Europe after World War I.@en

Introduction: Non-communicable diseases are the global disease burden of our time, with physical inactivity identified as one major risk factor. Green spaces are associated with increased physical activity of nearby residents. But there are still gaps in understanding which proximity and what characteristics of green spaces can trigger physical activity. This study aims to unveil these differences with a rigorous sensitivity analysis. Methods: We gathered data on self-reported health and physical activity from 1365 participants in selected neighbourhoods in Porto, Nantes, Sofia, and Høje-Taastrup. Spatial data were retrieved from OpenStreetMap. We followed the PRIGSHARE guidelines to control for bias. Around the residential addresses, we generated seven different green space indicators for 15 distances (100–1500 m) using the AID-PRIGSHARE tool. We then analysed each of these 105 green space indicators together with physical activity and health in 105 adjusted structural equation models. Results: Green space accessibility and green space uses indicators showed a pattern of significant positive associations to physical activity and indirect to health at distances of 1100 m or less, with a peak at 600 m for most indicators. Greenness in close proximity (100 m) had significant positive effects on physical activity and indirect effects on health. Surrounding greenness showed positive direct effects on health at 500–1100 m and so do green corridors in 800 m network distance. In contrast, a high quantity of green space uses, and surrounding greenness measured in a larger radius (1100–1500 m) showed a negative relationship with physical activity and indirect health effects. Conclusions: Our results provide insight into how green space characteristics can influence health at different scales, with important implications for urban planners on how to integrate accessible green spaces into urban structures and public health decision-makers on the ability of green spaces to combat physical inactivity.

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Exploring the influence of green space characteristics and proximity on health via air pollution mitigation, our study analysed data from 1,365 participants across Porto, Nantes, Sofia, and Høje-Taastrup. Utilizing OpenStreetMap and the AID-PRIGSHARE tool, we generated nine green space indicators around residential addresses at 15 distances, ranging from 100m to 1500m. We performed a mediation analysis for these 135 green space variables and revealed significant associations between self-rated air pollution and self-rated health for specific green space characteristics. In our study, indirect positive effects on health via air pollution were mainly associated with green corridors in intermediate Euclidean distances (800-1,000m) and the amount of accessible green spaces in larger network distances (1,400–1,500m). Our results suggest that the amount of connected green spaces measured in intermediate surroundings seems to be a prime green space characteristic that could drive the air pollution mitigation pathway to health.@en

In the interdisciplinary field of green space health research, there is a demand to reduce the effort to assess green space, especially for non-spatial disciplines. To address this issue, we developed AID-PRIGSHARE, an open-source script that automates over 400 QGIS processes to substantially reduces the time-intensive task of generating green space indicators. AID-PRIGSHARE calculates greenness, public green space, access to green infrastructure, and green space uses within distances of 100–1500 m around geolocations. This substantially reduces the effort for sensitivity analysis and may provide support for research that aims to understand the impact of different green space features and distances on health outcomes.

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The COST-Action (CA 18137) on Middle Class Mass Housing in Europe (MCMH-EU) has established a transnational scientific network to document the productions of middle-class mass housing built in Europe since the 1950s in order to investigate this specific topic and share knowledge. Considering that middle-class mass housing dominates most of our cities, the research translates into the study of the extensive development of cities in Europe after World War II. The breadth of the theme and the differences between the countries make it difficult to construct a systematic and unified criticism of middle-class mass housing, albeit concentrating on the post­war period. The COST-Action has the goal to build a network to gather research representing the pooled knowledge and experiences from the network of multidisciplinary researchers. So, transversally throughout the Working Groups, an inventory of case studies, a collection of articles, and studies on the policies were produced. This paper elaborates on the collected and produced material and data in order to trigger comparisons and reflections on the approaches and methodologies to face the complexity of middle-class mass housing topic. The comparison was built by using different methods intersecting multiple points of view and following specific thematic tracks that seek to deconstruct the complexity of the middle-class mass housing topic into singular aspects. This paper presents the results of data analyses, visualisation techniques and comparative studies to identify massification processes, morphological structures, demographic and policy developments. It shows a combination of several methods to build a cross-sectional and systematic approach to the diverse knowledge envisioned to develop a methodology for future research. This can be especially useful for future developments and insights towards joint or individual European guidelines, laws and policies to improve the dilapidated housing stock, current housing situation and to compete the housing crisis in general.

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After the two 2022-issues of the Docomomo Journal, number 66 on ‘Modern Plastic Heritage’ and number 67 on ‘Multiple Modernisms in Ukraine,’ this issue reveals another chapter of an often and diversely described theme of Modern Movement and a pressing subject worldwide: Housing.@en

The Modern Movement encompasses a diverse collection of both iconic and ordinary treasures of architecture worldwide, among which some are safeguarded with respect to their values, while others were demolished, have undergone alterations, neglect, or lack of maintenance and preservation over time. Docomomo has been playing a pivotal role in documenting and safeguarding significant architectural works of the 20th century. Its National and Regional Working Parties (WPs), spread across the globe, have diligently compiled archives of photographs, drawings, historical records, and research materials related to Modern Movement architecture, town planning and landscape design. However, the decentralized nature of these archives poses challenges in terms of accessibility, coordination, and attaining a more comprehensive record of the Modern Movement with a global perspective. Therefore, this study undertakes the explorative task of compiling data from these separate online-available archives of the WPs to attain a broader overview of the documented objects of Modern Movement architecture on a global-scale. The collected data is analyzed to identify patterns, trends, and influential architects and to elaborate on the potential factors contributing to the current status. The study involves analysis of the predominant format of building use/function among documented architectural works, examination of the geographical and chronological coverage of available lists, and the distribution of intervention status within the inventory. These aspects provide valuable insights into the functional diversity, geographic spread, and preservation status of architectural works documented in the dispersed archives. This study also facilitates comparative studies between different regions and countries, shedding light on the shared characteristics and unique contributions of the Modern Movement across diverse cultural contexts. The results help identify trends, gaps, and areas of focus for future research and documentation efforts, ensuring the holistic appreciation of architectural works, and contributing to the scholarly understanding and preservation of this modern heritage.

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The relationship between green spaces and health is attracting more and more societal and research interest. The research field is however still suffering from its differing monodisciplinary origins. Now in a multidisciplinary environment on its way to a truly interdisciplinary field, there is a need for a common understanding, precision in green space indicators, and coherent assessment of the complexity of daily living environments. In several reviews, common protocols and open-source scripts are considered a high priority to advance the field. Realizing these issues, we developed PRIGSHARE (Preferred Reporting Items in Greenspace Health Research). It is accompanied by an open-source script that supports non-spatial disciplines in assessing greenness and green space on different scales and types. The PRIGSHARE checklist contains 21 items that have been identified as a risk of bias and are necessary for understanding and comparison of studies. The checklist is divided into the following topics: objectives (3 items), scope (3 items), spatial assessment (7 items), vegetation assessment (4 items), and context assessment (4 items). For each item, we include a pathway-specific (if relevant) rationale and explanation. The PRIGSHARE guiding principles should be helpful to support a high-quality assessment and synchronize the studies in the field while acknowledging the diversity of study designs.

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Reconstruction and recovery of historic cities after destruction due to conflict or natural disasters have gained increasing relevance in the last decades. The investigation of international examples of recovery after war or natural catastrophic events can provide knowledge for improving guidance and strategies for sustainable reconstruction/ intervention in similar cases in the future. This paper aims to identify and analyze the legal, administrative, social, and economic factors that can favor the reconstruction and recovery processes of the historic city and its residential neighborhoods. An extensive review of international examples and literature on guidance has been conducted to provide insight into best practices and potential solutions. As a result, a set of lessons learned that can be used to address post-conflict and post-disaster recovery and reconstruction in similar situations is given.@en

The article presents the potentials and capacities of extracurricular activities such as student workshops for strengthening existing curricula and introducing emerging specialised areas, topics, and challenges into architectural higher education. The specific objective of this study is to enhance and test different pedagogical models for learning on the sustainable rehabilitation of mass housing neighbourhoods (MHN), as a specific type of modern heritage, through innovative extracurricular teaching practices based on interdisciplinarity, flexibility, and adaptability. This research presents three student workshops focusing on the rehabilitation of mass housing neighbourhoods (MHN), involving students, academics, and professionals from the field, organised in Germany, Serbia, and North Macedonia in 2022. Moreover, it engages a comparative analysis of the learning formats and approaches developed within this discipline-specific cross-border collaboration. The study provides (1) an insight into the comparative analysis of learning capabilities and (2) the formulation of workshop models supported by diagramming of the workshop structure. The conclusion of the article summarises the findings and highlights the essential aspects for engaging student workshops, as an instrument for generating operational knowledge in the field of mass housing rehabilitation.@en

In an era of rapid architectural evolution, the preservation of architectural heritage, particularly that of the Modern Movement, stands as a paramount challenge. This contribution aims to showcase the collaboration between Architectuul, an open data architecture community, and Docomomo International, a global non-profit organisation dedicated to the documentation and conservation of buildings, sites and neighbourhoods of the Modern Movement, which is present with national working parties in 79 countries. Since 1990, Docomomo International has been collecting, researching, and documenting information of over a thousand Modern Movement buildings in systematic ‘building fiches’, part of which have been published in the Docomomo Journal, biannual international conference proceedings, and several book publications in English and other languages. Consequently, Docomomo has established itself nationally and internationally as a point of reference and partner for organisations like ICOMOS, UIA or the Getty Conservation Institute. Nevertheless, only a fraction of this rich material is readily accessible in digital form, and over the years, Docomomo has recognised the critical and challenging task of building a sustainable, continually updated, cost-efficient, and openly accessible archive to disseminate this architectural knowledge further across geographies and cultures, beyond the printed versions and local digital repositories.@en

Docomomo International is proud to present the results of the international project Shared Heritage Africa: Rediscovering Masterpieces and other selected papers from our call for papers Shared Heritage Africa – Campuses, published in December 2022. The SHA project itself, coordinated by Docomomo Germany, focused on rediscovering post-war modern buildings from the 1950s-1980s in the partner countries Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, and Rwanda. This period of independence from colonial rule, from the United Kingdom (Ghana 1957, Nigeria 1960, and Uganda 1962) and from Belgium (Rwanda 1962), has a great socio-political significance and influence on the educational systems and buildings. The rediscovery of this heritage focuses on exploring the values, challenges, and opportunities through the eyes of their contemporary users. Concentrating on the post-war modern buildings constructed after indepen-dence from colonial rule, the project celebrated projects that are situated at the periphery of the architectural discourse and, therefore, seldom documented despite their social, economic, and political significance.@en

MCMH has been generally underestimated in urban and architectural studies, and there is still a lack of comparative analysis and global perspectives. From 2019 to today, the COST Action Middle-Class Mass Housing in Europe (MCMH-EU) has created a transnational network among researchers conducting studies on MCMH sites in Europe since the 1950s. The Action aims to develop a more comprehensive understanding of MCMH sprawl in cities and deepen the knowledge by focusing on the existing cases, public policies, new concepts and research methodologies. Besides the current methods, surveys, and contextualisation that allow us to map the existing cases, the Action also aims to show the diversity and resilience of MCMH in terms of adapting to the current urban and social conditions.@en

Purpose: Housing interventions carried out in accordance with current regulations in the Old City of Aleppo, both before and after the Syrian war, are minor in comparison to those carried out without a license and illegally. This suggests current policies are inadequate and needs upgrading. Design/methodology/approach: This article critically reviews current Syrian policies and their implementation on residential heritage in the Old City of Aleppo with the aim to identify gaps and propose directions for modifications. Next to a review of the text of official policies and implementation documents, the archive of the Directorate of the Old City has been consulted and license applications, presented in the period 2018–2022, have been examined. Moreover, interviews with decision-makers from academics and practice were conducted. Findings: Major limitations of these policies and relative application procedures have been identified: these involve: legal/administrative, economic and social aspects. Originality/value: The specific needs have been highlighted and some proposals for improvement made.

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The concepts of collective management of housing and urban spaces are being revisited within the contemporary discussions about community-driven approaches and practices and, in particular, related to the revitalization of residential neighbourhoods. This research identifies the concepts of self-management and social ownership of housing in the post-World War II period in Yugoslavia as an important legacy of Yugoslav urban planning and housing policies. Although they were subsequently neglected, these concepts can contribute to contemporary global discussions about housing affordability and the role of community in ensuring spatial and social equality. New Belgrade mass housing blocks—the main site for testing the new dwelling concepts, in terms of both policies and modernist design—are the object of this research. The article is mainly a theoretical analysis of the issues of common interest and engagement, common good, and common spaces which played a decisive role in its design. The study applies interpretative and correlational research methods in re-theorizing these concepts and their underlying narratives. It traces how the perspectives on the collective practices and spaces evolved over time, revealing a correlation between changed social practices and the spatial deterioration of the New Belgrade mass housing blocks. The study highlights the importance of both collective practices and common spaces for addressing housing issues, emphasizing their instrumentality, and potentiality for rearticulating the dialogue between public and private, engaging citizens in interactive and inclusive decision-making and co-creation of the urban reality.@en