10 Modernist Masterpieces Get a New Lease on Life
As part of its commitment to celebrating and preserving some of the world’s best examples of modernist architecture, the Getty Foundation’s Keeping It Modern initiative added 10 new grants to its already impressive roster. With the foundation’s support, new research, testing, analysis, and planning work can be put into making sure these buildings continue to inform and inspire architects and design enthusiasts for years to come.
The Keeping It Modern initiative now supports the conservation of 64 architecturally significant projects with the addition of these 10 buildings. That’s pretty impressive for an endeavor that is only six years old.
Read on to learn more about the projects, which can be found in locations as far-flung as Bulgaria’s Buzludzha Peak and as bustling as the Argentinian city of Córdoba.
Buzludzha Monument by Georgi Stoilov, Buzludha Peak, Bulgaria, 1981
A striking example of Soviet-era brutalism, the Buzludha Monument commemorated the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Bulgarian socialist party.
Torino Esposizioni by Pier Luigi Nervi, Turin, Italy, 1954
This light-washed convention center was last used in 2006, when Turin hosted the Winter Olympics.
Beira Railway Station by Paulo de Melo Sampaio, João A. Garizo do Carmo, and Francisco José de Castro, Beira, Mozambique, 1965
Although the Beira Railway Station is still technically in use, the Keeping It Modern grant will enable the city to find expanded uses for the postwar structure.
North Christian Church by Eero Saarinen, Columbus, Indiana, 1964
The dramatic geometry of the church’s spire and form instantly identify it as a Saarinen work.
Miller House and Garden by Eero Saarinen, Columbus, Indiana, 1953
For the Miller House and Garden, Saarinen partnered with landscape architect Daniel Urban Kiley, who also designed gardens at the Gateway Arch National Park in St. Louis, Missouri, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
Escuela Superior de Comercio Manuel Belgrano by Osvaldo Bidinost, José Gassó, Mabel Lapacó, and Martín Meyer, Córdoba, Argentina, 1968
University students still flock under the building's unique sloped floating roof, rendered in reinforced concrete and local stone.
Laboratory for Faculty of Chemical Technology at Kaunas University of Technology by Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis, Kaunas, Lithuania, 1935
The Laboratory was part of a massive construction boom that only gained steam after Lithuania declared independence from the newly-founded USSR in 1918.
Uganda National Museum by Ernst May, Kampala, Uganda, 1954
This building plays with elements of International Style, such as perforated partitions and angled walls, to accommodate Kampala's hot and humid climate.
Paraninfo at the Universidad Laboral de Cheste by Fernando Moreno Barberá, Cheste, Spain, 1969
The Paraninfo was originally intended to be an educational building for workers' children during Franco's fascist rule over Spain.
Villa E-1027 by Eileen Gray, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, 1929
This building was the architect and furniture designer's own private vacation home.
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