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Download ISC20C Heritage Alert Template Here HERITAGE ALERTS ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on 20th Century Heritage Background The ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Twentieth Century Heritage (ISC20C) was established in 2005
to lead and sustain this area of ICOMOS activity conservation practice. The ISC20C deals with issues impacting Twentieth century heritage places arising from: Lack of recognition of their significance,
promotion and celebration; Specific
construction technology and materials; Particularity of original design ideas and social contexts;
Management and development pressures and
Neglectand aims to encourage the sustainability and survival of Twentieth Century
heritage places. Twentieth Century Heritage places include buildings, structures, urban ensembles and plans, cultural landscapes,
industrial and historic archaeology, tangible and intangible values. The Heritage Alert process uses the ISC20C’s professional and public networks to promote the conservation of
Twentieth Century Heritage and draw attention to the threats which it confronts and to promote good conservation solutions. The Committee
recognizes that publicizing and defining such matters requires a high degree of responsibility. The assessment of situations
leading to a Heritage Alert being issued by ICOMOS ISC20C will therefore be pursued with ethical rigor and accuracy. The Committee is by its nature is multi-disciplinary,
with expert members worldwide. The Heritage Alert objectives The Committee regularly receives requests from affinity groups and the public for letters supporting efforts
to conserve or protect Twentieth Century Heritage properties which are under threat. To ensure the reputation and international
credibility of the ISC20C Heritage Alert response, a formal process has been established that will confirm that the
heritage significance and threat is well understood before an ISC20C Heritage Alert is issued. A template outlining the information needed to prepare
a Heritage Alert is attached and available for download on the ISC20C website. The ICOMOS ISC20C Heritage Alert project aims to: 1. Use
the expertise of the members of the ISC20C committee and relevant national ICOMOS committee to assess the
significance of and threats to a property indicated to be at risk; 2. Confirm the facts of the threat and the heritage significance of the property; 3.
Alert the public to the significance and
threat to the property at risk using ICOMOS networks to publicise the situation; 4.
Selectively act to support the conservation
of the property at risk; 5. Maintain
a list of properties at risk and follow the results of any conservation action for future analysis and 6.
Provide input to the ICOMOS Heritage
at Risk Report. The ICOMOS Heritage Alert system will be compatible with similar programs currently promoted by other
conservation non-profit organizations and NGOs. The opportunity to disseminate information through the networks of partner
organizations such as UAI, Docomomo and TICCIH gives further scope for publicity, and adds mutual responsibility for the accuracy
of the Heritage Alert assessment. ISC20C Heritage Alert Advocacy Sub-Committee A
small Advocacy Sub-Committee has been established within the ISC20C to handle requests for Heritage Alert action.
The committee is established on an annual rotation, renewable. It consists of two committee members, the ISC20C Secretary
General, the ISC20C president (or nominee) and includes an ICOMOS member who has been involved in a recent Heritage Alert. Heritage Alert Process A five step process includes broad but fast consultation by the Advocacy
sub-committee. 1. Preliminary Assessment:
When a proposal for an alert is received, it is distributed to all sub-committee members for an initial confirmation
that the case is of international or national significance. If so, the Advocacy sub-committee chair (or acting chair), forwards
the Heritage Alert template to the proposer. and immediately invites comment and advice from the
relevant national committee of ICOMOS. The ICOMOS Secretary General is advised of the issuing of a Heritage Alert template.
Affiliated organizations such as Docomomo, TICCIH or UIA may also be advised and invited to investigate or take action,
such as joint support letters. 2. Advocacy Sub-committee recommendation: The sub-committee
Chair will receive the final template and associated documentation from the proposer Additional or comparative material may
be requested. The sub-committee will aim to assess and recommend on the Alert request by email within five business days whenever
possible and recommend action to the ISC20C president whose decisions are final. The ICOMOS Secretary General and relevant
ICOMOS National committee will be consulted regarding the proposed actions by the ISC20C President. 3. ISC20C Action: The ISC20C
Secretary General will prepare the necessary public documentation ISC20C letters and media briefing material in consultation
with the ICOMOS National Committee and ISC 20C President. 4. ICOMOS Action: The
ICOMOS Secretariat in Paris will facilitate the Heritage Alert being electronically forwarded to all ICOMOS members.
ISC20C
will prepare any letters required, including the addresses, and they will be disseminated on ICOMOS letterhead by the ICOMOS
Secretary General. 5. Website
Action: The Heritage Alert template and associated documentation will be uploaded on the ISC20C Website
by the ISC20C Secretary General. Assessing proposals for Heritage Alert 1. ASSESSMENT
CRITERIA: The ISC20C Advocacy sub-committee
will respect established national and international guidelines for the significance assessment of heritage through analysis
of history, fabric, form, function, use and design intent. The committee recognizes that it is important
to conserve not just building fabric, form and function, but the ideas and philosophies behind a building, structure or landscape
and its use. The committee may need to request and assess additional materials that rely on original research. Other critical
information needed may include comparative knowledge of other similar or associated places. 2. SCALE
OF INVOLVEMENT: ICOMOS, as an international
organization will generally respond only to requests of international/national urgency and forward other requests to national
and local heritage organizations for action. Decisions as to when a Heritage Alert will be accompanied by official correspondence from ICOMOS
to relevant national authorities, or indeed an ICOMOS conservation campaign will be resolved between the ISC20C President,
the national committee ICOMOS President and the ICOMOS Secretary General. 3. TEMPLATE: The Heritage Alert assessment template will regularly updated , kept
simple and the response methodology streamlined to ensure active and timely participation from the ISC20C Advocacy sub-Committee,
since most members are working on a volunteer basis and have a limited capacity to respond to requests. The template is available
for download below. 4. ICOMOS WIDE SCOPE: The Heritage Alert system may well be useful to other
ICOMOS national or scientific Committees and indeed to ICOMOS generally. 5. ORGANIZATIONAL
RELATIONS: Ongoing relationships with
cooperating international organizations running similar “heritage at risk” programs are always carefully considered
to ensure that the ICOMOS Heritage Alerts are both timely and effective. Cooperating organizations include the International
Working Party for Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites, and Neighborhoods of the Modern Movement (DOCOMOMO),
The International Committee for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage (TICCIH), and the International Union of Architects
(UIA). Sheridan Burke President, ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Twentieth Century Heritage Email. SheridanB@gml.com.au June 2012
Melnikov House,
Moscow, Russia Heritage Alert April 2, 2013 PRESS RELEASE The globally known masterpiece of the Russian architectural Avant-garde the Melnikov House built by Konstantin Melnikov in 1927-1929 is under threat of serious damage to its structural stability and historic fabric due to the on-going lack of conservation treatment and the immediate threat now posed by the proposed development on an adjacent site, which endangers the house’s internationally important heritage values. The leading International organizations for heritage protection of the 20th Century Heritage have expressed their intense concern about the alarming situation now facing the future of the Melnikov House in Moscow to the President of the Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Putin. The International Council on Monuments and Sites Twentieth Century International Scientific Committee (ICOMOS ISC20C) together with the International Working Party for Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites and Neighborhoods of the Modern Movement (Docomomo) and the International Union of Architects (UIA) have written also to the Mayor of Moscow Mr. Sergei Sobyanin and to Mr. Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, about the case. This globally known masterpiece of the Russian architectural Avant-garde built by Konstantin Melnikov in 1927-1929 is under threat of serious damage to its structural stability and historic fabric. “This is due to the on-going lack of conservation action and the immediate threat now posed by development adjacent, which endangers this internationally important heritage building”, said the Australian President of the ICOMOS ISC20C, Ms Sheridan Burke.“The eyes of the world are on Russia in this important case, and we must now appeal directly to the President for intervention”, said Ms Ana Tostoes, the Portuguese President of Docomomo International. “We believe that the outstanding heritage significance of Melnikov’s work is at serious risk of damage”, added the French President of the UIA, Mr Albert Dubler. There is an urgent need for a clear conservation-based strategy to be developed by Russian authorities to direct the future conservation and management of this uniquely Russian contribution to global architectural heritage. CONTACT FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Sheridan Burke, Australia, President ICOMOS ISC20C Gunny Harboe, USA Chair, ICOMOS ISC20C Heritage Alerts sub-committee, email: Gunny@harboearch.com See link to the publication of all
documents on the Melnikov House Heritage Alert on the Russian net:
ICOMOS ISC20C Melnikov Press Release, April 2, 2013 ICOMOS ISC20C Melnikov Heritage Alert ICOMOS Letter of Appeal to Russian Federation International Appeal on Works of Konstantin Melnikov
West Wing, Central Government Offices on Government Hill, Hong Kong
SAR, Built 1959 Heritage Alert June 13, 2012 PRESS RELEASE The International Scientific Committee on Twentieth Century Heritage (ISC20C) of the International Council on Monuments and Site (ICOMOS) has released a Heritage Alert regarding the threated demolition of the West Wing of the Central Government Offices (CGO) in Hong Kong, China. Built in the late 1950s, the Central Government Office is a significant architectural component of the Government Hill historic precinct and the ICOMOS ISC20C is requesting that the government of the Hong Kong SAR urgently reconsider the currently proposed redevelopment for the site that would build a new 32 story tower where the West Wing of the CGO stands currently. The ISC20C feels that a strong case can be made for the architectural and historic values of the CGO as a whole equally meeting the criteria for heritage listing, within a Special Protected Zone. Recent research on the architectural history of the West Wing suggests that its importance as a integral component of the group needs further consideration in the adaptive re-use of the government precinct. The preparation of a Conservation Management Plan, including a thorough examination of reuse options for the entire complex is needed to inform any decision on the future redevelopment of the site. The Heritage Alert process uses the ICOMOS ISC20C’s international professional and public networks to investigate requests for international action where potentially significant heritage places are threatened, by using external experts to assess research and comparative values, in order to achieve a rigorous, independent assessment of the situation. In cases such as the CGO, where the heritage values of all three buildings are well-proven, a Heritage Alert can be used to draw international attention to the threat and to promote good conservation solutions. The Heritage Alert will be uploaded to the ISC20C website and distributed through the networks of ICOMOS, DOCOMOMO International, and the International Union of Architects. It will be updated as further information comes to hand. The Heritage Alert review was undertaken by ISC20C members from Sweden, South Africa, the USA and Australia, who engaged with local citizens and reviewed the documentary evidence. Beside the architectural and heritage loss, the demolition of the West Wing of the CGO would be seen as a sign of departure from the widely acknowledged commitment of China to the protection and long-term conservation of its cultural heritage and historic sites of all periods, be they ancient or modern. We urge the SAR government to suspend the current proposal and to engage in a process to ensure that the heritage significance of the Central Government Office complex as a whole, including the West Wing, is retained as one of Hong Kong’s landmarks of 20th Century architecture in its historic precinct setting of Government Hill. For more information, please visit: www.governmenthill.org CONTACT
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: isc20c@icomos-isc20c.org Sheridan Burke, Australia, President ICOMOS ISC20C Gunny Harboe, USA Chair, ICOMOS ISC20C Heritage Alerts sub-committee
ICOMOS ISC20C Hong Kong CGO Press Release ICOMOS Heritage Alert CGO Hong Kong 12 June 2012 ICOMOS DOCOMOMO UIA Letter of Appeal June 2012 ICOMOS ISC20C reply regarding CGO Hong Kong 17 August 2012 ICOMOS ISC20C reply regarding CGO West Wing 13 November 2012 |
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Stockholm City Library, Stockholm, Sweden, Built 1928 Heritage Alert September
2009 Summary: In 2007, the winning design of an architectural competition for an extension to the
Gunnar Asplund designed Stockholm City Library was announced. The heritage significance of the library building and
its annexes are theoretically protected by a range of Swedish laws, but it is considered that the winning design would have
serious adverse impacts on the heritage of the Asplund Library complex. The proposed size of the new buildings would overwhelm the library and the original monumental main entrance
would loose its function, thereby diminishing the power of Asplund's original design. The proposed demolition of the
three annexes would destroy the overall experience of the site as originally planned and designed by Asplund. The heritage values of this site, and the international importance
of the work of Gunnar Asplund requires careful and comprehensive reconsideration of the proposal to avoid such impacts. The presidents of ICOMOS, the International Union of Architects,
DOCOMOMO International and the ICOMOS ISC20C have jointly requested that the Mayor of the City of Stockholm urgently reconsider
the project to avoid any adverse heritage impacts, and to resolve a more acceptable design solution in heritage terms. Save Stockholm City Library Appeal |
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