Training and Education on the Conservation of Modern Heritage

Training and Education on the Conservation of Modern Heritage seeks to improve the conservation and management of twentieth-century built heritage by offering training activities for heritage professionals, creating and disseminating didactic materials, and strengthening the community of practice in this field.

• Developed and delivered training courses and workshops, which as of October 2025, at least 528 people have participated in, including 278 participants for Conservation Management Planning workshops; 52 participants for the International Course on the Conservation of Modern Heritage; 92 participants for the Introduction to Conserving Modern Architecture course; 23 participants for the course on Modern Architecture Conservation in India; 23 participants for Conserving Black Modernism workshops; and 60 participants for Twentieth Century Historic Thematic Framework workshops in Africa and the Middle East.
• Conducted a global survey of academic and other training institutions to assess current strengths and gaps in educational and training programs related to the conservation of twentieth-century built heritage in partnership with Docomomo ISC E+T
• Developed and delivered a three-day introductory course, "Introduction to Conserving Modern Architecture," held in person at the Getty Center in 2018 and 2019 and presented as a monthlong online training with an expanded curriculum in 2021
• Developed and delivered the "International Course on the Conservation of Modern Heritage" in 2023 and 2025. This is an intensive, hybrid training course including several virtual instructional modules followed by two weeks of lectures, coursework, and field exercises in Los Angeles.
• Developed the course "Modern Architecture Conservation in India" in partnership with INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage), a hybrid training course for mid-career professionals from the Indian subcontinent. The course, delivered in early 2025 for the first time, was composed of four online modules followed by one week in Ahmedabad. It will be offered a second time in the fall of 2026 in collaboration with INTACH and CEPT Professional Programmes.
• From 2015 to 2021, brought together 166 grant recipients of Getty’s Keeping It Modern international grant initiative, representing 72 iconic modern buildings and sites, for specialized training in preparing conservation management plans
• Developed and delivered the "Values-Based Conservation Process: A Workshop for Conserving Black Modernism" in partnership with the National Trust of Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund (AACHAF) in 2024 and 2025. This workshop was provided to recipients of the Conserving Black Modernism grant from the Getty Foundation and AACHAF. Each training was five days in person in Los Angeles, featuring lectures, workshops, and site visits.
• Advised and contributed to two Keeping It Modern regional workshops for heritage practitioners and students organized by Thunghai University in Taichung, Taiwan (2024) and Kosovo’s Architecture Foundation in Prishtina, Kosovo (2024) with support from the Getty Foundation
• Developed and delivered a one-day training workshop on conservation management planning at the 2017 International Iconic Houses Network Conference for stewards of historic modern houses
• Developed and delivered a one-day modern conservation training workshop for the American Institute of Architects’ annual conference in 2016
• Created and disseminated didactic material for the trainings above, including course curricula and syllabi, session outlines, lectures, technical notes, bibliographies, and case studies

Over the past thirty years, appreciation for twentieth-century places has increased globally along with recognition that they constitute heritage to be transmitted to future generations. Conserving and managing the legacy of the past century is a relatively new topic that poses specific theoretical and material challenges that are not part of a typical heritage conservation curriculum.

Strengthening the capacity of those currently involved in the conservation field is key to ensuring that this important heritage is well cared for. An enormous quantity of buildings produced during the last century are now reaching an age where they require major interventions; therefore, the need for well-trained, competent practitioners is growing too.

Margherita Pedroni, Project Manager, Project Specialist; Ana Paula Arato Gonçalves, Associate Project Specialist; César Bargues Ballester, Associate Project Specialist; Elsa Haarstad, Assistant Project Specialist; Susan Macdonald, Head, Buildings and Sites; Chandler McCoy, Principal Project Specialist; Gail Ostergren, Senior Research Specialist; Ryan McKeithan, Senior Project Coordinator

National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (Introductory Courses); DOCOMOMO International Scientific Committee on Education and Training (Global Survey on Education and Training for the Conservation of Twentieth-Century Built Heritage); Getty Foundation (Keeping It Modern and Conserving Black Modernism grantee workshops); Twentieth Century Society (Keeping It Modern grantee workshops); National Trust for Historic Preservation African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund (Conserving Black Modernism workshops), INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) and CEPT Professional Programmes (Modern Architecture Conservation in India course)