City Icons: Amsterdam - Final Call!

An Elementalist and Mediterranean Architecture

MORE MIES - Pure Architecture in Haus Lange Haus Esters

Through a Bauhaus Lens: Edith Tudor-Hart and Isokon

Modernism Week Lecture: 10 Years of Iconic Houses

Aluminaire House Grand Opening

Exhibition Icons of the Czech Avant-Garde

Icon for Sale - Loos Villa: Haus Horner

SPECIAL – Iconic Dreams Europe - Sleep in an Iconic House!

SPECIAL – German Greats!

SPECIAL - Vacances en France!

SPECIAL - Casas Icónicas en España!

SPECIAL – Dutch Delights!

SPECIAL – Iconic Artist Residencies

SPECIAL – Northern (High)Lights!

SPECIAL – Iconic Housing

SPECIAL – Women & Iconic Houses

Winy Wants a World Wonder

Welcome Atelier Volten!

Public Screenings and Private Streaming of Pioneers of the Dutch Modern House

Sleep in a Modernist Gem – Huis Billiet in Bruges

Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - 100 Years Van Zessen House

Exclusive Tour and Film Screening Package

The Last House Designed by Adolf Loos Will Be Built in Prague

Icons of the Czech Avantgarde

Icon for Sale - Casa Legorreta

Rietveld Day: 200 Enthusiasts Explored 3 Utrecht Icons

Hurray! 10 Years Iconic Houses

7th International Iconic Houses Conference A Huge Success

Meet Conference Co-Chair Iveta Černá

Meet Conference Co-Chair Maria Szadkowska

Eighteen Iconic Houses Under One Roof

17 June - 'Pioneers-film' Screening Amersfoort

Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - Van Eesteren House Museum

Welcome Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky Zentrum in Vienna!

Welcome Vila Volman! Jewel of Czech Functionalism

Movie Night: Adolf Loos- Revolutionary Among Architects

'Inside Iconic Houses' Case Study House #26 Webcast in Webshop

Inside Iconic Houses at Taut’s Home in Berlin

Rediscovering Forgotten Loos Interiors in Pilsen

'Inside Iconic Houses' - Online Tour Program

Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - The Diagoon House

Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - Rietveld Schröder House

Rietveld Houses Owners Association

Corberó Space: New Life for Hidden Jewel

Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - Pierre Cuypers' House and Workshops

Reeuwijk Celebrates Completion of Restoration Rietveld Homes!

Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - Van Doesburg Rinsema House

Welcome Rietveld's Van Daalen House!

Architect Harry Gessner Passed Away at 97

Watch Pioneers of the Dutch Modern House Now On Demand

Icon Saved: Dorchester Drive House

Welcome Umbrella House!

Iconic Houses in the Netherlands – Berlage’s Masterpiece

Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - Het Schip

Inside Iconic Houses - Tour of Maison Cazenave

Inside Iconic Houses Tours Vizcaya Museum & Gardens in Miami

Casa Masó Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary

Inside Iconic Houses tours Roland Reisley's Usonian Frank Lloyd Wright House

Rietveld’s Experimental Housing in Reeuwijk Saved

Serralves Villa after restoration

Portraits of the Architect - Interview with Gennaro Postiglione

Test Labs for New Ideas - Interview with Natascha Drabbe

Inside Iconic Houses - Isokon Building

Inside Iconic Houses - 16 December: Sunnylands with Janice Lyle

BCN-BXL Coderch-De Koninck - Beyond Time

New Chairman Architect Nanne de Ru on The Perfect Platform

Health and Home - Interview with Beatriz Colomina

A Life Less Ordinary – Interview with Valentijn Carbo

Invisible Women - Interview with Alice T. Friedman

Winy Maas on the Green Dip

Anita Blom on Experimental Housing of the 1970s

Women’s Worlds - Interview with Natalie Dubois

The Culture of Living - Interview with Robert von der Nahmer

Hetty Berens: A Fresh Take on Modernism

Niek Smit on Supporting Modern Heritage

Alice Roegholt on Amsterdam’s Working-Class Palaces

July is Iconic Houses Month

Hans van Heeswijk on The Pioneers of the Dutch Modern House

Wessel de Jonge on Dutch Icons at Risk

Save Maison Zilveli - Sign the Petition!

How a Building Tells a Story - Recorded Event

Toolkit for Owners of a Modern House

13 Aalto Sites Nominated for UNESCO World Heritage

Villa Beer At Risk - Sign the Petition!

Business Cards of Stone, Timber and Concrete in the Brussels Region 1830-1970

Exhibiting & Visiting Modernist Monuments

Fostering Well-Researched Responsible Design

ICONS AT RISK

Enjoy a virtual visit to the California House and a Q&A with architect Peter Gluck

Exhibition 'Modernism and Refuge'

A Hidden Gem of Postmodernism

New Centre for Historic Houses of India

An Online Chronicle of the Douglas House

Villa Henny, geometric style icon in The Netherlands

A Mendini temple in Amsterdam

IH-lectures USA & Canada Feb 2020 on Melnikov House

Sponsors and Friends

An Afternoon with the Glucks

Chandler McCoy on Making Modern Houses Sustainable

Catherine Croft: Getting Away from the Demolition Mentality in the UK

Patrick Weber on Discovering an Unknown Icon

Fiona Fisher on Iconic Interiors

Jocelyn Bouraly on Villa Cavrois

Mireia Massagué on finding success through a new kind of partnership

Danish Moderns – Looking Back at Our Mini-Seminar

Venturo house complements Exhibition Centre WeeGee’s offering

Lecture report: Remembering Richard Neutra

Hôtel Mezzara and the Guimard Museum project

We welcome 13 new members!

BREAKING NEWS: 8 Wright Sites Inscribed on Unesco World Heritage List!

LECTURE 29 August - Raymond Neutra: My Father and Frank Lloyd Wright

Iconic Reads

Our Badge of Honour

Iconic Houses End Year Message

City-ordered rebuild of landmark house stirs debate: Appropriate or overreach?

Kohlberg House Restoration in Progress

Planned Demolition of Rietveld Homes in Reeuwijk

Renovation Gili House in Crisis

An Iconic Saga

Restoring Eileen Gray’s Villa E-1027 and Clarifying the Controversies

Modernism on the East Coast

Iconic Houses in Latin America

Conference testimonials

House Tours May 2018 

Expert Meetings

Natascha Drabbe - Iconic Houses: The Next Chapter

Terence Riley -KEYNOTE SPEAKER- on Philip Johnson

New era for Villa E-1027 and Cap Moderne

Hilary Lewis on Philip Johnson and his Glass House

John Arbuckle on Great House Tours

William D. Earls on the Harvard Five in New Canaan

Stover Jenkins on Working for Philip Johnson

Frederick Noyes on his Father’s House

Scott Fellows and Craig Bassam on their Passion for Preservation

Jorge Liernur -KEYNOTE SPEAKER- on Latin American Modernism(s)

Fabio Grementieri on Modernism in Argentina

Catalina Corcuera Cabezut on Casa Luis Barragán

Renato Anelli on Lina Bo Bardi’s Casa de Vidro

Tim McClimon on Corporate Preservation

Amanda Nelson on Building Donor Relationships

John Bacon on Planned Giving

Jean-Paul Warmoes on the Art of Fundraising in America

Chandler McCoy on Why Less is More

Katherine Malone-France on Moving with the Times

Anne Mette Rahbæk on Philanthropic Investments and Preservation

Peter McMahon on Saving Modern Houses on Cape Cod

Toshiko Kinoshita on Japanese Modern Heritage Houses

Roland Reisley on Life in a Frank Lloyd Wright House

5th Iconic Houses Conference May 2018

Kristin Stone, Pasadena Tour Company

Restoring the past: The Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Home Studio

Behind the Scenes: Hendrick de Keyser Association

Crosby Doe, Architecture for Sale

Latin America Special – Focus on Mexico

De Stijl in Drachten

Preserving the Nancarrow House-Studio

Meet the Friends - Nanne de Ru

Latin America Special – Focus on Brazil

Jan de Jong’s House is Latest Hendrick de Keyser Acquisition

Stay in a Belgian Modernist Masterpiece

In Berlin’s Modernist Network

Rietveld-Schröder House Celebrates De Stijl Anniversary

Meet Our New Foundation Board Members

Maintaining Aalto's Studio – Linoleum Conservation

Virtual Tour of a Papaverhof Home in 3D

Getty Grant for Villa E-1027

Plečnik House in Ljubljana

Iconic Dacha

Iconic Houses: A Bohemian Road Trip

Work in Progress: Capricho de Gaudí

11 Le Corbusier Homes now on Unesco World Heritage List

At home with Le Corbusier

Henry van de Velde’s Study in Haus Hohe Pappeln Restored

Lynda Waggoner reports

A Conference to Remember

4th International Iconic Houses Conference

Guest of Honor - Harry Gesner

Fallingwater: European Lecture Tour

Wright Plus 2016 Walk

Susan Macdonald, Getty Conservation Institute

John Mcllwee, Garcia House

Meet the Friends – Elisabeth Tostrup

Iconic Houses: The Story So Far

Willie van Burgsteden, designer Iconic Houses

Buff Kavelman, Philanthropic Advisor

Meet the Friends - Frederick Noyes

Sheridan Burke, GML Heritage

Meet the Friends - Raymond Neutra

Sidney Williams, Frey House

Franklin Vagnone and Deborah Ryan, Museum Anarchists

Meet the Friends - James Haefner

Toshiko Mori, architect

Malachi Connolly, Cape Cod Modern House Trust

Meet the Friends - Penny Sparke

Lucia Dewey Atwood, Eames House

Cory Buckner, Mutual Housing Site Office

Jeffrey Herr, Hollyhock House

Speaking Volumes: Building the Iconic Houses Library

Sarah Lorenzen, Neutra VDL Studio and Residences

Ted Bosley, Gamble House

Keeping It Modern - Getty Conservation Grants

Meet the Friends - Thomas Schönauer

Wim de Wit, Stanford University

Linda Dishman, Los Angeles Conservancy

Jesse Lattig, Pasadena Heritage

Join us in Los Angeles! Update

Work in Progress: Casa Vicens

Work in Progress: Van Wassenhove House

Work in Progress: Villa Cavrois

Work in Progress: The Pearlroth House

Conference calls!

Follow us!

Third Iconic Houses Conference a huge success

Conference House Tours Barcelona

Marta Lacambra, Fundació Catalunya-La Pedrera

Natascha Drabbe, Iconic Houses Foundation

Special speaker Oscar Tusquets

Jordi Tresserras, UNESCO Network ‘Culture, tourism and development’

Christen Obel, Utzon Foundation

Elena Ruiz Sastre, Casa Broner

Fernando Alvarez Prozorovich, La Ricarda

Tim Benton, Professor of Art History (Emeritus)

Susana Landrove, Docomomo Spain

Rossend Casanova, Casa Bloc

Conference Program 25 November 2014

Jordi Falgàs, Casa Rafael Masó

Documentary La Ricarda

Marga Viza, Casa Míla/La Pedrera

Celeste Adams, Frank Lloyd Wright Trust

Conference 25 November 2014 at La Pedrera

Henry Urbach, The Glass House

Victoria & Albert Museum London November 12

Tommi Lindh, new director of the Alvar Aalto Foundation and Museum

Iveta Černá, Villa Tugendhat

Lynda Waggoner, Fallingwater

Kimberli Meyer, MAK Center

Rent a house designed by Gerrit Rietveld

Barragán House on Screen

Gesamtkunstwerk – An Icon on the Move

Triennale der Moderne 27 September - 13 October 2013

Prestigious Art Nouveau mansions in Brussels open

September 14 + 15: Heritage Days in Paris

June's New Arrivals: Museum Apartments

Iconic Houses is now on Twitter and Facebook

Corbu’s Cabanon: Reconstruction and Lecture

Projekt Mies In Krefeld: Life-sized model of the Krefeld Clubhouse

New arrivals: Spain special

MAMO: Le Corbu’s ‘Park in the Sky’ open 12 June

Taut's Home wins Europa Nostra Award

Annual Wright Architectural Housewalk: 18 May

Frank Lloyd Wright Homes on Screen

Message from the Editor

Neutra’s House on Screen

Michel Richard, Fondation Le Corbusier

Symposium The Public and the Modern House

Melnikov House on Screen

Iconic Houses in the media

Message from the Editor

Round Table Review

Eileen Gray House on Screen

Copy Culture

At Home in the 20th Century

New 20th century Iconic Houses website launches

Philippe Bélaval, Centre des monuments nationaux

18-12-2014

Third Iconic Houses Conference a huge success

The latest international gathering devoted to 20th-century museum houses helped to raise awareness among the general public, and morale among those in the sector

The third Iconic Houses Conference, held on 25 November 2014 at La Pedrera in Barcelona, brought together 150 participants from 17 different countries - all of them are professionals and stakeholders in the field of the 20th-century house museum. The conference, which has previously been held in Los Angeles and London, is an opportunity to establish a high-level debate on cultural needs and the maintenance of the architectural heritage, as well as a platform for advising governments on the protection of heritage under threat.
The event is also a forum for knowledge exchange, with this year’s edition featuring ten case studies from Iconic Houses members around the Mediterranean, detailing a variety of challenges and solutions. Finally, the conference also plays an important role in raising awareness, not only of the issues affecting 20th-century museum houses in general, but also of the work of the Iconic Houses organisation itself. In fact, the event proved to be a stimulus for some of the important 20th-century museum houses in Spain to join the Iconic Houses Network.

Growing importance
In Catalonia, there are now nine houses on the Iconic Houses list (out of the total of 13 located in Spain), five of which were designed by Antoni Gaudí. In fact, the current growth of the number of 20th-century house museums in Barcelona was one of the reasons for holding the conference there. Casa Amatller and Casa Lleó I Morera, from the so-called ‘Block of Discord’ where you can also find Casa Batlló, recently joined Iconic Houses, as will Gaudí’s earliest house, Casa Vicens, which is currently undergoing major restoration work before opening in 2016.
All this confirms what Natascha Drabbe, founder of the Iconic Houses Network, stressed in her opening presentation: that 20th-century houses are becoming an increasingly prominent part of the cultural landscape. Over the past five years, more than 30 modern house museums have opened their doors to the visiting public, she said. This is double the rate of the early 1990s, when the number of such houses opening for visitors peaked at 15 per five-year period.

Mediterranean tour
After hearing briefly about the history of Barcelona’s house museums and their recent development, the audience learned about Unesco’s programmes to support domestic architecture from this era, and how to preserve this fragile (although recent) heritage, while conserving its iconic value, essence and authenticity. The presentations which followed focused on important 20th-century houses located around the Mediterranean, including La Pedrera, Casa Bloc and La Ricarda/Casa Gomis in Barcelona; Casa Broner in Ibiza; Can Lis in Mallorca; Casa Masó in Girona; E1027 by Eileen Gray in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin in France; Quartier Modernes Frugès by Le Corbusier in Pessac, France; and the Villa Girasole by Angelo Invernizzi in Marcellise, Italy. The presentations detailed many practical issues affecting the houses, their custodians and their public. All lectures will be available in the video section of our website in January. The Iconic Houses Debate then broadened the discussion again.

Exchanging ideas
The day was closed by Oscar Tusquets’ presentation about Casa Vittoria, a (still) privately owned house that he designed on the island of Pantelleria in Sicily, a hidden gem among the domestic architecture of the 20th century. The conference message was again underlined: attention must be given to preserving these recent masterpieces, in order to safeguard their future. For the participants, the event explored ideas on how to do this, plus the chance to exchange experiences and thoughts. They left the event inspired and reinvigorated.

Meanwhile, the conference generated a huge amount of interest in the media, and succeeded not only in placing Iconic Houses on the agenda for those in the sector, but also in raising the awareness of the organisation, the houses and the issues surrounding them among the general public.

2016 conference
In our next newsletter the Iconic Houses Network will reveal where the fourth Iconic Houses conference will be held.

Acknowledgements
The Iconic Houses Network is extremely grateful to co-organiser Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera and to all the wonderful speakers and supporters who gave so generously of their time and resources.
Finally, a very special thanks to the team of Marga Viza, Silvia Vilarroya and Jordi Freixa, the producers of the conference. Without their enthusiasm and untiring efforts, this great event could have never happened.

A note on La Pedrera
La Pedrera, which has been open to the public as a cultural centre for more than 20 years, recently joined Iconic Houses and is now playing an active part in the network.
See also: the web special on La Pedrera or read the answers to our Five Questions from cultural director Marga Viza.

Media coverage

If your Spanish or Catalan is up to it, you can check out the various television items here. 
The leading newspapers La Vanguardia and El Periódico wrote extensively about the network and the new house museums.

Download the program HERE.
Download the information about the speakers HERE.


Statement of support for La Ricarda


Architect Fernando Alvarez Prozorovic, who has been involved with the restoration of La Ricarda since 1996, gave a statement about La Ricarda at the conference. You can read his statement in THIS LINK

An additional statement in support of La Ricarda’s future, has been made by the Iconic Houses Organising Committee:
The Iconic Houses Network visited La Ricarda on 24 November 2014 with a group of directors of 20th-century house museums from a total of 17 different nations. The group included directors of famous houses, such as the Unesco World Heritage listed Villa Tugendhat (designed by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Brno 1930), Richard Neutra's Studio and Residence in Los Angeles (1932) and the Alvar Aalto Foundation (Helsinki, Finland). From its global perspective, the Iconic Houses Network supports the statement made by architect Fernando Alvarez Prozorovich, about the importance of safeguarding La Ricarda, and we urge the Catalan Government and City Council of Barcelona to join forces to set up an expert committee to advise on La Ricarda’s future and to support the Gomis Bertrand family in their efforts to preserve the house for future generations.

La Ricarda is Antonio Bonet’s masterpiece and a total work of art, not only in its architectural design, but also in its furniture and detailing. It is of international importance. La Ricarda represents a period in history where the house was not only the home of the Gomis family, but also a haven where artists, musicians and writers could meet despite the political climate of the time, which repressed avant-garde culture. The house can play an educational role for architects and students to learn about construction and design and to be inspired, but it can also educate a wider public in social history. We recommend that the house will be preserved and become a museum, open to architects, scholars, students and to educate the public.

Iveta Černá, director Villa Tugendhat (USA)
Natascha Drabbe, director Van Schijndel House (Netherlands)
Kimberli Meyer, director MAK Center at the Schindler House  (USA)
Susanna Petterson, former director Alvar Aalto Foundation, now director Ateneum Art Museum (Finland)
Lynda Waggoner, director Fallingwater (USA)


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