About the project

"Monitoring of Macedonian Modernist Heritage" is a project implemented by the Macedonian National Committee of ICOMOS. It is a comprehensive project focused on mapping, analyzing the condition of, and creating a digital inventory/database for exceptional examples of modernist heritage in our country. The project envisages quantitative and qualitative mapping of the objects, as well as their valorization and integrity. The project is supported by the ALIPH Foundation as an associated partner of the European Heritage Hub, a pilot project co-financed by the EU, and is realized in cooperation with the Association of Architecture MARH – Macedonian Architecture.

Methodology

Field data from the monitoring is collected according to a specially created methodology based on the best global practices and recommendations for cultural heritage monitoring, which include basic data about the object; a description of its original and current condition, values, i.e., the level of preservation of authenticity and integrity, and recommendations for future measures. Subsequently, the collected data is integrated into a specially designed database that is accessible to the public through this web platform. The project aimed to expand its focus nationally and cover the entire modernist period from the beginning of the 20th century to 1990. The methodology working group divided this timeframe into three periods: 1920–1945, 1945–1963, and 1963–1990. In this phase of the project, efforts were directed towards the earliest phase (1920–1945), which includes the most vulnerable examples of early modernist heritage.

Field Teams

The main activity of the project is the field monitoring and documentation of modernist objects throughout the country to gain accurate insight into their state of preservation and identify the needs for protective conservation actions. The project "Monitoring of Macedonian Modernist Heritage" is implemented by expert members of ICOMOS Macedonia organized into three field teams. Each of the field teams consists of experienced experts in the field of cultural heritage protection (architects, conservators, art historians, civil engineers) and members from the Association of Architecture MARH – Macedonian Architecture.

About the Macedonian National Committee of ICOMOS

The National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites ICOMOS in Macedonia is a member of the International Council on Monuments and Sites ICOMOS, based in Paris. ICOMOS is the largest global professional non-governmental organization in the field of cultural heritage protection and conservation. The focus of ICOMOS's interest is promoting the application of theory, methodology, and scientific techniques for the conservation of architectural and archaeological heritage. In worldwide terms, ICOMOS has nearly 11,000 individual members in 151 countries; 300 institutional members; 110 national committees (including the Macedonian National Committee of ICOMOS) and has 28 international scientific committees. More about the Macedonian National Committee of ICOMOS on the official website.

Participants from the "Monitoring of Macedonian Modernist Heritage" project

Many thanks for the help and support of the State Archives of RNM - Skopje, Kumanovo, Bitola, Veles, Prilep, Ohrid, Tetovo, and Strumica Departments for their readiness to share important documentation.