Modernism Revisited: Typology – Topography – Strategy ETOM Milestone Conference 2026
Modernism Revisited 2026, held within the official programme of ECOC Trenčín 2026, invites scholars, architects, planners, educators, researchers, and policymakers to reflect on how modernist architecture, landscape, and planning visions can be reinterpreted and reactivated in the twenty-first century. The conference seeks an interdisciplinary dialogue across time and scale—linking architectural form with territorial context, and historical experience with contemporary and future scenarios. This conference is organised by the Jaromír Krejcar Society and the ETOM NEB Lab partnered with DOCOMOMO Slovakia. Modernism—both as a historical movement and as an continuous architectural, technological, and cultural layer—continues to shape how we build, inhabit, and imagine the world. Emerging from diverse political, climatic, and cultural contexts—from liberal democracies to state-planned economies—in the past century generated a wide spectrum of approaches to architecture, urbanism, and life. Today, these multiple legacies face new realities: ecological transitions, demographic shifts, and the transformation of once-public infrastructures and institutions. While mere technocratic, aesthetically formalistic and ideologically dogmatic conceptions of Modernism did not survive. The theories, practices and ideologies of modern thinking continue to shape our realities, while being constantly challenged and questioned. In order to challenge the current multicrisis, the humanist, emancipatory and social aspects need to be considered. The legacy of Modernism lives on as a structural framework to be filled in with contemporary ideas.
Contributions are invited under three thematic lenses:
1. Typology — Repurposed A critical notion of Typology explores Modernism through the lens of architectural form and organization. It revisits the models, concepts, and systems that once structured public, collective or private spheres of life and asks how they can be understood and reimagined across different cultural, climatic, and political settings, through shared and personal experiences. Typology is approached not only as a technical or historical notion, but as a conceptual framework that connects design thinking with broader questions of social organization and transformation. Possible topics include: Architectural and spatial typologies of Modernism — social infrastructure, recreation, culture, administration, education and health Typology as a conceptual or methodological approach in design and planning Reinterpretations and transformations of collective living and standardised forms Typologies as "organizational models of life," linking architecture to social and political structures (Dis)continuity, hybridisation and mutation of typological thinking across regions and periods
2. Topography — Remodeled Topography considers Modernism within its landscape, climatic, social, environmental and territorial settings. It focuses on the modern environments and its (r)evolution within the ecological systems, infrastructures, and communities. This theme invites perspectives on how modern architecture and planning transformed, and continues to interact with, the physical and social geographies that surround them—in different scales and contexts. Possible topics include: Modern landscapes, regions, and territorial structures Environmental and social ecologies of modern sites Stakeholders, communities, and the dynamics of intervention Changing visibility, accessibility, and representation of modern environments Interactions between built form, infrastructure, and natural systems Reaction to changing climatic conditions
3. Strategy — Reinvented Strategy explores how modern legacies can be re-engaged through contemporary design practice, education, research, and policy-making. This theme invites forward-looking and interdisciplinary approaches that respond to today's ecological, technological, and social transformations. Strategy also welcomes historical and contemporary examples from practice and pedagogy that translate modern principles into contemporary conditions of experimentation, collaboration, and care. Possible topics include: Adaptive reuse, revitalization, preservation and transformation of modern heritage Ecological and socio-economic frameworks for sustainable modernization Innovative methodologies in design, planning, and heritage management Governance, policy, and collaborative approaches to complex environments Education and practice as agents of transformation Speculative and critical scenarios for future forms of living, dwelling, and production Cross-cutting Questions What does Modernism mean today? Is it still a living concept or a historical notion? Which legacies and interpretations of Modernism remain relevant? How can Modernism be reinterpreted and reactivated for contemporary and future challenges? How should we transform the methods of modern investigation in the face of current challenges? What new trajectories—architectural, speculative, experimental, ecological, social, ethical and political—can its legacies open? How do historical typologies engage with diverse climates and societal needs today? Which transformations, whether successful or contested, provide insight for future practice?
Pozn.: Medzinárodná konferencia bude prebiehať výhradne v anglickom jazyku.
Podujatie je zaradené do PVA, B (10 kreditov).
SKA nad podujatím prevzala odbornú záštitu.
Za uvedené informácie zodpovedá organizátor.