Docomomo US and Docomomo US/Chicago invite researchers, practitioners, and enthusiasts involved in the process of preservation, conservation, renovation or transformation of buildings, sites and neighborhoods of the Modern Movement to investigate the theme: “Crossroads of Modern America”.

The site of Chicago has been recognized as a crossroads between the Great Lakes-St Lawrence River and Mississippi River watersheds by visitors and settlers since the earliest human presence. It has been further recognized as a crossroads for its place at the intersection of architecture, culture, and technological change. The rapidity of Chicago’s growth and innovative progress in the context of the modern movement suggests an opportunity for the 2020 meeting of Docomomo US to consider this history, its role in the forms and ideas of modernism in Mid-America, and analogous examples across the country.

The notion of “crossroads” reflects not only physical intersections within a place, but also a place in time where change itself has a rippling effect. Throughout the modern movement innovations have blossomed at these intersections. Periods of rapid growth, resettlement, or other aspects of cultural change have often fostered opportunities for innovations in new materials and methods. The purpose of this theme is to analyze such innovation and change through a broad lens of the modern movement. The theme may have applications to building technology, building typologies, urban planning, landscape design, advocacy efforts, and the allied arts. It may also apply to intersections within cultural, educational, racial, and gender "networks".

How have transformations in cities and metropolitan communities evolved to adapt the means and methods of preserving the modern? Are we currently at a Crossroads? Can contemporary issues of sustainable and "smart" cities, connected communities, and resilient regions support this preservation? What level of intervention within the often-narrow confines of preservation is needed to extend the lifespan of the modern built environment?

Several sub-thematic sessions, consisting of three papers each, will be constructed based upon submitted and invited papers. This will be followed by 20 minutes for discussion. Each paper should be in English and take no more than 20 minutes to present.