Student Workshop

Hall of Records, Richard Neutra and Robert Alexander, 1962. Photograph by Tag Christof

March 12–17

Registration opens in August.

Advancing the International Docomomo Conference theme – Multiple Moderns: Climate, Community, Creativity – the Student Workshop is organized with the direct support of Docomomo International; Docomomo US; and the University of Southern California, School of Architecture. 

About

Docomomo International Student Workshops offer a dynamic platform for students to engage with new experiences, ideas, and skills.

These workshops represent a key opportunity to explore and debate innovative educational strategies for the preservation of modern cultural heritage, while embracing the underlying values and principles of the Modern Movement.

Rooted in Docomomo’s core missions – DOcumentation, COnservation – the workshops address critical challenges in preserving modern cultural heritage through hands-on learning and reflective dialogue. They provide an inclusive space to interpret modern heritage in all its complexity, equipping participants with the tools to recognize its significance and maintain its authenticity. The workshops promote collaborative discussion on how best to safeguard its intrinsic values and historical integrity within a broader cultural context.

Aligned with the educational aims set forth in the Docomomo Manifesto on Education, these workshops contribute meaningfully to the development of forward-looking strategies for the preservation of 20th-century cultural heritage.  

Schedule  

Over the course of five days, students will work closely with a group of academic advisors and industry professionals as they visit the Neutra office for orientation, conduct a site visit to the Los Angeles County Hall of Records, and participate in work sessions at USC, culminating with presentations that address the challenge of transforming the civic building into a 200-unit market-rate housing development while maintaining its historic significance.

March 12 Thursday

Workshop orientation at the Neutra office in Silverlake

March 13 Friday

Workshop site visit to Hall of Records 

March 14 Saturday

Workshop at USC – work session focused on building analysis 

March 15 Sunday

Workshop at USC – work session focused on design proposals 

March 16 Monday

Workshop at USC – preparation for final presentations

March 17 Tuesday

Student presentations at USC

Venue

The Student Workshop will be hosted at the University of Southern California (USC) School of Architecture in Watt Hall, just south of Downtown Los Angeles.

Registration

COMING SOON – CHECK BACK HERE!

Registration opens in August. 

Theme

The Student Workshop is aimed at providing comprehensive knowledge of all the processes connected with conservation: the ability to observe, analyze, and synthesize cultural values; theoretical and technical knowledge; as well as design abilities.

The Workshop addresses these issues, adapting the conference theme as follows:

Climate

Building Envelope Performance

Community

Housing and Public Space Connection

Creativity

Building Surface as Public Gallery and Education

Los Angeles faces a pressing housing shortage, with an estimated deficit of 240,000 beds. In response, the City’s Adaptive Reuse Ordinance has encouraged the conversion of existing building stock – 15 years and older – into public housing. 

The Los Angeles County Hall of Records, co-designed by Richard Neutra and Robert Alexander, offers a compelling opportunity to preserve and extend its legacy as a steward of technological and architectural innovation. The vision is to transform the civic building into a 200-unit market-rate housing development while maintaining its historic significance.  

Students will consider:  

• Is such a transformation truly feasible, and at what cost—both materially and culturally?  
• What values are at stake in the adaptation of a building originally designed for a very different purpose? 
• How far can we go in modifying a historic structure before its identity is compromised?  
• More broadly, how can the evolution of a building toward a new function remain compatible with its architectural and historical essence—and to what extent?  
• To what degree do the environmental and climatic design solutions originally conceived for a public building prove to be not only relevant but essential for housing today?