IDENTITA A DIFERENCIA: Monitorovanie a hodnotenie najvýznamnejších diel modernej architektúry na Slovensku
IDENTITY AND DIFFERENCE: Monitoring and Evaluation of the Most Significant Works of Modern Architecture in Slovakia

Summary/Abstract: The study presents the results of two investigations that took as their goal the explanation of the contexts and causes of the different receptions granted to modern architectural heritage according to its origins in the first or the second half of the 20th century, also as a result of the similar and different material qualities of these works on their current physical condition. The first investigation was devoted to the monitoring of the physical state of selected leading works of modern architecture in Slovakia. The second formed an evaluation of these works by professionals active as architectural historians or theoreticians, or as heritage experts. The monitoring of the most important modern architectural works in Slovakia took place from May to October 2013, and with a sampling of 50 objects it was realised by employees of the Architecture department of the Institute of Construction and Architecture of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (ÚSTARCH SAV) and the Heritage Preservation Office of Slovakia. Both of these institutions monitored the selected works through field investigation, archival research, comparison of their findings with the current state, investigation of changes in ownership relations, as well as the history of rebuilding work. In recording the results of the monitoring, they made use of a specialised form created specifically for this procedure(This form was created in the program Google Form as a shared and editable document see note 13). Its introduction section included basic data about the creation of the work and its author, its status of protection by national or local authorities, as well as information of changes in ownership or use. The central part of the form was divided into 14 sections. Each section focused on a different part of the material aspect of the architectonic work (situation, construction, exterior, roof, volume, facade, open and filled spaces, interior etc.). These individual sections were constructed so as to allow for recording of the observations results inside a highly structured scheme. Simultaneously, though, they created space for a more detailed and individualised depiction of phenomena or processes, including a numerical ranking from 1 to 5, with 1 indicating the lowest and 5 the highest level of preservation. The concluding section of the form was reserved for judgment of the monitored architectural work in terms of its future perspectives. Hence the researchers had the chance not only to register and evaluate the current state of this work, but also to indicate possible threats or challenges in its future development. The choice of the 50 monitored works is the result of a long-term process of confrontation of works of modern architecture in Slovakia with the wider international as well as domestic context. Likewise, it reflects the results of the repeated analysis and verification of the values of over 3000 works included in the “Database of 20th-Century Architecture” by the architecture..

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