In July the Historic Houses Trust of NSW is presenting a two-day national conference exploring the development of mid-twentieth century Australian architecture, landscape and urban design. Principal Heritage Officer, Susan MacDonald, is one of the speakers at Fibro House/Opera House. In this article she looks at one of the subjects to be discussed at the conference: the practical issues surrounding the conservation of modern buildings.

As the century draws to a close, there is an increasing interest in examining its cultural achievements and a growing desire to cherish and celebrate them. Over the last decade much has been written about the importance of coming to terms with our 20th century heritage. Many of the icons of the modern movement have undergone programs of conservation to present them to the public: Villa Savoye outside Paris, Farnsworth House in Illinois, numerous Frank Lloyd Wright buildings across the United States and Rose Seidler House here in Sydney.

The Royal Australian Institute of Architects has held a register of significant twentieth century buildings that identifies the key architectural buildings since the 1950s. The inclusion of items on the State Heritage Register such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge (1932) and Liner House (1959-61) confirms the interest in conserving the best of the modern era. However, little work has been done on developing repair methods to ensure the longer-term preservation of these building's special qualities.

The architecture of the modern era was conceived with the aim of expressing the opportunities and optimism of the new age. Architecture, which was to be the highest form of artistic expression, was based on a new vision of artistic abstraction and a new understanding of spatial qualities. Utilizing new technology, it was to provide the infrastructure of a new society and to raise levels of hygiene, amenity and standards of living. Architecture was to be a powerful tool in social reform.

The break with traditional architectural forms, planning use and detailing of materials created the streamlined modern building. Many people mistakenly believed that these new buildings were low maintenance. This misapprehension compounded many of the material problems typical of early modern buildings, such as ungalvanised steel windows, internal drainage, thin concrete walling and the associated decay problems.

Failure to carry out recommended maintenance is a problem for buildings of any age. But without routine maintenance, many modern materials have short life spans. Lack of awareness of this important fact has meant that expectations of the performance of modern buildings have proved to be unrealistic. At the time many modern buildings were built, it was not known how to construct them to weather well and last. This has only exacerbated maintenance inadequacies. Maintenance problems have been used as ammunition to denigrate buildings from the more recent past and as an argument for their demolition.

Not all 20th century buildings have stood the test of time well and their perceived inability to age gracefully has meant that more creative conservation solutions are required to retain original fabric. We are only just now beginning to learn how to care for 20th century buildings. Consequently, there are very few repair techniques developed for modern materials that accommodate conservation aims. Frequently, radical change is required to ensure the long-term survival of a building.

The huge number of buildings from the post-war period coming up for repair in the near future requires attention if keeping them for future generations is a serious aim. As with places of an earlier era, research is the key to the successful conservation of a modern building. It is imperative to identify the significance of a place before defining a repair strategy that may destroy its special qualities.

Fibro House/Opera House

Conserving mid Twentieth Century Heritage

Will be held at the Museum of Sydney on Friday 23 July and Saturday 24 July.