This conference invites proposals examining how modernist architecture in the Mediterranean, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Global South is being re-evaluated and reinterpreted in response to contemporary ecological, political, and cultural challenges.
Focusing on architectural heritage and its ongoing transformations, the event considers both the theoretical legacies and material realities of modernism, exploring how built environments are shaped by historical, ideological, and socio-political forces.
The conference addresses how modernist ideals and their architectural manifestations are challenged, adapted, and reimagined to meet urgent environmental imperatives, climate change pressures, and evolving social expectations. A central theme is the conservation and restoration of modernist buildings, which often present complex technical, political, and climatic challenges. Contributors are invited to explore strategies for preserving, transforming, or rethinking these structures to align with sustainability standards, energy requirements, and principles of social and cultural responsibility.
Papers are particularly encouraged to engage with the historical and political legacies of modernism—including the ideological, colonial, and national contexts that shaped these urban and architectural forms—and to reflect on how these legacies continue to inform contemporary approaches to heritage, adaptation, and progressive design.
Panels and Themes
Panel 1: Legacy and Critique. Rethinking Mediterranean and Sub-Saharan Modernisms
This panel revisits the histories of modernist architecture across North Africa, Southern Europe, the Levant, and Sub-Saharan Africa, interrogating the ideological, colonial, and national narratives that shaped
urban and architectural forms, and considering their ongoing impact on debates about heritage, identity,
and belonging.
Panel 2: Climate and Adaptation. Confronting Environmental Realities
Focusing on design, technology, and climate, this panel explores strategies for environmental adaptation, including thermal design, retrofitting, passive systems, vernacular knowledge, and experimental material practices suited to the Mediterranean and Global South.
Panel 3: Futures and Fictions. Design, Theory, and Policy
This panel examines future-oriented practices and conceptual frameworks for modernist heritage,
inviting reflections on pedagogical innovation, design experimentation, heritage governance, and the role of public policy in enabling sustainable and socially responsive transformations.
Additional themes for consideration
• Innovative reinterpretations of modernist architecture across the Mediterranean, Sub-Saharan Africa,and the Global South.
• Adaptive reuse, restoration, and conservation strategies for modernist buildings facing environmentalor social challenges.
• Heritage, memory, and identity in postcolonial or post-authoritarian contexts.
• Progressive approaches to heritage that promote sustainability, equity, and social responsibility.
• Climate-responsive strategies for buildings that are technically complex or climatically challenging.
Timeline
• Conference dates: 11 and 12 June 2026
• Submission of proposals, including a provisional title, a 500-word abstract, and a short biographical note, is due Sunday, 22 February 2026.Please indicate the panel you wish to participate in.
• Notification of acceptance will be sent in early March 2026.
• Selected contributions will be invited to participate in a post-conference publication.
Practical Information
A travel and accommodation fund will be available for a limited number of participants. If you do not have institutional funding and require travel support, please indicate this clearly in your proposal.The conference language will be English. Presentations are to be made in person unless urgent circumstances prevent attendance. If participants require childcare or any other form of accessibility support, please inform the organisers so that appropriate arrangements can be made.
Please send proposals and any queries to: Ilyas Azouzi
Head of Science, Research, and Innovation
scienze@istitutosvizzero.it