ConCom and MoMove. Approaches to Industrial Heritage

The Conference and Communication (ConCom) course at the Detmold School of Architecture and Interior Architecture (TH OWL) introduces students in the master‘s program to scientific work and pursues the goal of establishing a correlation between teaching and research. In particular, it is about conveying current knowledge and new findings in the form of the so-called non-written output (NWO) or non-traditional research output (NTRO). ConCom tests innovative teaching and learning formats at the intersection of scholarly research and outreach in the field of the built environment, with a particular focus on cultural heritage, digital technology, and their societal impact. This has enabled the 40 students from many nations to conduct cross-cultural and cross-sectoral research in interdisciplinary and international teams. This diverse and low-threshold form of explorative dissemination increases the visibility of research findings and promotes their inclusive communication. In the academic year 2021/22, the ConCom course took up the topic of the 19th DOCOMOMO Germany Conference “Modern Movement. Industrial Heritage thought ahead” organised in collaboration with Zollverein UNESCO World Heritage Site in Essen. The students were asked to research, document and interpret the topic of industrial heritage based on scientific articles, reports and publications (e.g. related to history, typologies, distribution, design, aesthetics and construction, spaces, transformation and reuse). Building on a literature review in the pre-semester, students choose specific topics related to modern industrial heritage and developed their theme in the context of the scientific conference. Complementing the contributions in the conference, ConCom served as a platform for students to explore Modern Movement’s (MoMo) achievements around the world, but also to explore digital tools and their applicability for communicating research results (Fig. 1). On display are websites, apps, films as well as applications of 360 degree images, augmented and virtual reality and as such they are aiming to contribute to the DOCOMOMO Virtual Exhibition – MoMove (MoMove 2021).