Javier Ors Ausín will present an engaging overview of World Monuments Fund’s recent work towards preserving Modernist houses around the world. Through several case studies and past and present conservation projects implemented by WMF at a unique group of modernist homes in the world, Javier will discuss how the field of heritage conservation has evolved over time. The presentation highlights past projects such as WMF’s initial assessment work and archival research in the 1990s at the Villa Tugendhat in the Czech Republic designed by Mies van der Rohe, and the preservation and protection of Edward Durell Stone’s A. Conger Goodyear House in the US in the early 2000s. The presentation will also include WMF’s most recent project documenting the modernist houses designed by Minnette de Silva in Sri Lanka, and the conservation work of the Casa Sobre el Arroyo in Argentina in 2023, which WMF recognized with the World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize in 2024.

Javier Ors Ausín is an architect from Spain and Senior Program Manager at World Monuments Fund (WMF), where he oversees the organization’s Special Programs that focus on Modernism, Jewish Heritage, and Crisis Response. Since Javier joined WMF, he has managed a diverse portfolio of projects and programs in different countries around the world, including India, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Uzbekistan, Romania, and Burkina Faso. Javier has presented his field work and research at various forums, including the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the Royal Geographical Society, the Society of Architectural Historians, and various ICOMOS symposiums, and has been a guest critic in many universities, including the University of Toronto, Columbia University, Harvard University, and Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, among others. Javier holds Bachelor of Building Engineering and a master’s in architecture from the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia in Spain, and a master’s in design studies in Critical Conservation from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

https://www.wmf.org