This research project is developed through the Centre for Scientific Research and Design at the University for Architecture, Civic Engineering and Geodesy in partnership with the Bulgarian National Committee to ICOMOS. It expands the ‘New Architectural Heritage’ initiative to include the territory of the entire country within the study.

The research project started with gathering archival and current information, and included field studies and site visits to create as complete a database as possible of the original and the current condition of each case study. Nearly 1100 buildings and sites were covered through archival and literature reviews as well as site visits. The collected data is extremely diverse – archive and current photographs, archive drawings, information/biography about the original architects, oral stories from building users. This whole dataset is the first attempt to create an individual dossier per building or site for most of the case studies.

The aim of the project is to document Bulgarian architecture built after World War II, to define this architectural stratum as a piece of cultural heritage, to outline its cutural and historic potential, and propose clear steps for the legal protection of significant examples in different Bulgarian cities. 

The findings and conclusions of this project, as well as the ‘New Architectural Heritage of Sofia’ project, have to a greater degree traced the path for future development of the New Architectural Heritage initiative.