Havlova architektura - výstava ve vile Stiassni

Vaclav Havel celebrated his 90th birthday this year, and on this occasion, the National Heritage Institute decided to commemorate his lesser-known role, that is not just as a writer and playwright, dissident, and president, but as an informed builder and partner of famous architects such as Eva Jiřičná, Bořek Šípek, and Josef Pleskot. The exhibition "Havel's Architecture" will be on display at the grounds of the Brno villa Stiassni from Friday, September 18.
Vaclav Havel came from a family of construction entrepreneurs – his grandfather built the Lucerna Palace, while his father and uncle were involved in the construction of the villa district of Barrandov and the famous Barrandov Terraces. Vaclav Havel took a different professional path, which eventually led him to the position of Czechoslovak, and later Czech president after 1989. In relation to architecture, the public most resonates with his remark comparing panel houses to "rabbit hutches" from his speech on February 25, 1990, where he somewhat unfairly made panel buildings one of the symbols of the era of unfreedom.
As a builder, V. Havel focused mainly on the rehabilitation of Prague Castle, where in the 1990s, construction interventions stemming from the collaboration between TGM and Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik and his student Otto Rothmayer were restored. He established collaborations with world-renowned creators – designer Bořek Šípek (presidential office) and architects Eva Jiřičná (orangery) and Josef Pleskot (Lion Court and Deer's Moat). Havel’s intention was to "decommunize" the Castle and open it to the public, not only in terms of physically removing barriers but also through a series of top-notch cultural events (exhibitions, concerts, lectures, etc.), which he managed to achieve to an unprecedented extent.
The texts for the exhibition panels were prepared by curator Vlasta Loutocká in cooperation with Foibos Books, the archive of Ivan M. Havel, the Václav Havel Library, and the Dagmar and Václav Havel Foundation Vize 97. The panels and large-format photographs are complemented by sculptures from Brno architect, sculptor, and educator Zdeněk Makovský. "For the exhibition, we managed to borrow an attractive light model of the unrealized design of an art installation in Prague airport space 'Around the World with Václav Havel' from 2019, by architect Petr Franta," pointed out producer Petra Svobodová.
"In addition to architectural achievements directly associated with Václav Havel, the exhibition also maps the building activities of his ancestors from the Lucerna Palace to the Barrandov Terraces, including a genealogical tree supplemented with unique family photographs from the archive of Ivan M. Havel," says the exhibition author Vlasta Loutocká.
The exhibition will be on display in the exhibition and lecture building in the area of the Stiassni villa until the end of December 2026 (open every Monday, Friday, and weekend).