Brno Observatory appeals to architects, is vying for another award

Brno - The renovated Brno Observatory is appreciated by architects and experts. At the beginning of October, it received the Building of the Year award and shortly after, architect Osamu Okamura nominated it for the Mies van der Rohe Award 2013. After last year's renovation, a larger number of people are visiting the observatory than before. By the end of this year, it could be seen by 120,000 visitors, its director Jiří Dušek told reporters today. Digitalization is also being prepared at the observatory, which should be completed by 2014.
    Architect Mies van der Rohe is closely connected to Brno, as he built the famous Tugendhat Villa. "It is a great honor for us to participate in this international competition. The competition is enormous, and I don’t believe we have great chances, but it is prestigious nonetheless," Dušek said. The aim of the competition is to find and honor significant creative works in architecture and highlight the contributions of European architects to the development of the profession. According to architect Okamura, the observatory has become a "true eye to the universe" and now forms a fresh dominant feature over the city.
    The renovation of the observatory cost nearly 100 million crowns. At Kraví hora in Brno, people can visit a large planetarium with an 18-meter-diameter dome, an exploratorium with interactive exhibits, samples of extraterrestrial rocks, and other natural and scientific attractions. The observatory also features a rotating dome with a diameter of seven meters. Among other things, it includes a renovated telescope with a 20-centimeter lens and a special solar telescope.
    The investor of the observatory's reconstruction was the Brno city council, and the architectural design came from the studio Rudiš-Rudiš architects. The observatory can be visited by school groups, other collectives, and individuals. Regular programs are held there, such as the presentation "Star Named Sun" with a series of video sequences from satellites around the Sun. There are also opportunities for evening sky observations, a fairy tale story about the North Star, and various lectures and workshops.