The Architecture Center in the Hradec Králové Region will commence operation in the exhibition season 2023/24

Hradec Králové – Architecture Center in the Hradec Králové Region will begin operations in the 2023/2024 exhibition season. The new institution is being established by the Hradec Králové Region and the Gallery of Modern Art (GMU) in Hradec Králové. The aim of the center will be to support the development of quality architecture and urbanism in relation to the quality of life of the residents in the region in the context of the impacts of climate change. The regional authority informed ČTK about this today. At the end of February, a selection procedure was announced for women and men for the position of head of the office, with the deadline for the first round being April 16, 2023.

"The head of the center will take office at the beginning of September, and the pilot part should start in the fall of this year. At the same time, a Program Council will be established, an advisory body for shaping the dramaturgy and concept of the center's activities," said Lukáš Vaníček from the regional press department.

The implementation team of the Architecture Center is expected to gradually expand in the coming years, adding the positions of producer and methodologist.

"Through the Architecture Center, we want to support and promote quality architecture and set up a system of methodological support for all cities and municipalities in the region. In this effort, we also want to closely cooperate with the Czech Chamber of Architects, with which we signed a memorandum at the beginning of the year," said the Deputy Governor for Culture, Martina Berdychová (Východočeši).

Among the main methodological activities of the center will be an analysis of the current state of investment in the region regarding the development of quality urbanism, architecture, and public space. Based on these findings from the region and analyses of methodologies and examples of good practice from both domestic and foreign contexts, the center's staff will create a regional architectural manual, which will help them to develop and promote quality architecture in the region more easily, the regional authority stated in a press release.

The Architecture Center, which will operate under the aegis of the Hradec GMU, will also participate in the research of urban-architectural heritage, coordinate exhibitions, presentations, discussions, seminars, and will include topics on the promotion of urban and architectural heritage.

"The very composition of the expert selection committee represents a high motivation for the Hradec Králové Region to develop urban space and the quality of life in our region. Our analysis indicates that this is a very unique and pilot project within the Czech Republic," said the director of Hradec GMU, František Zachoval.