Explore forgotten buildings, get to know your immediate surroundings from a different perspective, discover architectural gems from the medieval period through the 19th century, functionalism, brutalism to the present day, or take a look inside places that are usually inaccessible to the public. This will be made possible by the rich program of this year's Architecture Day. The festival, traditionally held on the first weekend of October, 1st – 2nd, is organized on the occasion of the World Architecture Day, featuring guided walks in sixty-two cities for those who care about the places where they live or work. More than 200 architects and experts will participate in this year's Architecture Day, serving as guides for over 150 events across Bohemia and Moravia - commentary tours, bike rides, workshops for families with children, discussions, happenings, and video projections will again be free for the public.
The Architecture Day will be accompanied until Wednesday, October 5, by the Film and Architecture showcase at the Světozor cinema in Prague, which will feature a program curated by the well-known architecture promoter Adam Gebrian, who will personally introduce some films. The conclusion of the International Architecture Day celebrations will culminate in a lecture by the renowned architect Liesbeth van der Pol on October 6, who leads the Dok Architecten studio and has served as the Royal Architect of the Netherlands. The festival is organized by the Kruh association in close collaboration with local experts and initiatives.
The program of the sixth edition of Architecture Day includes several thematic lines, and for the first time, two cities in Slovakia are participating as well. The largest offer of events and practically an all-day encounter with architecture has been prepared by the organizers in Brno, Šumperk, Hořice, and Prague. City tours in Slavonice and Černošice will provide evidence that contemporary architecture can also shape historical cities. In these cities, we find numerous unique connections between the old and the new. Many walks across the republic will lead past some nominated sites for this year's Czech Architecture Award. For many, still a controversial socialist architecture, which has fundamentally affected and continues to affect our living space, hides unexpected gems. One of them is the housing estate in Brno Lesné, whose Obzor complex will be experienced in its original form for the last time. Another series of walks and discussions will focus on industrial heritage - participants will be guided through glassworks in Josefova Dolu. In Prague, grand industrial buildings in Vysočany, including the Praga factory complex that resembles abandoned temples, will be opened to the public for the first time. In Prague, amidst numerous events, there will also be a walk among the villas of Prague artists in Ořechovka or tours following the work of architect Karel Prager, allowing people to discover, for example, his lesser-known technical structure - a boiler room in the General Faculty Hospital.
For this year's festival motto, the organizers have chosen the famous quote from architect Mies van der Rohe, "less is more." "Quality is better than quantity, sometimes it is better to construct less with consideration than more. This remains true, and we want to draw attention to some of today's insensitive reconstructions of houses, not only in the Czech countryside, and especially the common preference for price over quality in architectural competitions," says the motto for this year from the founder of Architecture Day, chairwoman of the organizing association Kruh, and this year's nominee for the Architect of the Year 2016 award, architect Marcela Steinbachová.
In addition to Kruh members, numerous significant collaborators and architects from centers and regions are involved in preparing Architecture Day, including historians and promoters of architecture Miroslav Pavel, Lukáš Beran, Adam Gebrian, Richard Biegel. The festival will also feature architect David Vávra and Vladimír 518.
The organizers of Architecture Day aim to raise general awareness of the importance of a responsible approach from the public wherever people shape their environment, their place to live and work. Over time, the event has jointly initiated several architectural competitions and led to the creation of various local associations and initiatives in regions, where, without any ties to state administration, they take care of the quality of living space, engage in discussions and building proceedings, challenge designs, or collaborate on positive changes or renovations of buildings and organize various cultural events and discussions.
Program Lines and Selected Events of This Year's Architecture Day
A City for People A city should be less for developers and more for people. The involvement of civil society should raise questions and seek answers regarding the use of public space: What is our city? Will centers continue to empty out, or will they experience regeneration? What is public? The improvement association in Šumperk and its mini-festival as part of the Architecture Day festival will offer, in addition to a lecture from the one-man show by architect and actor David Vávra, a number of workshops for families with children and numerous discussions with experts about the vision of the city. In Beroun, on Wagner Square, the Ummagumma architects will spice up the architectural stew that 20th-century architecture has cooked here with their comments. During a walk through gaps and empty green spaces in the center of Kolín, architect Vojta Malina will look for its inner reserves. A walk tracking the urban development of the city of Mělník will take place under the guidance of urban architect Martin Řehák. Landscape ecologist Michal Krejčí from the Association for a Beautiful Olomouc will lead a guided tour along the Bystřice River in Olomouc. Participants will be introduced to a project that aims to make the river more accessible to people.
Hurrah Inside! This is the name of the project section that will provide access to commonly inaccessible buildings and spaces. Besides structures from the 1970s in Prague, the Moravian Gallery in Brno will open spaces in the Besední House and the underground of the Governor's Palace that are usually not accessible. In Prague, the Vysočany factory buildings, Pragovka studios, the Congress Center, the headquarters of the Supreme Audit Office, the Bruska Waterworks in Prague's Dejvice, as well as an unknown technical structure by architect Karel Prager - a still functioning boiler room in the General Faculty Hospital will be opened over the weekend. The Prostor města association in Prachaticích has prepared a tour of one of the most significant modernist buildings in South Bohemia, the J. N. Krale villa by Vienna architect Fritz Reichl. Architect Jan Horký will guide visitors through department stores in Přerov without a shopping bag.
How Contemporary Architecture Shapes Cities and Towns? There are small towns and cities where architectural taste is a given, which can sensitively address often tricky problems and tastefully merge history with the needs of contemporary residents during renovations. This will be attested by a tour of contemporary architecture in Slavonice, as well as a walk following the development of the town of Černošice from its inception to the present with a focus on characteristic villa development. Historical, newly realized, and unrealized plans will try to permeate into interiors as well, perceiving everything from concept to detail - this will be a walk named Where Will We Be Allowed Lanškroun.
Architecture of the Socialist Era The walks will focus especially on our ambivalent relationship with housing estates, which some label as rabbit hutches, while others see them as genuine places to live with an autonomous character. With Martin Maleček, there will be the last chance to view the Obzor complex in its original form, designed in 2010 for cultural monument designation in the housing estate of Brno – Lesné, where people have lived for 50 years in greenery. A discussion about the current values and potential future development of the revitalized Most will take place with architect Jana Kubánková. A walk through the Jihlava Housing Estate I, at the site of a former military training area in the western part of the Špitál neighborhood, will be organized by architects from the Jihlava studio UNArchitekti, and in Kladno, a debate will occur about the past and present of the Vítězného února housing estate (now the Rozdělov estate) with architect Magdalena Havlová and the Kladno association Halda.
Lost Glory of Industry The organizers' emphasis on the rich heritage of industrial architecture is clear: the trend should be fewer new buildings and more conversions that give unused spaces new life without losing their characteristic atmosphere and genius loci. The lost production of printed fabrics in the 19th century and selected buildings associated with Czech Dub industrialist Franz von Schmitt will be recalled by heritage conservationist Jaroslav Horáček in Czech Dub in the Podještědí region. A walk through the glassworks of Josefova Dolu near Jablonec nad Nisou, which are an integral part of the historical development of industrial heritage and glassmaking in the Sudetes, will take place under the knowledgeable guidance of co-author of the book Industrial Heritage of the Liberec Region, Lukáš Beran, owners of the glassworks, and Petra Farářová Veselá. Fans of industrial architecture can look forward to exploring the premises of a former mechanical weaving mill from the late 19th century with a rich accompanying program in Lomnice nad Popelkou, or to experiencing Turnov from a different perspective - with architect Václav Hájek, participants will visit the tower, waterworks, and railway depot. In Lower Vítkovice, visitors will be able to experience a tour outside of classical tourist routes in the former Důl Hlubina, while Plzeň or Trutnov will showcase their industrial architecture with historian Ondřej Vašata and architect Jan Veisser.
Historical Jewels Less is more even in the history of architecture, as evidenced by the austere functionalism from the first half of the 20th century. In Brno, this will be confirmed by a guided architectural walk through the streets of Černých Polí with Lucií Valdhansová, which will also include the iconic Tugendhat villa. A similar insight into functionalism in Prague will be a walk about the realized dream of Václav M. Havel with Stanislava Micková among the villas and terraces of Barrandov. The beauty of secession can be recognized at one of the newcomers to the Architecture Day project, in Hořice in the foothills of the Krkonoše Mountains. The Kulhánek - Wagner villa will be opened, guided by the younger son of Josef Wagner, the author of a document about the complex family history of this famous artistic family, as well as Fleček, Hirsch, and Feuerstein factory villas. Interested participants will explore the reconstructed Dance Hall in Račí Valley in the Rychlebsko Mountains and a popular hiking trail to Javorník that dates back 100 years with architect Matyáš Švejdík.
Walks and Bike Rides Interesting and unconventional perspectives on architecture are also promised by a bike ride in Jablonec nad Nisou with members of the PLAC association through selected examples of façade creativity of insulated buildings, culminating in a lecture about successful realizations, Mnichovo Hradiště as seen by a pilgrim through public space with Milan Macoun, or a walk through Pardubice with theorists and practitioners from the Offcity association and other invited guests around the city with sculptures and memorials built in the past as well as at places where new monuments are to be created. It will be possible to explore the most sensitive sites as well: on an architectural walk through the unique complex of the memorial site and new village of Lidice with curator of the Lidice Memorial Ljuba Hédlová. In Klatovy, there will be a walk that will remind of the elegance and issues of the First Republic era in comparison to contemporary architecture. In Liberec, the organizers invite people to a run up the stairs of the birthplace of Vlasta Burian. Film and Architecture This year, another edition of the film festival Film and Architecture will take place, extended from Saturday, October 1 to Thursday, October 5 at the Světozor cinema in Prague, Kino 35, and Prague Gallery. The program is also contributed to by well-known architecture promoter Adam Gebrian. A block titled The Personality of Mies van der Rohe commemorates the 130th anniversary of the birth of the famous architect, author of iconic buildings such as the Seagram Building in Manhattan, the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, or the TUGENDHAT villa in Brno. The showcase will also offer films about women architects, and as part of the festival, the winners of the My Street Films competition will be announced, while an international conference on Perspectives of Films About Architecture in Visegrad Countries is scheduled for Wednesday, October 4, with foreign guests from Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary participating. Workshops with Architecture for Children The celebrations will also offer a range of workshops for families with children or entire school classes. Children will be able to get acquainted with the basic principles and building materials of architecture and try out the work of architects in a fun way in Šumperk, Prague, Hořice, Mělník, Piešťany, and in the Dance Hall in Javorník.
Overview of Venues: Benešov, Beroun, Bílovec, Bohuslavice near Zlín, Brno, České Budějovice, Český Dub, Černošice, Havířov, Hořice v Podkrkonoší, Hradec Králové, Hranice, Frýdlant, Jablonec nad Nisou, Javorník, Jičín, Jihlava, Josefův Důl near Jablonec n/N, Karlovy Vary, Kladno, Klatovy, Kolín, Kunčice pod Ondřejníkem, Kyjov, Kokořínsko, Lanškroun, Liberec, Líbeznice, Lidice, Lomnice nad Popelkou, Louny, Mělník, Mnichovo Hradiště, Most, Nymburk, Olomouc, Ostrava, Pardubice, Pelhřimov, Písek, Plzeň, Prague, Prachatice, Přerov, Roudnice nad Labem, Rožnov pod Radhoštěm, Slavonice, Šumperk, Strakonice, Teplice, Turnov, Trutnov, Třebíč, Ústí nad Labem, Vimperk, Volyně, Vrané nad Vltavou, Vrchlabí, Vysoké Mýto, Znojmo, Zlín, Žďár nad Sázavou, SK: Bratislava, Piešťany
The KRUH Association has been organizing public events and lectures focused on current developments in architecture since 2001 and has brought dozens of outstanding architects from around the world to the Czech Republic. The aim of the discussions is to mediate a dialogue about quality Czech and world architecture and architectural creation to the general public. Since 2011, it has hosted the Architecture Day festival, in which hundreds of architects, theorists, historians, and many others guide thousands of interested people from the public through selected places across the Republic. It is the organizer of the Architects lecture series, where significant Czech and foreign architects, founders and creative directors of successful Czech and European studios whose realizations have succeeded on the international scale can present themselves.
Organized by: Kruh Under the auspices of: Czech Chamber of Architects With financial support: Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic | City Hall of Prague | State Cultural Fund of the Czech Republic | Czech Architecture Foundation | Statutory City of Brno | Prague 8 Municipality | Prague 7 Municipality | French Institute in Prague | Austrian Cultural Forum in Prague | Visegrad Fund | Laufen cz s.r.o | Leo Express a.s. | Sipral a.s. | MDA Praha s.r.o. | KOMA MODULAR s.r.o. | OP Tiger Partners: Institute of Planning and Development of Prague | National Museum Media partners : Architekt | Archiweb | Artmap | Magazine Stavba | Czech Radio Brno | Czech Radio Region | ČRo Regina DAB Prague | Earch.cz | Echo Týdeník | iUmění | Kam v Brně | Material Times | Radio 1 | Radio Wave | RailReklam | S dětmi v Praze | Stavbaweb | Stavitel Visual style authors: Petr Babák, Jan Matoušek (Laboratoř)
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