The Festival of Architecture will recall the legacy of Kafka as well as the work of Hubáček and Fanta

Prague – This year's 14th edition of the Day of Architecture, which will be held under the subtitle Process of Transformation, references among other things the 100th anniversary of the death of writer Franz Kafka. It will commemorate not only buildings associated with this author or structures related to literature but also invite visitors to places with a Kafkaesque atmosphere. Other program sections will be dedicated, for example, to the work of architects Josef Fanta and Karel Hubáček and their collaborators. The largest architectural festival in the Czech Republic will take place at various locations from September 27 to October 3. Simultaneously, its sister festival Film and Architecture will also be held.

The subtitle of this year's festival, Process of Transformation, is derived from the titles of Kafka's books. In the context of architecture, urban development, and public space, it takes on various meanings. "The program will loosely derive from the Kafkaesque mood and explore places and architecture that are strange, unusual, absurd, cramped, dreamlike, bureaucratic, or grotesque. Architecture that is often forgotten or overlooked. We will also showcase buildings related to literature, such as the residences of publishers or printing houses, as well as technical service buildings like transformer stations, telephone exchanges, tunnel vents, water towers, windmills, and collectors, along with lesser-known artworks in public spaces," said the festival director Marcela Steinbachová from the organizing association Kruh.

The festival also focuses on German and Jewish architects and contemporaries of Kafka who influenced the current shape of Czech cities, just as Kafka influenced Czech literature and culture. Among them are, among others, Josef Zasche, Ernst Wiesner, and Rudolf Wels, who worked in Prague, Brno, and particularly in cities in the former Sudetenland.

This year's program of the Day of Architecture will also commemorate other anniversaries: 350 years since the birth of the significant late Baroque builder and architect František Maxmilián Kaňka (1674–1766), 70 years since the death of Josef Fanta (1856–1954), the architect of the Prague main train station or the current Ministry of Industry and Trade. The festival program will also reflect the 100th anniversary of the birth of Karel Hubáček (1924–2011), one of the most respected Czechoslovak architects, co-founder of the Association of Engineers and Architects in Liberec (SIAL), and the author of the design for the television transmitter and hotel on Ještěd. Attention will also be given to his collaborators Miroslav Masák, John Eisler, Martin Rajniš, Emil Přikryl, and others and their realizations.

The goals of the Day of Architecture festival and its sister festival Film and Architecture are to highlight quality architecture, present it in broader contexts, and contribute to the discussion about public space. Besides architectural walks and excursions, the Day of Architecture also offers lectures, exhibitions, concerts, workshops, and events for children. Local associations and architects participate in the events. Last year, the Day of Architecture festival offered over 500 events in more than a hundred cities across the country and Slovakia, attracting around 35,000 visitors.