In Plzeň, there will be the Jan Kaplický Atelier, which will make his archive accessible

Plasy (Plzeň Region) - The Atelier of Jan Kaplický will be established in one part of the building of the already completely reconstructed former brewery in the premises of the monastery in Plasy. Visitors, including future architects and other interested parties, will have access to his complete archive, consisting of several tens of thousands of items, as a source of inspiration; three rooms will also include an exhibition and studio. It is expected to open next year. This was stated today by the widow of the world-renowned architect, Eliška Kaplicky, to journalists in Plasy.
    "It is not just a piece; it will truly be the entire work of my husband, and that is what matters to me. There have been offers from around the world, from design museums in various cities and continents, but they were always only interested in the most perfect drawings and models. Here, the uniqueness will be that it can be shown as a complete work," she said.
    In Plasy, the entire library of Jan Kaplický, along with his magazines, will be stored, allowing visitors to browse through them upon request, finding sources of inspiration, bookmarks, and underlined passages and sentences. "These are magazines he has been collecting since the 1980s," Kaplicky said. In the studio, people will also see the development process of individual projects. "We will show a sketch, a drawing, then the first plasticine model that he made himself, then a paper model, and finally the beautiful final project," Kaplicky added. According to her, it is important for people to see the development of the product. Technical elements that the architect repeated and constantly used will also be emphasized.
    CTK Kaplicky stated that the archive is currently managed by the Kaplicky Centre Foundation, located in Prague 6, but it is not accessible to the public. "It is being cataloged and recorded; after digitization, the archive will be moved to Plasy so that researchers can utilize it. The space is already prepared, and a competition will be announced for the interior of that place," she said.
    The exhibition that will be part of it is not supposed to be permanent, according to Kaplicky, but will change based on other projects. "For example, if the Český Krumlov project (concert hall project) is realized, everything we have on Český Krumlov could be shown, and so on," said the woman managing the legacy of the famous architect. Kaplický passed away five years ago in January.
    Kaplicky is collaborating on the project with the National Technical Museum, which is building a Center for Architectural Heritage in the former brewery in Plasy and the adjacent economic courtyard for 350 million crowns. It will open to the public next year. "The opportunity for collaboration existed several years ago, but there was no space that could show it in such a large volume. Here, the support of qualified people who stand behind the project of the Center for Architectural Heritage is also important," Kaplicky added.