A manual is being created in Plzeň with paths through 20th-century architecture

Plzeň - The new Plzeň Architecture Manual (PAM) offers walks showcasing interesting architecture from the years 1914 to 1950. Inspired by Brno, a database is being created of selected buildings that exemplify quality architecture from that period. The manual, available online, currently contains more than 150 objects, said Petr Klíma, manager of PAM, which is part of the European Capital of Culture 2015 project.
    "At this stage, we have five basic routes plus one special Loos route, which intersects the other routes and connects the sites of 12 works by Adolf Loos and his collaborators," he stated. The project aims to provide interested parties with immediate experiences of architecture.
    The database contains approximately 150 objects, with more planned by the creators to be added gradually. Each building has accompanying text, 600 contemporary photographs, hundreds of historical images of buildings, and around 1700 reproductions of original drawings and documentation, if the creators of the manual had access to them with the consent of the building's owners. In addition, the database offers information about 80 architects who contributed to the city's appearance in the first half of the 20th century, as well as data about 50 builders and 25 public spaces.
    Those interested in a walk according to the manual can currently explore the city using a brochure or with a mobile or tablet connection, utilizing the database, which also includes GPS coordinates. In the coming months, the project's creators aim to address signage in public spaces to make it easier for people to identify the objects. "We are considering whether it would be possible, for example, to read the house number with a mobile phone, because the house numbers are part of the database," Klíma explained.
    The manual includes a route through the Old and New Center, documenting how modern architecture entered the historical environment. Another route leads to the New Center—a manufacturing and residential district in the northwestern part of the former Imperial Suburb—while another takes interested parties to the Southern Suburb, the residential neighborhood of Bezovka, and the Doudlevec district. "We would like to add more areas and additional routes in the next phase," Klíma added.