Den architecture 2012

The second year of the ARCHITECTURE DAY festival will offer unique walks with architects and theorists, taking place on September 29-30. This year, residents and visitors of more than forty Czech and Moravian cities will once again have the opportunity to discover architectural highlights and hidden corners of their towns during the last weekend of September.

The festival, held on the occasion of the International Day of Architecture, will offer the general public a series of unique walks with leading Czech architects and architectural historians. They will uniquely present the architectural, landscape, and urban contexts of more than thirty Czech and Moravian cities and their immediate surroundings.

After its successful nationwide premiere last year, which was attended by more than 3,000 people, Architecture Day is expanding to more cities this year. A total of 70 events will take place in 45 cities.

"We have received an enormous response from visitors, which we consider positive proof of interest in architecture. Personally, I would love to attend a meeting with the author of the Church of the Brethren Prayer House, Zdeněk Fránek, in Černošice, or take one of the three walks in Ostrava, whether it’s a meeting with historian Martin Strakoš, a bus trip to see contemporary architecture around Ostrava, or experiencing the new Vítkovice with Josef Pleskot," reveals festival director Marcela Steinbachová.

Highlights of the program will include a walk with renowned Czech architect Josef Pleskot through Vítkovice, a tour titled "Cruise through Litomyšl" exploring modern architecture and public art, an adventurous expedition along the Rokytá River, and a walk through the Prague suburbs in Žatec - a heritage zone of technical monuments of hop growing, where the largest concentration of preserved hop-growing buildings in the world is located.

In the capital city, there will be a record eighteen walks, led not only by architects but also by artists and local patriots such as Krištof Kintera, Vladimír 518, and Ondřej David. This year, Architecture Day will also include walks in Slovak cities and excursions to Berlin. In Vienna, Czech and Austrian authors will prepare guided tours and workshops for youth. For the first time, Kruh will also offer Architecture Day in the form of unique educational workshops for children and students from selected schools, led by instructors together with architects.

Locations:
Beroun, Brno, České Budějovice, Černošice, Davle, Havířov, Horažďovice, Hradec Králové, Hronov, Jablonec nad Nisou, Karlovy Vary, Kostelec nad Černými lesy, Klatovy, Kutná Hora, Lanškroun, Liberec, Litoměřice, Litomyšl, Lobeč, Náchod, Nymburk, Olomouc, Ostrava, Ostrov nad Ohří, Pardubice, Plzeň, Písek, Poděbrady, Prague, Roudnice nad Labem, Rychnov nad Kněžnou, Semily, Strakonice, Štěchovice, Teplice, Valašské Meziříčí, Velká Bystřice, Vyškov, Zlín, Zruč nad Sázavou, Žatec, Berlin, Bratislava, Piešťany, Vienna.

The civic association Kruh has been organizing public events and lectures focused on current events in architecture since 2001. The aim of the lectures and discussions is to facilitate dialogue about quality Czech and world architecture and architectural creation to broader segments of the public - i.e., beyond the narrow circle of professionals and architecture students. To date, Kruh has organized over one hundred lectures featuring significant and emerging Czech and foreign architects and architectural theorists, two film festivals on architecture, the exhibition "Profession: Architect," and the Architecture Day festival. Kruh regularly publishes collections of texts on architecture. www.kruh.info

Useful links:
www.denarchitektury.cz
www.kruh.info