Radovan Lipus: Whispering Czech Traces in Japan I. - Jan Letzel

Radovan Lipus – Whispering Czech Traces in Japan I.: Architect Jan Letzel

February 24, 2011, at 6:00 PM in the Fiducia antique shop and club in Ostrava

Melancholic fates of people, dramatic stories of buildings. Another in the series of film programs dedicated to Czech architects abroad is called Whispering Traces. Radovan Lipus and David Vávra focus on the work of Czech architects abroad in these programs. The lecture “Whispering Czech Traces in Japan I.: Architect Jan Letzel” will focus on this extraordinary Czech architect, whose life was closely tied to Japan in the early 20th century, and who became famous as the author of the Hiroshima Palace. The dome in Hiroshima became a symbol only “thanks” to the atomic bomb. However, this building was already interesting many years prior. At the time of its creation in 1915, it was the tallest building in the city and represented a perfect example of the combination of European and Japanese architecture. It is no wonder that its author Jan Letzel was called “yōkon wasai” – a person with European thinking and Japanese feeling. The young architect, who brought European architectural style to Japan, succeeded from the beginning. He received commissions for restaurants, hotels, and university buildings. The successful architect soon moved to Tokyo, where he opened an independent office right in the city center. In 1909, he joined forces with Czech architect Karel Hora. Due to commissions, they traveled all over Japan. Last autumn, director Radovan Lipus, architect and actor David Vávra, along with the director of the Czech Center in Tokyo, Petr Holý, who has long focused on the fates of Czech architects in Japan, followed the traces of the Czech architect.

Radovan Lipus – author of the successful television series Whispering Cities and Whispering Traces, under which he is co-signed with architect David Vávra. He briefly worked in the Činoherní club and since 1992 has been engaged with the drama section of the Moravian-Silesian National Theatre in Ostrava, guest-starring at the National Theatre, the Chamber Scene Arena, the Těšín Theatre, the Moravian Theatre in Olomouc, the National Theatre Brno, the ABC Theatre, the Theatre on Vinohrady, and other theatres. He teaches at the Faculty of Arts of Ostrava University and at DAMU, publishes prose and essays, and co-stars in the intimate program Nostalgia of the Café Layabout.