The Day of Architecture will commemorate the female imprint across the Czech Republic

The jubilee 15th edition of the nationwide festival Day of Architecture, which will take place from Thursday, October 2, to Tuesday, October 7, 2025, will bear the subtitle This Architecture and will focus on the female perspective in the field. Which buildings have been designed and are being designed by women, or on which they have contributed? The festival will showcase the work of Czech female architects from the period of the First Republic to the present day. The main goal is not only to present unique works with a female touch but also to reflect on the position of women in architecture over the past hundred years. "Women have been involved in buildings of various scales, designing embassies, bridges, schools… The goal of this year's edition is to demonstrate the diversity of their creations. We want to give space to works and stories that are part of the field and inspire a more open perception of the architectural profession from various perspectives. The subtitle This architecture refers not only to the specific works of women but also to a broader discussion about the diversity and variability of architecture itself,” explains the festival director and architect Marcela Steinbachová. The festival will focus not only on the work of female architects but also on other personalities engaged in education, public construction, or addressing history and theory.
The program will also offer a wide range of other topics, including a reminder of the works of Bohumír Kozák, Josef Gočár, and Bohuslav Fuchs on the occasion of their anniversaries this year. It will also address the topic of improving public space, landscape architecture, and, as part of excursions or walks, highlight a variety of unique buildings and urban neighborhoods. The program will also include lectures, workshops, and theatrical performances. Entry to the events is free, except for selected accompanying programs. In some cases, prior reservation is required. The complete program, consisting of more than 400 events, will be published in mid-August.

The main thematic line of this year's Day of Architecture will focus on personalities who have shaped the character of the Czech environment from a female perspective – from interwar pioneers to current creators. It will not overlook the work of the first female graduate of architecture in Czechoslovakia, Milada Petříková-Pavlíková, author of, for example, the Home for Lonely Women, whose birth anniversary marks 130 years this year. It will further present, for example, the work of Hana Kučerová-Záveská, whose style is associated with the villas in Prague's Baba, or Ella Oehler, who designed the spa colonnade in Teplice nad Bečvou or the pavilion of the Central Moravian Electric Works.
The festival will also commemorate prominent figures of the post-war generation – such as Věra Machoninová, Alena Šrámková, Eva Jiřičná, or SIAL member Lidmila Švarcová. Visitors can personally meet Zdenka Marie Nováková, who will guide them around the Chemapol-Investa building complex in Prague, or Vítězslava Rothbauerová during a tour of the Mother Teresa Community Center.
The current architectural scene will be represented by numerous projects by the middle generation. Examples include the sports hall of Josef Kaluha in Brandýs nad Labem (Klára Urie and Blanka Maco), a modern elementary school in Fulnek (Barbora Buryšková), the Duhovka Elementary School building in Prague (studio ra15), or the newly renovated row house in Prague's Solidarita (Markéta Zdebská). In Zlín, Jitka Ressová will personally guide visitors through the revitalized Gahur's Prospect and the newly adjusted market Pod Kaštany. The program will also include creators from the emerging generation who bring new impulses and perspectives to contemporary architecture.
The festival's dramaturgy will also focus on the work of other significant figures in architecture, whose anniversaries we are celebrating this year. It has been 130 years since the birth of architect, theorist, and key figure of modernism Bohuslav Fuchs. In addition to the famous buildings in Brno, the festival will also highlight his projects in the spa town of Luhačovice or in the Municipal Baths of Zábrdovice in Brno. Furthermore, on the occasion of the 140th anniversary of Bohumír Kozák's birth, attention will be drawn to his famous villas in Prague's Ořechovka and Čáslav. This year, we also commemorate the 80th anniversary of Josef Gočár's death. In addition to iconic projects in Hradec Králové, the program will invite visitors to the Academy of Fine Arts Architecture School, the House at the Black Madonna in Prague, or Medova Villa in Humpolec.
The festival will also bring to life iconic villas across architectural styles. Among others, the villa of Alfred Thonet in Koryčany designed by the famous Viennese studio Fellner and Helmer, the currently reconstructed functionalist villa by František Zelenka in Kutná Hora, or the restored Čerych villa in Česká Skalice by Otakar Novotný. The Primavesi Villa in Olomouc is an example of Viennese Secession. One of the guided walks in Opava will also focus on villas from the second half of the 19th century. The festival will also remember other unique buildings, such as the legendary Koldům in Litvínov by Václav Hilský and Evžen Linhart.
Across the republic, a range of lectures and workshops will be held that address the possibilities for improving public space in general and in specific locations. One of the lectures will be led, for example, by experimental artist and winner of the Architect of the Year 2017 award, Kateřina Šedá.

For the 15th year, the festival offers the general public a chance to view their surroundings through an extraordinary lens, guided by architects and other professionals from the field who introduce them to interesting aspects of their neighborhoods, residences, and broader surroundings. The Day of Architecture is not only concerned with architecture and urban development but also with the broader contexts of the creation of every building, park, specific place, or city. The festival is organized by the Kruh association, which has been a significant promoter of both domestic and world architecture in our country for 25 years. The events take place in collaboration with architects, associations, and institutions in all regions and play a crucial role in local communities.

The main festival theme of the Day of Architecture will be thematically continued by the sister festival Film and Architecture, which will be held from October 1 to 6. Its fourteenth edition will highlight significant yet often overlooked female personalities from architecture, urbanism, design, art, and film. The program will offer inspiring stories not only of women but also of personalities who have been unjustly overshadowed by their more famous colleagues, or whose legacy has not received the attention it deserves.

More information >