<div>In Olomouc, an exhibition about the gap in Denis Street has opened.</div>

Olomouc - The gap in the historical core of Olomouc on Denisova Street has become the main topic of a new exhibition at the Olomouc gallery XY. The empty space behind the wooden fence, which has been in the street since the 1960s, was supposed to be filled with the construction of the Central European Forum (SEFO). The project for the new modern cultural center ultimately did not come to fruition, as it did not obtain a grant of approximately half a billion from European funds. The exhibition presents a number of previously unpublished student projects related to its construction. The exhibition will be open in the Lower Square until the beginning of December. It will also include a public debate about architectural competitions in the Czech Republic, the organizers of the exhibition informed ČTK.

"The exhibition has two themes. The design of the Central European Forum is associated with the proposal by architect Jan Šépka. We wanted to show that within the framework of student works at the Technical University of Brno and in Liberec, many student projects on this topic have emerged. About 15 proposals, mostly thesis projects, are presented here," said architect Tomáš Pejpek, the author of the exhibition, to ČTK today.

According to him, the second aspect of the exhibition is contemplation of the issue of architectural competitions. "We will hold two discussions related to the exhibition on November 29. One of them will focus on architectural competitions; we will discuss what obstacles exist in the Czech Republic for more competition. For example, this proposal for the forum building, no matter how it comes from a very renowned architect, did not originate from an architectural competition," added Pejpek.

The gap was supposed to host a controversial building that divided the Olomouc public years ago mainly due to its futuristic appearance. Behind the architecturally daring building, modern artworks from across Central Europe were to be exhibited, and at the back, a garden with sculptures as well as archaeological finds was planned, with an international research center as part of the museum.

However, the ambitious SEFO project was fraught with complications from the start. In addition to property issues related to the acquisition of land for the new building, there was also the rejection of the architectural competition by the Czech Chamber of Architects. Therefore, the museum commissioned the development of an architectural study as a smaller-scale contract and turned to architects Michal Sborwitz and Jan Šépka, with whom it had extensive previous experience from the reconstruction of the Museum of Modern Art and the Archdiocesan Museum.

The project ultimately failed because it did not meet the basic conditions set forth in the call. However, the management of the Museum of Art in Olomouc considers the SEFO project crucial for the further development of the museum and continues to work on it.