The London Festival of Architecture will present a documentary about Kaplický

London - A documentary about architect Jan Kaplický and his project for the Prague National Library will have its international premiere at the London Festival of Architecture at the beginning of July. The film by director Olga Špátová will be one of the many events organized as part of the festival held across London every two years.
    Kaplický emigrated to London after 1968, co-founded the studio Future Systems, and gradually became famous here for a number of designs and implementations. The screening of the documentary will also be attended by Czech architect Eva Jiřičná, who is based in London, and Deyan Sudjic, who prepared an exhibition about Kaplický at the Design Museum in London last summer.
    The project for the National Library in Prague is so radical, exciting, and ahead of its time that it provoked considerable controversy, said the festival organizers, which will take place from June 19 to July 4. The film Oko nad Prahou will be screened on July 2.
    "For Czech emigrant Kaplický, it also represented a triumphant return home, a confirmation of his uncompromising philosophy looking ever forward, and ultimately a tragically poetic conclusion to his remarkable career. When he won the international competition, the popular design, which had strong support, ran into opposition from the Czech government and local authorities, and a tough battle began," the organizers write
    The film about the last two years of the architect's life begins on March 2, 2007, when Kaplický and the studio Future Systems were declared winners of the competition. The film chronologically presents the development of events surrounding the project, including how opinions on it radically changed among some participants, particularly Prague Mayor Pavel Bém.