Following in the footsteps of architect Jan Kotěra, through station buildings and vanished routes, into attics and underground, through historical gems and modern architecture. The festival paths of Architecture Day lead in various directions, but always with the same goal: to highlight quality architecture and present it in broader contexts. From October 1 to 7, 2021, the festival invites you to 300 events in dozens of towns and municipalities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The rich and free program offers excursions to typically inaccessible buildings, walks, cycling trips, train or boat outings with expert commentary, as well as lectures, film screenings, exhibitions, and workshops. At the beginning of October, under the slogan "Hooray Inside!", typically inaccessible buildings will open to the public, such as Hotel Pupp, the new headquarters of the Faculty of Humanities, the winter stadium in Opava, the research base of the Archaeological Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, the dilapidated Villa Fiala in Blatná, or the Brno velodrome and dozens of others.
The main theme of this year's Architecture Day is transport connections, so throughout the republic, we will travel through various routes and paths, both current and historical, as well as through stations and other buildings associated with transport, and even through field or cross paths. “Transport networks and related buildings are fundamental architectural elements that define the character of our cities and smaller towns. This year's edition is therefore more dynamic, and the program offers not only walks but also trips by train, bike, or boat,” says architect Marcela Steinbachová, founder and director of Architecture Day. The second core theme of this year's edition commemorates the 150th anniversary of the birth of Jan Kotěra, the founder of modern architecture in our country. The festival organizers also consider family audiences, with thematic programs dedicated to children included in the agenda.
Running parallel to Architecture Day this year, for the tenth time, is its sister festival Film and Architecture, which regularly hosts a premiere selection of the most interesting films, primarily from foreign productions, focusing on quality architecture or architectural approaches and the transformation of our environment related to urban and building construction. The complete program is available here.
Transport Connections Paths and connections, both vanished and still existing, that weave through our cities and the influence of transport on shaping our cities and the movement of people through them is the main theme of the 11th edition of the festival. It will focus on railway routes, tram lines, metro routes, bridges, and footbridges as well as the regulation of automotive traffic, and of course related transport structures including stations and docks. It will consider the transformations of areas over time, connectors of paths in the landscape between towns and villages, and the buildings themselves. In Prague, for example, the festival will explore the recently canceled train line from Strašnice to Vršovice, the endangered Hlávka Bridge, the newly restored viaduct in Karlín, the forgotten and abandoned Vyšehrad station, or delve into the art of Prague's underground. The topic of transport resonates in regional programs as well. In Litoměřice, we will trace the tracks of the Austrian Northwest Railway, which significantly changed the face of Litoměřice during its construction in the 1870s and then again in the 1950s. Liberec will offer a walk in the footsteps of vanished tram lines, and in Opava, the festival will visit the electric power station whose fate is tied to the operation of local public transport. In Zlín, we will explore completed and unrealized projects of transport structures. In Brno, among other things, interested parties can embark on a guided tour of the reservoir, visit the abandoned velodrome, or evaluate the reconstruction of Zvonařka station. In Ostrava, the focus will be on three stations over time. In Olomouc, Architecture Day will offer a ride on the local train known as "Hanácká střela," a trip to the station buildings and other sites along the route to Náměšť na Hané. In Broumov, the festival will highlight the railway line from Choceň to Broumov and the phenomenon of field paths, while in Bílovec, it will address the pitfalls of transit traffic.
150 Years since the Birth of Jan Kotěra One of the main program lines commemorates the architect Jan Kotěra, whose 150th birthday occurs this year, and his influence on the development of modern architecture in our country. It will showcase works by Kotěra as well as realizations by his students. In Prague, it will symbolically stop at the house he built for his family on the border of Vinohrady and Vršovice, then it will continue to his villas in Dejvice and Bubeneč, and even to the gravestones realized based on his designs at the New Jewish Cemetery in Prague. The buildings of the Faculty of Law and the School of Architecture at AVU will also be open to the public. The program cannot miss buildings in Hradec Králové, such as the City Museum or the Hotel Okresní dům, where the program will also introduce Kotěra's unrealized projects. In Zlín, Baťa's villa will open, which as the first project of the corporate workers' colony set the further direction for the development of the whole Zlín area. In Prostějov, interested parties can join the Architecture Day at the National House or take an excursion at the Old and New Castle in Ratiboř or to Fröhlich's summer villa in Černošice. The personality of Jan Kotěra will also be presented by an overview lecture by art historian and rector of UMPRUM Jindřich Vybíral. In Kutná Hora, the program includes a visit to the Teller sugar factory, where one can find both Gothic architecture and the work of Jan Kotěra. As part of the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the birth of the first modern architect Jan Kotěra, the festival will also travel to the Baťa colony in Sezimovo Ústí, which was established during the expansion of the Zlín plant.
Contemporary Architecture The festival regularly keeps track of the most current architectural achievements. The program thus attracts visitors to, for example, Helfštýn Castle, whose reconstruction uniquely connects contemporary architecture with a historical monument. Fans of the latest trends and sustainable architecture will especially enjoy a visit to the modular architecture center KOMA Modular in Vizovice near Zlín, both buildings of ČSOB in Prague's Radlice, or the Krkonošské environmental education center Krtek. The new building of the Faculty of Humanities in Prague and the new town hall in Modřice near Brno are also worth attention.
Industrial Architecture The development of industry and technical buildings has also influenced the appearance of cities. The festival will revisit the glass center in Kamenický Šenov, or newly discover the glass settlements of Kristiánov in the Jizera Mountains, the former interwar hydropower plant in Beroun, or the artistic redevelopment of the site of a former yarn factory in Kyjov near Krásná Lípa. In Kladno, it will examine the conversion of the Bessemer converter steelworks. A 15-kilometer cycling trip from Frýdlant will lead through the valley of the Smědá River past Renaissance mills, forges, and factories, as well as workers' houses and factory villas from the 19th century. In the vanished glass settlement of Kristiánov near Bedřichov, visitors will recall the significance of forest glassworks in the Jizera Mountains. In Prostějov, among other things, they will focus on the former Neher textile factory. Film and Architecture Part of Architecture Day is also the traditional festival Film and Architecture, which will offer about twenty films in seventeen Czech and Slovak cities. This year's edition, subtitled "Connection," will highlight the important role of architecture in connecting people, places, and cultures, and will showcase a selection of the most interesting films of international production focusing on quality architecture or architectural approaches to societal issues. You can look forward to the unconventional film Spaceship Earth, describing a futuristic narrative of life simulation on a space colony, an artistic journey into the sacred work of renowned Swiss architect titled Mario Botta: The Space Beyond, Body-buildings, and much more.
The Kruh Association, the founder of Architecture Day, draws on over twenty years of experience in the field and long-term cooperation with architects, associations, and institutions in all regions. Thus, a network has formed, into which nearly 180 towns in the Czech Republic and Slovakia have joined over ten years. Despite the pandemic, nearly 400 events took place last year throughout the Czech Republic and Slovakia, attracting around 23,000 visitors.
List of all confirmed venues for the Architecture Day festival Banská Bystrica, Bardějov, Bedřichov, Benešov, Beroun, Bílovec, Bratislava, Brno, Broumov, Břeclav, Černošice, Červený Kostelec, Česká Kamenice, České Budějovice, Český Krumlov, Dobříš, Frýdlant, Fryšták, Helfštýn, Hodonín, Hradec Králové, Humpolec, Cheb, Jánské Lázně, Jaroměř, Jeseník, Jihlava, Kamenický Šenov, Karlovy Vary, Kladno, Klatovy, Kolín, Krásná pod Lysou horou, Krásné, Kremnica, Kutná Hora, Kyjov u Krásné Lípy, Liberec, Lidice, Litoměřice, Litomyšl, Lomnice nad Popelkou, Mariánské Lázně, Mělník, Mikulčice, Mikulov na Moravě, Nitra, Nový Dvůr, Nymburk, Olomouc, Ondřejovice, Opava, Ostrava, Pardubice, Pavlov, Piešťany, Plzeň, Poděbrady, Praha, Prachatice, Prostějov, Ralsko, Ratboř, Roudnice nad Labem, Řevnice, Sezimovo Ústí, Šumperk, Turnov, Týn nad Vltavou, Ústí nad Labem, Valašské Meziříčí, Vimperk, Vizovice, Volyně, Vrchlabí, Vsetín, Vysoké Mýto, Zábřeh, Zlín, Zvolen, Žamberk, Žatec, Žilina.