The architecture begins, focusing on buildings after 1989 and Bauhaus

Prague - The Architecture Day festival starts today in eighty Czech cities and municipalities. This year's edition will focus on buildings that emerged in the Czech Republic after 1989. It will commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. It will also address the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Bauhaus school in Weimar. Festival visitors can expect tours of buildings that are otherwise inaccessible, as well as lectures. The festival is also taking place in 16 locations in Slovakia and will run until October 7.

The main theme of the festival is Free Architecture. "We want to show how the post-revolutionary development has influenced our environment, both positively and negatively. For example, the freedom after 1989 allowed for architectural competitions focused on quality, but not all municipalities and cities took advantage of this tool to obtain quality contemporary architecture. We want to present such examples as well," said the founder and director of Architecture Day, architect Marcela Steinbachová.

Traditionally, the center of events will be Prague, where twenty walks are prepared for visitors. They will demonstrate the positive directions of post-revolution architecture, as well as the recurrence of outdated patterns from Western society, such as the construction of satellite suburbs. The post-revolutionary construction also included shopping centers, bank buildings, as well as monuments and memorials. People will be able to visit, for example, the newly opened ČSOB Campus or buildings in the grounds of the Troja Zoo.

In the regions, the festival invites visitors to view the administrative high-rise Trinity Center in Brno from 2009, the Benedikt Rejt Gallery in Louny or the architecture of totality and freedom in Řevnice. In Frýdek-Místek, there will be a walk themed "wild façade parade." The festival is also held in Jaroměř, Litoměřice, Tábor, and Žatec. In Slovakia, the Expo 2020 pavilion will be presented in Košice.

The second theme of this year’s festival is the Bauhaus school, which defined the direction of architecture and art a hundred years ago and still has a significant influence on contemporary architecture. In Prague 6, the Glass Palace and its original staircase, atrium, and roof with a view of the Castle, where the sun baths with a bar originally were located, will be accessible.

A separate chapter is the Film and Architecture festival, which promises, among other things, a film about the German minimalist architect Mies van der Rohe, Brno functionalist architect Bohuslav Fuchs, or a section dedicated to Bauhaus.

A detailed program is available at www.denarchitektury.cz.