Festival of Architecture in Liberec will commemorate Karel Hubáček and the SIAL studio

Liberec - The Architecture Day in Liberec will commemorate architect Karel Hubáček, who would have celebrated his hundredth birthday this year, as well as his colleagues from the SIAL studio (Association of Engineers and Architects in Liberec). The festival will offer exhibitions, lectures, and guided tours in the coming days, with the Faculty of Art and Architecture serving as the main organizer in Liberec. It will present a diverse program involving other cultural institutions, said the faculty dean Jan Stolín to ČTK. Events will take place across the Czech Republic until October 3 in more than 120 towns and villages.

"I would like to mention an interesting event for the public, which is Get to Know the Heart of the Campus, where our teacher, architect Vladimír Balda, will guide visitors through the campus, which is a very interesting space from an architectural perspective. Visitors can also take a look at Karel Hubáček's studio, which is part of our faculty," Stolín added. The studio will be open to visitors by the technical university this evening, and a guided tour of the campus is scheduled for Saturday morning.

On Tuesday, a lecture titled Visionaries will take place in the auditorium of Building G on the campus as part of the festival, where architects and faculty teachers Saman Saffarian with Daniel Sviták, Petr Štefek, who worked in London, and the domestic studio Mjölk will present their latest projects to the public. A day later, a lecture by architects Jiří and Michal Krejčík will be held directly in the iconic hotel and transmitter building atop Ještěd about the planned reconstruction of the valuable building.

Those interested in architecture can head to the North Bohemian Museum for the exhibition Karel Hubáček known/unknown, which provides a unique opportunity to get acquainted with the personality behind the design of the Ještěd transmitter, among other projects. The exhibition showcases Hubáček's main realizations as well as previously unknown designs and projects, including early works from the 1950s or overlooked buildings such as the cinema in Doksy. It is also possible to visit the house in Liberec's Lidové sady, where Hubáček lived with his family for many years during the festival.

There is also a guided tour dedicated to the transformation of the former municipal baths in Liberec into a gallery. The reconstruction took place in 2014 according to the design of the SIAL architectural studio led by Jiří Buček, who will also be the guide. Interested parties can also walk through the building of the Small Theatre in Liberec, which features Hubáček's design. During the guided tours, visitors can also explore the former water supply and coal tower in Vratislavice nad Nisou.