In thirty cities, a celebration of architecture will take place

In thirty cities, the celebration of architecture will take place

DAY OF ARCHITECTURE, October 2, 2011

Brno, Černošice, České Budějovice, Františkovy Lázně, Havířov, Hlučín, Hradec Králové, Horní Maxov, Humpolec, Cheb, Chomutov, Jablonec nad Nisou, Kadaň, Kolín, Krnov, Liberec, Lobeč u Mšena, Náchod, Olomouc, Ostrava, Pardubice, Písek, Plzeň, Praha, Příbram, Roudnice nad Labem, Strakonice, Ústí nad Labem, Zbraslav, Zlín.
 
Street festival and celebration of ten years of the Circle

October 2, 17:00–22:00, intersection of Americká and Záhřebská streets, Prague 2 - Vinohrady

World Architecture Day, which is held annually on the first Monday of October, will take place this year for the first time in the Czech Republic. On Sunday, October 2, the Day of Architecture will be held in thirty Czech and Moravian cities, offering a unique opportunity to discover local architectural specialties accompanied by a number of prominent Czech architects and architectural historians.
 
They will take to the streets not only of their hometowns on this day, guiding interested parties around interesting buildings of contemporary architecture and drawing attention to historical landscape and urban contexts and peculiarities. The general public interested in architecture or looking for original outing tips can look forward, for example, to an afternoon bike ride through the most significant construction sites of contemporary Brno with Osamu Okamura, a sightseeing bus tour with architects Petr Pinkas and Jan Žalský for new architecture along the route of Pardubice, Chrudim, Ležáky, or a mysterious tour around the Prague Botič with a flashlight and galoshes under the guidance of architect Jan Šépka. The walks will be dedicated to the history of cities, modern architecture and interesting nooks (Hradec Králové, Olomouc, Liberec), as well as technical monuments and industrial buildings (Vysočany, Ústí nad Labem, Lobeč u Mšena).
 
The organizers of the Day of Architecture - the civic association KRUH have prepared a series of distinctive local tours led by architects of the middle and younger generations for the general public. The walks will be led by, for example, Jaroslav Wertig (Ateliér 69) in Cheb and Františkovy Lázně, Pavel Nasadil (FAM ARCHITEKTI) in Hlučín, Petr Lešek (Projektil) in Písek, Ondřej Císler in Prague Dejvice, and several other creators who work mainly in major or larger cities. However, they are now returning to their hometowns, where they will guide local residents around interesting buildings primarily of contemporary architecture and highlight the landscape and urban contexts and peculiarities.
 
Marcela Steinbachová, the main initiator of the new festival, adds. “We are interested in exceptional buildings and the genius loci of each place. We strive to showcase exceptional buildings of an industrial or economic nature, as well as point out unsuccessful implementations and insensitive urban interventions. At the same time, we want to bring to the attention of local residents and representatives of municipalities the fact that there are people among them actively and professionally engaged in architecture. Last but not least, we want to initiate meetings between the general public and architects and strengthen the general awareness of the impact of architecture on our environment.”

All walks are free.
 
The Day of Architecture will conclude with a street festival taking place from 17:00 at the roundabout of Americká and Záhřebská streets in Prague. The civic association KRUH will celebrate its tenth anniversary with this event. The program is prepared not only for adults but also for children, who will have the opportunity to draw and build under the guidance of architect Mojmír Pukl and artist Markéta Šafáriková. At 19:30, there will be a concert by the international group of artists and musicians Mamapapa Banda. The charismatic-hellish rockabilly will then be launched by the band Gangnails.
 
The Civic Association Kruh has been organizing public events and lectures focused on current developments in architecture since 2001. The aim of the lectures and discussions is to mediate a dialogue about quality Czech and world architecture and architectural creation to broader layers of the public - that is, also beyond a narrow circle of professionals and architecture students. To date, Kruh has organized more than one hundred lectures by both prominent and emerging Czech and foreign architects and architectural theorists, two film festivals on architecture, and the exhibition Profession: Architect. Kruh regularly publishes collections of Texts on Architecture.