Opening of the exhibition Litomyšl Without Delay

The exhibition of student works from the Summer School of Architecture titled Litomyšl without Delay was opened on Friday, September 11, at the Castle Riding Hall. The opening night was attended by the mayor of Litomyšl Radek Kašpar and all post-revolution mayors Miroslav Brýdl, Jan Janeček, and Michal Kortyš, the current deputy mayor. Each of the eight teams presented their visions on two to three separate panels, which were installed into one compact block. The individual works focus on connecting the city parts that are still separated by a four-lane road. The wide road is narrowed, allowing it to "pulse," with bike and pedestrian lanes appearing on it, and footbridges and bridges spanning across it. There is a calming and gentle amalgamation of Litomyšl, with the Loučná River being utilized as another communication "artery." The "cut off" People's House becomes part of the city again. The whitening areas are freed from concrete and gain an urban character. A city gate is created, and there is an increase not only in concert and exhibition halls but also in a number of small elements refreshing the public space. All the presented concepts reinforce Litomyšl's reputation as the capital of contemporary Czech architecture.

The instructors and at the same time the leaders of the creative groups were well-known Czech architects: Karel Janča, Jakub Fišer, Zdeněk Fránek, Petr Hájek, Jan Hendrych, Hana Maršíková, Dana Nováková, Jitka Ressová, Svatopluk Sládeček, and Veronika Veselá. On September 7, the workshop in the Castle Brewery was visited by the school's consultant architect Josef Pleskot, and the following day by the city architect of Litomyšl Zdeňka Vydrová. The exhibition will conclude on Saturday, October 3, with a discussion at 2 PM as part of the architecture festival Archimyšl. Its results will be published in a book Litomyšl without Delay, which will be released at the beginning of 2016. The Summer School of Architecture has been held in this format since 2012, with the first two editions taking place under the grant Architecture beyond Traditional Centers; it is now organized by architect Kamil Mrva and journalist Petr Volf (www.akademiearchitektury.cz). All educators and organizers work without claiming a fee.