kruh spring 2021: Dialogues II

The KRUH association continues this year's DIALOGUES cycle, and in the second lecture, architect Marek J. Štěpán will meet Petr Okapal, a Roman Catholic priest from the parish of Šenov near Ostrava. Their discussion on sacred architecture and on the circle as a shape, symbol, form, and content will be streamed by the KRUH association on Thursday, March 25, at 7:30 PM on the association's Facebook page.
In 2021, the association invites the most interesting guests who have appeared in KRUH over the last twenty years to present again to their audience and expand their presentation with other inspiring personalities or individuals they themselves would like to meet. For the second lecture evening, architect Marek Jan Štěpán was selected, who spoke at KRUH in 2012 in a lecture on sacred architecture. This time, in the new DIALOGUES cycle, he welcomed priest Petr Okapal, with whom he will talk about how closely circles and churches are related.
The KRUH association will broadcast the lecture on March 25 from the Church of St. Wenceslas in Sazovice, which was completed in 2017 according to Marek J. Štěpán's design. The Church of St. Wenceslas in Sazovice is a modern rotunda, modern architecture built on conservative roots. "I believe that there is something or rather Someone beyond the tangible reality, and in the Sazovice church, I tried to capture this precisely with matter and the space defined by it. As an architect, I explore matter and its impact on humans. This sacred space allows the entering person to find quietness and an environment for searching. There can actually be just him and Him, if he wishes," adds Štěpán regarding the building. The ground plan in the shape of a circle often appears in Štěpán's buildings, as is the case with the Church of Blessed Restituta in Brno-Lesná, completed in 2020.
Marek Jan Štěpán graduated from the Faculty of Architecture at VUT Brno (1985–1991), where he specialized in new forms in historical environments and the theory of architecture under the guidance of Doc. Drápal. In the 1990s, he studied sculpture at a school in Zebegényi (Hungary), intensely engaged in the connection between art and design. In 1997, he founded Atelier Štěpán with his wife Vanda. As an educator, he works at VUT Brno, and in 2010 he presented, together with Jiří Broch, the concept of minimal living called Freedomek. He is considered an expert on sacred buildings in a modern context. The Atelier has received numerous awards – Grand Prix from the Czech Chamber of Architects, the Award of the Old Prague Club, the Construction of the Year, and Interior of the Year awards. In 2017, the Church of St. Wenceslas in Sazovice was ranked by Azure magazine among the ten best buildings in the world. Other works by Marek J. Štěpán include the Church of the Holy Spirit in Ostrava-Zábřeh, the Forest Memory Chapel in Střelice, the reconstruction of the Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross in Litomyšl, and the Church of Blessed Restituta in Brno-Lesná.
The lecture by Marek J. Štěpán and Petr Okapal will be broadcast on Thursday, March 25, at 7:30 PM on the association's Facebook page. Voluntary admission for the event, which will also support the activities of the entire association, can be purchased through the GoOut network.