The topic of the first issue in 2016 is architecture and city planning in relation to the specific needs of women and men. Their reflections can facilitate the creation of liberated public spaces. However, we won’t be dealing with large-scale urban planning interventions into urban landscape without relation to everydayness. We are showing small changes with great impact and presenting approaches that lead to the creation of environments pleasant for different users with differing demands. How is it possible to make movement around the city easier for someone who is a caregiver and has another occupation? How is it possible to design a park which can be used by all ages, genders, and social groups?

Built around 1910 according to the design by architect Felix Neumann, the late Art Nouveau house is part of the block development delimiting the main square in Ostrava. The original four-storey house, which is under a preservation order, with a mansard roof and decorated gable, has been generally renovated and modernized; the modifications consist mostly in the improvement of the interior environment while preserving the original spatial arrangement and expanding the usable area. The house is completed by an elevator and necessary social facilities. The most significant modification is a loft apartment taking up two floors, lightened by a newly installed glass wall that respects the original shape of the roof and contributes to the revitalization of the whole house, as well as the square with its modern conception.

It's not a secret that Ukraine is in a deep and constant political, social, and economical crisis. As architecture is a reflection of a society—Ukrainian architecture shows all the concerns and troubles of Ukrainian society, which we desperately try not to notice. A low level of education, corruption and lack of sustainable development in the minds is effecting the looks of the cities. But...

The building is a cultural extension of the printing works following the original concept from 2001. From the perspective of urbanistic relations and inner urban space it soothes and unites a formerly fragmented street front, integrating the object of a transformer station into the volume and the façade of a printing company. The cultural function, accessible to the public, is presented through an open console to the street, where it logically connects with the public space. The closure of the original printing works, whose production faced  the street, is now balanced by an open transparent volume. The architecture of the original building, as well as the new extension, does not relate to the surrounding residential façades, it is not camouflaged. It is different, carrying out a different function towards the city and the site. It enriches, diversifies, and enlivens the place.

This new building completes in an urban planning fashion the existing complex of the elementary school on the north-east edge of Líbeznice that consists of the main school building from 1956 and an after-school club. The building was originally intended for a kindergarten; the proposed ring marked a circular garden for preschool kids within the school garden. Due to financial reasons and the demographical development of the village, the task was later changed to that of an elementary school. The building maintains the original concept of a house surrounding the outside environment. The core of the disposition is formed by an eccentrically located atrium that serves as an outdoor classroom, encircled by a multifunctional foyer integrating communications, locker rooms, and common spaces. On its perimeter there are eight classrooms, teachers’ offices, sanitary facilities, and a cafeteria that can be easily transformed into an auditorium for lectures, music or theatre performances.