The January online interview with architect Steven Holl turned out to be an unexpectedly uplifting experience. One of the most influential American architects, a Columbia University professor, author and artist, Holl charmed and fascinated us right from the start. One moment he was telling a story about a dinner party, where he and his friends discussed fundamental questions of life such as, "What is happiness? What is truly objective and not subjective?" or "Are there angels? Are there gods?" Later he would delve into a scientific theory and draw surprising parallels between abstract themes. Marcela Steinbachová, co-author of the Terezín Ghetto Museum project, joined us for the interview, and the poetic mood lasted almost the entire hour. At one point we couldn’t tell anymore whether the topic was “architecture and light” or “architecture and life.” 

Placed at the end of the K. V. Rais Square in Lázně Bělohrad, the new city hall is a declaration of the local government's open approach to citizens as well as the city management. The darker plinth penetrated by a row of full-height windows, the building’s ground floor contains a multi-purpose hall, a small meeting room, a filing room, and an info point. Upper floors are used for offices, arranged around a central atrium lit by a clerestory. This layout doesn’t separate individual workplaces but rather promotes the feeling of joint work. The overall aesthetic of the city hall finds a rare balance between down-to-earth, approachable civic friendliness and a dignified, representative strength.

When we think of the great buildings of the past that had no precedent, we always refer to the Parthenon. We say it is the building that grew out of the wall with an opening. We can say, in the Parthenon, light is the space between the columns; a rhythm of light, no-light, light, no-light which tells the tremendous story of light in architecture that came from the wall.

A new multi-purpose hall was built in the grand courtyard of the 1895 neo-renaissance Kaiserbad Spa, one of the classic symbols of the West Bohemian spa town of Karlovy Vary. The red steel extension rests on six ground supports, avoiding physical contact with the listed building. This way the contemporary intervention is visibly acknowledged and also reversible. The movable seating allows the space to be transformed into a conference room or a ballroom with a flat floor. The stage is equipped with acoustic wall panels, and there are movable parts to adjust the space for various acoustic requirements. The entire structure resembles a big red Transformer robot, which is in keeping with the industrial aesthetic of the bath as a whole, transforming the courtyard for a new function.