Built at the Faculty of Education campus at Poříčí, Brno, the new art department studios are finely sculpted, dazzling white boxes stacked on top of each other. But the volumes were arrived at only after considering many external conditions— for example the condition to maintain courtyard access on the ground floor, to keep an energy substation building on site, to provide both solar access requirements for a neighboring property and ample daylight for the studios themselves. The resulting building has three different studio types across three storeys, with three different ceiling-heights.

The new footbridge connecting Prague’s Karlín and Holešovice districts forms a delicate spatial curve—based on the pedestrian and cyclists movement. The bridge deck is supported by two abutments at the opposite banks, two piers on the Štvanice island for minimum impact, and two more piers in Vltava’s non-navigable side channel. A ramp running parallel to the edge of the island connects the footbridge to Štvanice. On the Holešovice side, the footbridge slopes down to the level of the sidewalk, even going below flood water levels. This section is designed to be movable vertically, with a hydraulic ram pump in the last pier to lift the bridge above the 1000-year flood mark. The bridge is made from ultra-high performance fiber-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) with a smooth, white marble-like finish.

It’s not really common practice in ERA21 to dedicate a part of the issue to explaining its title. But in the case of the temporary use of public spaces and buildings, it becomes essential. First, we should define transitory, temporary and tactical approaches. But with a closer look, we find out that actually everybody knows them—remember that one place not far from the town centre that hasn’t been used for years, and now a group of locals started taking care of it and built a DIY skatepark or organized outdoor screenings?

In 1991, when architectural historian Vincent J. Scully, once declared the greatest teacher of architecture of all time by Philip Johnson, was retiring after teaching his course on contextualizing architecture at Yale for fifty three years, the newspapers reported on his skeptical views of the newest trends in mass construction. In class, Scully passionately criticized a new solar-paneled development in a Paris suburb, calling the client arrogant for giving up everything that makes architecture, architecture. Of course he wasn’t denouncing solar energy use, but rather the thoughtless act of sticking ungainly collectors onto every inch of the roof and walls of a building, and “destroying its presence in its environment”.

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.”