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editorial |
Event Cities » We tend to think that the cities we live in are mostly the result of systematic planning and design by architects and urbanists—and that this is basically how cities come to be. But that’s not the whole truth. In fact, there are many other forces that shape cities in significant ways: everyday life, people’s interactions, ordinary, day-to-day events. And sometimes, exceptional events leave extraordinary traces on the city’s material form. |
award |
Czech Interior Award 2024 » On April 29th, the results of the Czech Interior Award 2024 were announced at the awards ceremony held at the DOX Center for Contemporary Art in Prague. The winner of this year’s tenth anniversary edition is Oskar House in Kamenná Lhota, designed by Jan Žaloudek. Nineteen international jury members considered 222 submitted designs. Apart from the main award, the jury also chose winning projects in ten other categories. |
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completed project |
Arcades Retold. Nové Lauby Apartment Buildings in Ostrava » Referencing local town houses lined with ground floor arcades which dominated the area until the 1960s, the design of the Nové Lauby apartment building in Ostrava forms a single compact city-block volume to reinforce the historical street structure. The building mass changes appropriately to the immediate surroundings. Some design features on the ground floor, a changing height of the cornice and different window arrangements suggest where individual houses of the block start, but overall the building has a unified character. Functionally, it uses a set of five separate communication cores. Inside the block there is a quiet courtyard. The ground-floor restaurant facing Velká Street features a series of arched windows shaded by a shallow overhang. This wider section of the street forms a pedestrian zone as a continuation of the existing Old Town Hall arcade. |
intro |
Commodification of the Sacred » Mecca, the holiest city in Islam, is undergoing a massive transformation that is redefining its historical, spiritual, and urban character on an unprecedented scale. In response to the exponential rise in pilgrims—peaking at 3 million during the 2012 Hajj—the city has launched major infrastructure projects, including the expansion of the Grand Mosque, construction of luxury hotel complexes, and modernization of transport networks. These developments, however, come with serious cultural and social consequences: a loss of authenticity, the demolition of historical monuments replaced by new development, and the large-scale displacement of residents from informal settlements. While economic elites and investors profit from the commercialization of sacred space, marginalized groups face growing inequality and reduced access to pilgrimage. These changes raise pressing questions about the future of Mecca as the symbolic center of the Islamic world—and about the direction it is taking under the pressures of modernization. |
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starting points |
Event Cities » In order to think about the ways events shape cities, we first need to clarify what we mean by the word “event.” The Sociological Encyclopedia of the Czech Academy of Sciences defines an event as a short-term occurrence that interrupts everyday life or the regular order of life for an individual or a group. Life events include so-called demographic events, important celebrations, awards, trips, inheritances, and so on. Historical events are wars, revolutions, regime changes, changes of rulers—but also major inventions, and the like. What can we take from this definition, and how can we apply it to the ways events influence cities? |
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practice |
The Olympics as a Catalyst for Planned Development. Paris 2024 Summer Olympics » Hosting the world's biggest sporting festival brings with it a certain amount of prestige, but it also means a major challenge for the local infrastructure and for the people too, often resulting in several years of debt. Some of the most famous landmarks located in the very center of the French capital became the backdrop for the last Summer Olympics held in Paris. How can a city of more than ten million, which at the same time receives an average of one hundred thousand visitors a day, be prepared logistically for an event the size of the Olympics? Can the locals benefit at all from hosting, or is the whole thing inevitably just a PR stunt? In this article, we look at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris as an example of how hosting can accelerate a city’s development toward greener infrastructure even after the games are over. |
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interview |
Death and Life of Olympic Stadiums. Haruna Honcoop Interviewed by Karolína Plášková » Whether we like it or not, the Olympic motto “Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together” has been overshadowed by the geopolitics associated with the organization of the Games. The sparkling stadiums and glorious ceremonies conceal stories of forced evictions, the devastation of nature, and unsustainable economic burdens often leading to years of debt. Olympic Halftime documents the changes that have taken place in cities like Beijing, Tokyo, and Paris over the course of six years, showing how hosting the world’s largest sporting event can be a double-edged sword. Tearing down our idealized notions of the Olympics as a symbol of unity and inspiration, the film instead portrays them as an expensive show that leaves behind “white elephants”— underused stadiums and deteriorating infrastructure. |
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enquiry |
Event Cities’ Assets and Liabilities. A Survey on the Impacts of Sports and Cultural Events on Cities » Significant events have the power to change cities, with both positive and negative impacts. Košice in eastern Slovakia was chosen as the European Capital of Culture for 2013. What were the resulting changes that happened in the local culture and the structure of the city? West Bohemia’s Pilsen hosted the ECoC events in 2015. What were the effects on Pilsen’s public spaces? And now, Trenčín has won the title for 2026. How is it preparing for next year? To answer these questions, we approached several important political and cultural actors familiar with the European Capital of Culture phenomenon. We also spoke with municipal architect Zbyněk Ryška about a different phenomenon: Nové Město na Moravě as the national cross-country skiing center. |
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critique |
We Are the Culture. České Budějovice: European Capital of (Non)Culture 2028 » You are what you eat. This motto from an early-2000s reality TV show can be rephrased into something even more telling: you are the culture you consume. But can culture really be consumed? Misunderstanding culture as an object of consumption leads to its degradation into mere leisure entertainment—and misses the meaning of the word, which comes from the Latin ‘colere.’ This conflict of interpretation has recently surfaced in České Budějovice, as the city prepares for its European Capital of Culture (ECoC) term in 2028. The political leadership and the cultural public clearly subscribe to very different definitions. And it’s becoming clear that when culture is approached the wrong way, the ECoC title might end up doing more harm than good. The effects are most visible in architecture and in how public space is managed. In short, České Budějovice seems to be headed toward international embarrassment. |
theory |
Between Expansion and Densification. Osaka 1970–2025 » The World Expo is a unique phenomenon combining elements of technological advancement, national representation, and cultural dialogue. From London’s pioneering Crystal Palace to contemporary trends in sustainability and environmental responsibility, these events have reflected shifts in global approaches to progress and cooperation. Expo 1970 in Osaka— the first of its kind held outside Europe or North America—was characterized by futuristic visions rooted in architectural metabolism. The upcoming Expo 2025, on the other hand, focuses on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the use of traditional materials. These changes reflect not only shifts in society and perceptions of Japan as a country, but also broader global challenges defining our current era—especially the urgent need to rethink development strategies and prioritize care for the planet’s finite resources. |
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completed project |
A House as an Exhibit. Czech National Pavilion at the Expo 2025 in Osaka » Inspired by the concept of the ever-evolving and enduring energy of life, the Czech Pavilion for the World Expo 2025 was designed as a single spiraling volume. Gradually rising through its four fl oors, visitors walk along a 260-meter path winding around the building until they emerge on the rooftop observation deck. As a reference to both the Czech glassmaking tradition and the famous Czechoslovak pavilion at the 1970 Osaka World Expo, the building has a transparent facade made of artistic glass panels. The load-bearing structure is made of CLT panels arranged in a central ring, with embedded staircases and an elevator. Horizontal fl oor panels complement the core structure to create the exhibition spaces spiraling around the building and also to hold the balconies inside the multipurpose hall. |
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completed project |
Shaping the City. The Neckarbogen Urban District Development as Part of the BUGA Heilbronn 2019 » Thanks to the BUGA 2019 Federal Horticulture Show, the city of Heilbronn has begun the process of transforming a fragmented and impermeable waterfront brownfield site located in the bend of the Neckar River. The 2011 competition-winning proposal by SINAI landscape architects interprets the existing structures and atmosphere in new contexts. It defines several continuous landscape strips, each developing its own authentic landscape theme embedded in the overall flow of the contemporary "smart" landscape. The year 2019 saw the completion of the first phase with new residential development on approximately one third of the area. Further development is currently underway. In the meantime, a part of the so-called Summer Island has been transformed into an experimental park. Designed by LOMA studio, its flowing temporary landscape was inspired by moraines and sand dunes, with the precise shapes generated and constructed using 3D software tools. |
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dispute |
The Politics of Biennalization » In a globalized era—marked by decentralization of the West and homogenization of the artistic and architectural spheres across continents—it is worth asking whether large-scale exhibition formats are, by their very nature, capable of sustaining the weight of their own contradictions. While the proclaimed values of the seemingly unending phenomenon of international showcases advocate openness, inclusivity, and dialogue, they often reproduce global asymmetries and contribute to the aestheticization of structural inequality. Consciously or not, biennials hold the potential—through sudden accumulation of infrastructure and media attention—to become vehicles for political articulation, with consequences that extend beyond the realm of art. Rather than merely reflecting the present, they can function as active agents of cultural, economic, and spatial hegemony. |
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idea |
Biennalist » Biennalist is an ongoing art format reviewing and commenting on the structure and motivations of international exhibitions by using the same means as them. Often without official invitation and through interventions like discussions, performances or guerrilla installations, Thierry Geoffroy / Colonel points out discrepancies between the proclaimed themes and real interests and impacts of the organizers, sponsors or host cities. Similarly to so-called ‘watchdog’ journalism that keeps a close eye on large media houses usually owned by a few individuals, Biennalist monitors the artistic sphere of power. The goal is not to disrupt, but to offer much-needed independent criticism from the outside. |
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interview |
Estonia: The Tiger of Wood Architecture. Veronika Valk-Siska Interviewed by Filip Landa » By 2030, the Estonian government wants at least 50% of public buildings to be made from wood. Its aim is to systematically support not only climate protection and sustainable architecture, but also the entire timber industry. We welcomed the opportunity to discuss this agenda with architect Veronika Valk-Siska of the newly established Estonian Ministry of Climate when she attended the 20th Wood Construction Salon, held on April 3rd at the National Technical Library in Prague. |
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annex |
ERA21 vydává ERA Média, s. r. o. |
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Phone: +420 530 500 801 E-mail: redakce@era21.cz |
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WEBdesign Kangaroo group, a.s. |