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One on OneVlado Milunic - A Master of the Dancing House
Yugoslav-born Vlado Milunic is one of the most respected architects based
in the Czech Republic, whose work includes a well-known and remarkably
quirky and playful housing estate in Petriny, a Prague district, and the
world-class Dancing House on the banks of the Vltava River, which he
collaborated on with renowned architect Frank Gehry. In our interview
Vlado Milunic talks about his views on architecture and the Dancing House,
as well as the mystique the city of Prague has held for him ever since he
first arrived at the age of just sixteen. More
Business NewsBusiness News
The International Monetary Fund's senior official in Prague says the Czech
economy will not be able to sustain its current high growth unless key
reforms are made to the country's public finance, pension and health
systems. The IMF's Juan Jose Fernandez-Ansola said now is a good time to
implement such reforms, given that the economy is growing and inflation
remains low.
More
Current AffairsPrague EU housing ministers meeting addresses future of high rise flats
The percentage of people living in high rise flats in former Eastern Bloc
countries such as the Czech Republic is twice as high as in the 15
"old" European Union states. Indeed a full 40 percent of Czechs
live in prefabricated flats, known as panelaks, many of which are in bad
repair and in need of major investment. The future of high rise flats was
the theme of a Prague meeting of EU housing ministers, hosted by the Czech
Republic's regional development minister, Jiri Paroubek. He spoke to me at
the
close of the conference on Tuesday. More
Current AffairsReforming Czech housing estates a tall order
If you look up the term 'sidliste' in any dictionary, it will be translated
as 'housing estate', which is not exactly accurate. While images of urban
decay are attached to the term 'housing estate', 'sidliste' just refers to
the districts of prefabricated housing, in which 50% of Prague's
inhabitants live. Often these 'sidliste' take the form of rows and rows of
identical buildings, towering at around twenty stories high. Their aging
grey facades may not be beautiful, but such buildings provide many Czechs
with all basic living requirements. Are the days of such housing estates
numbered? Rosie Johnston takes a look at the future of the Czech
'sidliste'.
More
Talking PointFab prefabs: a look at the panelaky
Communist-era housing in the Czech Republic is typified by the apartment
buildings known in Czech as "panelaky," or panel buildings.
While the communist system that bore them fell thirteen years ago, the
panelaky remain living monuments to socialist realism - housing projects
for the masses that aimed to promote socialist development.
More
Current AffairsThe changing face of panelaky
Hundreds of thousands of Czechs live in "panelaky" - the concrete
panel apartment buildings that were constructed during the communist era.
These buildings are often criticised for being depressingly drab and
poorly constructed, but life in them has generally improved since the fall
of communism - and some people think that life in a panelak is still the
way to go.
More
