Archive: Culture | Architecture Architecture
Martin Barry – New York-based landscape architect, founder of reSITE festival
In this week’s Arts my guest is New York-based landscape architect Martin
Barry who last year launched a new festival and conference in Prague
called
reSITE, focussing on urbanism and rethinking the public space. To this
aim,
he and organisers involved everyone from internationally recognised
designers and urban planners, to students of arts and architecture, and
last, but not least, politicians. More
Cultural News Roundup: King Tut exhibit, Lucie & AZ Tower
This week we have a roundup of cultural stories making headlines: an
exhibition dedicated to Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamen, a new musical
inspired by the rock band Lucie, and the completion of the AZ Tower - the
country's tallest building. More
The House of the Black Madonna – home of the only surviving Cubist café in the world
Nestled between busy Wenceslas Square and Prague’s number one tourist
destination, Old Town Square, the House of the Black Madonna houses a small
museum of Cubism as well as the only surviving Cubist café in the world
– the Grand Café Orient, which was renovated between 2002 and 2005. More
My house is my castle: the best and worst in village architecture
You may know the feeling – you return to your native village after a long
absence and come across an eyesore – a building that screams “money,
power and influence” and sticks out like a sore thumb from its
surroundings. That is the kind of building that architect and photographer
Jan Kruml likens to a flashing gold tooth. More
Budding landscape architect Viktor Filipi
According to an old Czech saying, ‘každý správný chlap’ (every real
man) should at some point build a house, father a son, and plant a tree.
Viktor Filipi, our guest in this edition of Czech Life, isn’t quite there
yet in the first two departments but the last category he knows a lot
about. The 24-year-old – a student in his final year in the Masters
programme in Landscape Architecture at Mendel University – began working
on his family’s garden more than ten years ago; just recently it was
voted by readers of idnes as “the country’s most beautiful”. More
Eva Eislerová – Czech designer who reached top of jewellery world in NYC
The Czech artist and designer Eva Eislerová originally wanted to be an
architect. Instead, she became one of the most highly regarded makers of
art jewellery in the world, after emigrating to New York in the 1980s with
her half-Czech, half-English husband, John Eisler. Today Eva Eisler, as she
is known to her collectors, spends most of her time back home in Prague,
where she teaches at the metals department at the Academy of Arts,
Architecture and Design. More
Prague company keeping classic Czech design of early 20th century alive
The company Modernista, which has a shop in the centre of Prague, deals in
both original Czech furniture from the first half of the 20th century and
replicas it has made under license. Perhaps most notably, Modernista sells
and recreates Cubist pieces – including ceramics and clocks – which are
unique to this part of the world. Owner Janek Jaros described the business
to me when we spoke a few days ago. More
My house is my castle: the best and worst in village architecture
You may know the feeling – you return to your native village after a long
absence and come across an eyesore – a building that screams “money,
power and influence” and sticks out like a sore thumb from its
surroundings. That is the kind of building that architect and photographer
Jan Kruml likens to a flashing gold tooth. More
Brno's Villa Tugendhat reopens after two year renovation
This week saw the completion of a two year restoration project of Villa
Tugendhat, a unique functionalist villa in the city of Brno. Its history
matches that of Czechoslovakia: repeat occupation, dilapidation and
ultimately restoration. More
The Mánes Exhibition Hall – an icon of functionalist architecture
The functionalist Mánes Exhibition Hall, located on the right bank of the
Vltava river between the bridges Jiraskův most and Most Legií, is one of
only two buildings in Prague that were expressly designed to house art –
the other one being the famous Rudolfinum gallery. Martin Pavala, the
chairman of the supervisory board of the Czech Art Foundation, which owns
it, explains that the art gallery’s history started in 1930. More
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