prof. Ing. arch. Petr Vorlík, Ph.D.

2023-2027

2021-2022

This project is concerned with the discourses of architecture of the second half of the 20th century in relation to heritage conservation in Czechia. "Post-war" 20th century architecture is an increasingly popular, but also an increasingly contested topic. Its conservation or demolition, respectively, is frequently accompanied by disputes over claims to "the truth", and such debates often produce irreconcilable attitudes. So far, architecture of the second half of the 20th century has been studied from several perspectives, mostly historical, constructional, or by in-depth interviews. Through this project, I wish to contribute to the previous volume of knowledge by focusing on the perspective of discourse. I will analyze the discourses of the present-day disputes and claims over "post-war" architecture in Czechia using discourse analysis and a theoretical framework borrowing from critical studies in the humanities and social sciences. This project proposes a two-year scheme; the presentation of outcomes is scheduled for the second year.

Detail

2020-2022

The main topic of the project is the architecture of the seventies and eighties in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This project is focusing on the former state projection (and construction) companies, their development, transformation, thematic focus and job description, following the political-economic situation in the former Czechoslovakia. All these will be comparing to a political-economical situation in the former Czechoslovakia. Two and five-year economy plans in whole postwar era of Czechoslovakia are also an important point of the projection. The biggest focus will be on the era of the seventies and eighties, since this is the least mapped period in this direction. It is necessary to said that this project is unique due to its geographical focus, since it connects both countries, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Thematically, project will be mapping connections of the work of individual project institutes and their focus to the central economical aspects and plans. How did the job placement work? How were individual assignments specified and distributed? How did the day-to-day running of institutes, companies or studios work? These and many other issues will be the key in the final project solution.

Detail

2020-2022

Despite the great attractiveness of the architecture of the 1980s, which brought to Czechoslovakia news such as low-tech or postmodernism, this period of our architectural history is so far very little explored. Mainly in the second half of the 1980s aside and often despite the stream of the official design studios and The Czech architects Union many collective exhibitions of architects, home seminars and activities defining-against demolition of historical neighbourhoods arose - all this formed the parallel architectural scene. In many ways, architects have responded to impulses seeping through the iron curtain thanks to rare foreign publications or even exceptional visits by foreign architects and theorists. Postmodernism has become an important source of inspiration (mainly due to the personality of Jiří Ševčík and a close circle of architects around him, but also the work of VÚVA). The activities of the parallel architectural scene and its connection to discussions among young architects discussing foreign theories and practices were decisive for the local architectural scene. The presented student project wants to examine these tendencies significant for their time, which weren't described yet.

Detail

2020-2022

Public interiors, such as places of social life, transport, leisure and culture, as well as trade, were in selected designs given special attention during the time period between 1970 and 1990. They exceeded common manufacturing processes and were created with the use of bold material solutions. Together with great integration into the built work, such interiors brought fresh perspectives in otherwise not very varied standard production. The limited range of products available has led to unusual solutions for individual spatial components and interior fittings. The small production of author's free standing furniture and lamps was in many respects typical of the time and is, due to the costly nature of today's conditions, difficult to repeat. The authors often dealt with the public interior as a part of a complex work. The artistic libretto or the overall spatial concept determined the individuality and detailing of the interior furnishings. During use, however, this architectural part of the work pays for its short durability in comparison to the lifespan of a building and is therefore most vulnerable to improper modifications, partial changes or complete disposal. Studying of modern architecture, correct processing and usage of our findings about the high quality works and their significance can contribute to their protection and serve as a basis for future restoration. This student research aims to map the specifics of this time period, to name and evaluate them. The goal of the research is to summarize the work created in the course of two decades, to describe the characteristic solutions of the individual chapters and furthermore to focus on naming the specifics and expressions through which the interior becomes an integral part of the architectural work or an autonomous creative act.

Detail

2019

Identification and protection of industrial monuments and industrial landscapes is a major challenge not only in the Czech Republic but also in the international context. Interest in this topic brings a significant contribution to the fact what detailed testimony about industrial development we can bequeath to future generations. Not only abandoned industrial objects, but also post-industrial landscapes should be considered as the heritage of the industrial revolution. The characteristics of the landscape are the result of the complex development of its components and elements and also of the human influence. The industrial and subsequently post-industrial landscape is characterized by a number of typical attributes and creates an image of regional identity. Industrial wastelands and abandoned buildings has already become an object of professional interest. However, the industrial landscape are discussed more from an ecological and environmental point of view, with regard to the occurrence of biotic communities and species or soil and water remediation. Industrial landscapes as a category of historical cultural landscapes have not been sufficiently studied yet, methodological aspects of research for evaluation, classification and typology of this type of landscape are just at the beginning. The expansion of knowledge is the reason why the investigation of industrial landscape memory through the material sources is so important nowadays.

Detail

2018-2022

Czech post-war architecture has in recent years been the subject of substantial attention from the professional community and the general public. Dozens of publications, exhibitions, and research projects have emerged that focus on the optimistic sixties and the echoes of that era in the seventies. However, the architecture of the very next decade has thus far been ignored. Despite the system of socio-political normalisation in effect at the time, the eighties are deserving of detailed research. It was a decade that produced many new ideas. Despite the political restrictions, contemporary theories made it into Czechoslovakia from abroad, and this included theories on the postmodern humanisation of modern and industrialised construction and the first signs of a more responsible approach in relation to the living environment. Many activities and discussions in the professional architectural community took on the character of a search for a parallel, humanised reality (e.g. Urbanity, Painted Architecture), and in the second half of the decade this social ferment also certainly mirrored the gradual thaw in the regime that was under way. Together with the after-effects of building projects from the sixties and seventies and alongside the highly centralised and politicised stream of standard production, the eighties saw the gradual rise of parallel alternative trends and high ambitions in architectural practice that reached well beyond the closed atmosphere of the era and the border of the socialist state. This NAKI project seeks to map the architecture of that period, its background in theory, and specific projects, buildings, interiors, and structures, and also aims to make a record of the current condition of the building stock from that period.

Detail

2018-2020

The aim of this project is mapping the realized and unrealized post-war objects which are in the borderland of architecture and design such as: tobacconists, telephone booths, bus and tram stops, notice boards, advertising surfaces, small houses for policemen etc. - objects with specific function in the public space. Who were the authors of these objects? This topic is important therefore the authors were the artists in many cases, not only architects and engineers. The task of the three-year project is to trace the social context, the relationship between small architecture and the surroundings or the neighboring buildings and to document the still-standing objects and their transformations over time. How many of them are still use and have their original purpose at present? Is possible to use some of them for another purpose? The project should document the historical development of individual objects and their types. The modularity and ergonomics were important topics of the post-war period, significantly supported by prefabrication of buildings. Another aim is to find out how much was the prefabrication and the industrial production important for the small architecture. Were the designs of the objects purely standardized, or were the products original designed, too?

Detail

2017

Detail

2017-2019

The house of culture appears after 1945 as a new building type. It is, unlike the already existing cultural buildings, characterized by its multifunctionality and versatility. At its beginning, the ideology plays crucial role as it became the cultural and political centre of socialistic society. In addition to the effort to raise the level of cultural education, it is used for promoting the communistic party and government, spreading their resolutions, popularization of the science and technology, youth education and it is intended to serve as the centre of culture and entertainment of socialistic working class. At the same time it acted as the mean of propaganda and control over the art and cultural events. On the other hand it allowed to raise several alternative music and theatre scenes as well as it brought the alternative to the architecture. Thanks to its location it also plays important role in the urbanism of the city - it is usualy located very close to the city centre with the great connection to public infrastructure and it begins the important cultural and community meeting point for its area. Today, the houses of culture are accepted mainly negatively, especially by the general public and they are seen as the relic of the past times, which are hard to adapt to the today society. It is given by the often controversal urbanism, oversized spaces, economically difficult operation and mainly by the label of socialistic architecture. How we should handle these buildings today? Do they still play an important role in the community, or has this way of spending the free time been already overcome? Is it economically convenient to continue to use and converse them? Is it possible to transform them in a way they reflect the current lifestyle and keep their architectual quality in a same time? The aim of the project is to find the answers to this questions, trying to create a methodology on how to approach the conversion of the houses of culture, how to improve the

Detail