Renowned Architects Are Shaping the New Face of Ostrava. You Can Meet Eva Jiřičná and Steven Holl at

BUSINESS

Věžový dům Ostrčilova

Ostrčilova Tower

next to Trojhalí and Bishop Bruno Square. Ostrava

really has many things to look forward to.

You will learn more about current and upcoming

projects at this year's Expo Real, which is one of the

most important investment fairs. This is evidenced

by the large participation of developers, investors,

development agencies, end-users, professional

consultants, architects and representatives of local

governments and states. With over 40,000 participants

from 73 countries, the fair is a valuable source of

contacts, meetings, information and experience.

The City of Ostrava has been a regular participant

since 2002. It exhibits under the joint brand Czech

Cities & Region, which includes Prague, Ostrava and

the Moravian-Silesian Region. At the fair, representatives

of the city are ready to conduct negotiations with

potential investors and offer them lucrative land plots,

even in the very centre of Ostrava. Among the most

interesting offers are the already announced call for

the PLZEŇSKÁ plot, and two more calls that are yet to

be announced, namely for T6 Technologická and the

Opavská/Martinovská plot. The offer is available here:

www.investinostrava.cz.

Furthermore, at the Czech Cities & Region stand

you can look forward to interesting talks by worldfamous architects who are behind important Ostrava

projects.

Eva Jiřičná will be presenting her proposal for

the redevelopment of a high-rise building on

Ostrčilova Street, located in the centre of Ostrava,

together with her colleague from the AI Design

Studio, architect Petr Vágner, on 5 October at 2 pm.

The topic of reconstruction of houses and buildings

from the 70s is currently relevant in many cities. Eva

Jiřičná is a Czech architect living in London. She

has two architectural studios - Eva Jiricna Architects

in London and AI Design based in Prague, which

Věžový dům Ostrčilova

Ostrčilova Tower

she founded with architect Petr Vágner in 1999.

In the summer of 1968 she went to London for

an internship, but the Czechoslovak authorities

prevented her from returning after the August

occupation. She joined the Atelier Louis de Soisson,

where she designed the harbour in Brighton. She

then began working with the well-known architect

Richard Rogers. She became famous for her interior

designs for London and New York fashion stores. Her

buildings are characterised by the use of glass, metal

and even concrete, and she is also known for her

designs for glass stairs. She is a holder of the Order

of the British Empire.

Steven Holl will be presenting his proposal for

the "Ostrava Concert Hall" project, which includes the

reconstruction of a protected cultural monument, the

House of Culture of the City of Ostrava, and the addition

of a concert hall for 1,300 listeners, on 4 October at

2pm. The author of the design, together with Steven

Holl and his studio Steven Holl Architects, is also the

Prague-based studio Architecture Acts. The project

has already been ranked by the prestigious American

magazine Architizer as one of the 10 most anticipated

buildings in the world. As Holl himself mentions in many

interviews, it was his big dream to prepare the concert

hall project and he is very much looking forward to

the first opening concert of the Janáček Philharmonic

Ostrava. At the moment the preparatory construction

work is underway and at the same time the selection of

the contractor is in process.

Steven Holl is a prominent American architect.

His buildings reflect his fascination with scientific

phenomena and the play with light. He studied

at the University of Washington in Rome and at

the Architectural Association in London. He began his

career in California and opened his own office in New

York in 1976. He has taught at Washington University,

Syracuse University, and has been teaching at Columbia

University since 1981.

Text: MMO

Foto: Ramak Fazel,

Tomas Nosil