Second Meeting New Forms, Old Dreams will revisit the architecture of the 1990s and attempt to explore the (un)fulfilled visions of that era regarding architectural development, new possibilities, and attempts to revive the values of interwar Brno architecture and Central European identity.

We will meet, fittingly, at the International Business Center Brno, a retail and office complex built in 1997. The reading will be led by art and architecture historians Šárka Svobodová and Jana Pavlová, along with architect Jan Bureš. We will begin the reading with a short essay by Pavel Janák “The Prism and the Pyramid” and continue with excerpts from the book “Brno Municipal House”, the recently published volume “Devade” (J. Bureš, M. Beránek, R. Šrettr Úlehla, A. Vaculíková), and an excerpt from the book Temples of Money (Jana Pavlová).

The 4AM Book Club brings together text, place, and shared discussion. Three meetings in different parts of Brno explore three different themes through texts that are not just meant to be read, but also to be collectively reflected upon, questioned, and discussed. What happens when a café ceases to be a café? What remains of the architectural dreams of the 1990s? And do we still need architectural criticism today?

These won’t be lectures or a traditional “book club”; we’ll read theoretical and literary texts, essays, and interviews together—aloud and in silence, individually and in groups. Discussions with invited guests will take place each time at a specific location, the character of which will provide the context for the texts being read and allow us to explore how their themes relate to the given environment. The texts will be available on site; no advance preparation is necessary. All you need is curiosity and a willingness to devote a little time to reading and engaging with the texts together.

Project Curator: Kryštof Otto Fučík

Visual Identity: Pavlína Smékalová