What we do – summits and forums

In the autumn of 2018 the Association for Architecture and Development published its key document “10 Visions and Concrete Steps for the Construction Development of Prague and the Czech Republic”. Since then it has organized traditionally semi-annually the Summits of Architecture and Development. They are held in March and September at the prestigious Municipal House in Prague and generate lots of interest among the media, professionals and the general public thanks to the important Czech and foreign guests who speak there.

Our work has allowed us to reach out to architects of worldwide importance. We have welcomed such icons as Elizabeth Diller (US), Sou Fujimoto (JP), Ian Ritchie (UK), Jean-Pierre Carniaux (FR) and Peter Gero (DE). Leading Czech architects Eva Jiřičná, Josef Pleskot, Zdeněk Fránek and many others have made multiple appearances at the summit. Our ambition is to inspire our Czech audience with interesting ideas from abroad and connect the top architects from around the world with representatives of the Czech professional public and politicians.

The main aim of the summit is to assess the progress of development in Prague and the Czech Republic. A semi-annually review “What has been done, what not, and what needs to be done?” is always introduced at the summit, including a biannual short film summarizing current events in building development. These summits are broadcast online to the website of the association and a report with interviews is subsequently produced, the result of which is a lot of media interest.

Photogallery from events

What we are about

The aim of the association is to promote positive and dynamic construction development in the Czech Republic, with respect to the environment and our historical heritage. The tasks of the association are twofold – popularization of the issue with education and use it for legislation and the work of the authorities. We want to join forces and together seek the right solutions. Basically in collaboration with other experts in the field and with politicians and authorities. In our country the approval process for new construction is extremely lengthy, unnecessarily complicated and over-regulated. We want to change that!

Thinking up and building new things is a beautiful sort of work that keeps the whole of society moving forward. Unfortunately new construction in our country is opposed by lots of people who are against everything new and so who negatively affect the opinions of the public, politicians and authorities. We want to be the positive voice for outstanding architecture and development! We want to call things by their proper name, to discuss and jointly seek the right solutions. Then clearly articulate these solutions and present them to politicians and the authorities so that things might be changed for the better.

Who we are – founding members

The Association for Architecture and Development (SAR) is a working think-tank of experts from the fields of architecture, civil engineering, economics and law. It is a combination of people who are not indifferent to the long-term paralysis of construction development in our country.

Members of this think-tank are linked by the common view that our country cannot live only from its past, but it must continue to develop or else face bankruptcy. They want to actively tackle these problems and together try to change things for the better.