#People
THE STREET 2019
The second annual edition of the international press conference focused on the value of the public realm
The second annual international STREET conference took place in the Czech city
of Zlín. Their leading experts mixed with representatives of architecture studios concerned with the
problems facing public spaces and urban planning. The key theme of this year’s conference was “The
Social, Economic and Aesthetic Values of the Public Realm”, and internationally renowned speakers
and architects including Jerry van Eyck, Daniela Allmeier, Rowan D’Arcy, Matúš Vallo, Peter Pasečný
and David Karásek brought their invaluable experience to a professional audience and presented
interesting projects relating to working with public spaces and their regeneration. The conference was
organized by design studio mmcité1, who has been involved in design for the public realm for a long
time.
THE STREET is the only international conference of its kind in the Czech Republic and the goal of this
year’s sophomore edition was to create a platform for sharing professional knowledge in the field of
creating and regenerating public spaces, and to provoke discussion between experts from around the
world. The conference, which explored and celebrated all aspects of the public realm – its functionality,
its suitability and its sustainability for future generations – was attended by over 300 people from
various sectors of the professional public, architecture, urban planning, and specialist media outlets.
Among those to use this platform to present their projects and bold ideas were landscape architect and
industrial designer Jerry van Eyck from progressive New York studio !melk, with his Sixth Sense
presentation. Landscape architect Rowan D’Arcy used his wealth of experience with the firm InSite to
give an inspirational talk, drawing from projects in the extreme climate of the Middle East in his Inside
Out presentation on the changing priorities of design in the public sphere.
Another top architect and urban planner to give a talk was Daniela Allmeier, founder of the Vienna-
based studio RaumPosition. She presented an interesting concept for the lower Austrian city of St.
Pölten. Respected architects from Slovakia also took this opportunity, including the founder of Slovak
studio 2ka, landscape architect Peter Pasečný. He extensively tackled the question of recycling for the
public realm and presented his work for the Waltrovka development project in Prague. An altogether
different perspective was offered by Slovak architect Matúš Vallo, who last year became the mayor of
Slovakia’s capital, Bratislava. He seamlessly transferred his role as an architect into the political sector,
showing that even as unconventional a move as his makes perfect sense. The Bratislava Plan, a
successful book detailing a vision for a new Bratislava, is a collective work by expert authors, collated
under the leadership of the newly elected mayor.
The public realm is not just the domain of architects, however. Renowned Czech designer and creative
director of design studio mmcité, David Karásek, flew the flag for designers by presenting exciting
pieces of concrete street furniture. In the grand scheme of architecture and urban planning street
furniture is a minor detail, but it is details like this that take a space to the next level.
The all-day conference once again showed that the topic of the public realm, in all its various forms and
functions is hugely significant, and the opportunity to exchange experiences from around the globe is
hugely beneficial.
